Inside Wayfair’s massive first store, designed to give Ikea a run for its money

After two decades of selling furniture online, Wayfair opened its first physical store in Chicago.

Out in the northern Chicago suburbs, a new 150,0000-square-foot behemoth of a home goods store is giving Ikea a run for its money. 

The towering white and purple building, opened in late May and designed by the architecture firm Gensler, is Wayfair’s first large-format brick-and-mortar store. Since launching in 2002, the company has specialized in direct-to-consumer online retail, developing...