Dallas Home Decor Brand The Citizenry Acquired by Havenly

The Citizenry’s flagship store in New York City. [Photo: The Citizenry]

The Citizenry, a Dallas-based direct-to-consumer home decor brand that partners with artisans around the world, has been acquired by Havenly, a Denver-based interior design service and home furnishings company.

The acquisition will allow the socially motivated home decor company to continue to scale the availability of its sustainable artisanal furniture and goods, further multiplying its impact, Citizenry said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We set out to prove retail can be a force for good. Not only does the Havenly team appreciate our values, they have fallen in love with our unique design aesthetic, product line, and most importantly, our commitment to fair trade,” Rachel Bentley, co-founder of The Citizenry, said in a statement. “They’re the right partner to lead our next chapter of growth. We worked with almost 3,000 artisans last year, and with this step—that just feels like the beginning.”

Havenly said it anticipates retaining much of The Citizenry team, including Bentley, who will serve as president of The Citizenry, and Co-Founder Carly Nance, who will transition to serve as an executive brand advisor.

The Citizenry co-founders Rachel Bentley (left) and Carly Nance [Photo: The Citizenry]

Focused on fair trade—and poised for growth

The Citizenry joins Havenly as part of its ongoing efforts to build a collection of home brands and technologies that appeal to the next generation of shoppers, the companies said.

The deal will allow Havenly to expand its fair-trade initiations with The Citizenry and across other areas of the business.

The Citizenry co-founder Rachel Bentley visits with an artisan in Morocco, from our 2016 profile of the company. [Photo: The Citizenry]

Since its founding in 2014, The Citizenry has expanded its offerings to cover the whole home, while supporting the work of thousands of artisans around the globe at pay rates that average twice the fair trade requirement.

From its beginnings, The Citizenry said it set out to build a design-forward company that celebrates the people behind its products and sets new standards in social responsibility for the industry. The Citizenry adopts a fair trade business model, and its following has grown the company into the largest U.S. home decor company to have 100% of its products sourced according to the rigorous standards set by the World Fair Trade Organization.

In 2021, The Citizen raised $20 million in Series B Funding from San Francisco-based NextWorld Evergreen, a growth equity firm with a focus on conscious consumer brands. And just last September, The Citizenry launched a new brand campaign, “Uncontained,” to highlight a deep lineup of new brands hitting shelves at nearly 100 Container Store locations nationwide.

Rolling out its collections across Havenly’s platforms

The Citizenry said that with the acquisition, it will roll out its iconic collections to audiences across the Havenly platforms, expand its retail footprint, and scale its global network of artisans and heritage manufacturers to new levels.

“We’ve always said that our business marries old-world values with new-world market strategies,” Carly Nance, co-founder of The Citizenry, said in a statement. “We’ve grown to where we are today by being customer-centric and digitally-driven. This partnership provides even more strategic firepower in those arenas. The Havenly team is passionate about the same things we are—building potent, meaningful brands designed to stand the test of time.”

Mercado storage baskets from The Citizenry. [Photo: The Citizenry]

Havenly’s third acquisition in 36 months

This is Havenly’s third acquisition in 36 months, with past acquisitions including Interior Define and The Inside. Havenly said the deal cements it as the largest digital-first, DTC platform in the home decor market with a strong strategy for sustainable growth.

“As a personal customer of The Citizenry, I’m thrilled to bring the brand into the Havenly family,” Lee Mayer, co-founder and CEO of Havenly, said in a statement. “Rachel and Carly’s unrivaled commitment to sustainability, social impact, and support of artisans combined with premium quality and exquisite design is truly something revolutionary in the space, and a big reason why The Citizenry has long been a favorite among our customers. We’re excited to build on the work they’ve done to promote more sustainable values and help usher in the next era of great home brands for the modern consumers.”