Leawood company’s first retail location with artist-driven gifts headed to Legends

Leawood-based Demdaco, a gift designer, manufacturer and distributor, will open its first retail shop.

The company plans a late spring opening in a 2,460-square-foot space in Legends Outlets Kansas City.

The shop will offer a range of the company’s artist-driven gifts to “lift the spirit.” They include home decor products, holiday and seasonal items, baby gifts, fashion apparel and accessories.

It has nearly a dozen artists — some in-house and some that they contract with in other states and in Canada.

Demdaco was founded In 1997 and its products are available at more than 10,000 retailers nationwide, including Hallmark stores and hospital gift stores, as well as on its website.

The Legends Outlets store will be at 1847 Village West Parkway, Suite K-125, Kansas City, Kansas — between Kate Spade and Michael Kors on the west edge of the center.

It will also have a refreshment area with Messenger Coffee and baked goods.

In a statement, Demdaco president Lance Hart said, “This provides a new opportunity to better understand which products and concepts resonate with consumers from a wide region and share what we learn with our network of retail partners.”

The company has a 326,650-square-foot distribution center in Edgerton, Kansas, with 57 employees, and its Leawood headquarters has about 100 employees. It also has an office in Hong Kong with 35 employees.

Demdaco stands for first names of founders Demi Lloyd and David Kiersznowski.

This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 8:30 AM.