Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 11, 1991 TAG: 9104120713
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WENDI GIBSON/ STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BUCHANAN LENGTH: Medium
No, it's Burris Stores.
Owner Pete Burris believes that carrying big names for less is what makes Burris Stores worth traveling the extra mile.
Burris calculates that only about 30 percent of his business is from Buchanan, compared to all of it being local six years ago.
"One of our strengths is that we price aggressively," Burris said, noting that people save significant dollars even if they drive some distance to get to his store. Burris' trading area extends from Roanoke to Natural Bridge.
Burris places special emphasis on his employees, who he says are the most rewarding aspect of being in retail.
The employees make a practice of knowing their customers, Burris said. They typically talk with customers about things that have nothing to do with a size 7 or 8 or a blue-vs.-orange shirt.
Customers are treated with a "garden-variety decency, as invited guests through the front door," Burris said.
Burris has been fine-tuning his trade. He worked in a clothing store as teen-ager, and later in a women's fashion store. He eventually came to Buchanan, where he worked in his father's clothing store, later buying his father out.
As sole owner of the small business since 1983, Burris has one regret. "If I had done anything differently, it would have been probably to be bolder earlier," he said.
Burris has duplicated his recipe for successful business, constructing similar stores in Lexington and Rocky Mount. And, if opportunities present themselves, he says he certainly won't rule out another expansion.
Today is the most challenging time for him since 1987, when he was last interviewed for Neighbors. The economic recession, normally a pitfall for retailers, isn't making any exceptions for this small-town store.
To beat it, Burris recently bought a network of computers so he could control his inventory, making labor more efficient. He says this will allow his stores to replace depleted stocks more quickly and to find out where particular products are so he can get them to his customers.
Burris always has dealt with the competition, however, through aggressive negotiation of leases and product prices and deliveries. He has established relationships with his vendors and is in the habit of checking out the competition's prices.
"You can't stick your head in the sand," he said. "You've got to recognize where the competition is and recognize when they're better than you."
Burris Stores' sales have grown consistently, and in the past seven years, profits have increased by four times, Burris said.
For now, Burris says that he is satisfied that he has met the competition and that he's been able to succeed by meeting it smartly and aggressively.
"Customers can shop anywhere," he says. By shopping at Burris, "they're doing us a great favor."
by CNB