WOMEN'S APPAREL RETAILER SEES POTENTIAL IN ROANOKE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 24, 1993                   TAG: 9301260293
SECTION: ECONOMY                    PAGE: EC-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
WOMEN'S APPAREL RETAILER SEES POTENTIAL IN ROANOKE
LouAlice Weddle says her English's Clothing shop in Roanoke is an investment in the future more than a bid for immediate success.
The Franklin County resident ran a similar shop in Rocky Mount for two years until she closed there and moved to Hunting Hills Plaza at the end of October.
She said her holiday sales figures at Hunting Hills weren't as good as they were the year before, but more customers came in her new shop than at the old location.
"I have more potential here than in Rocky Mount," Weddle said.
She said she intends to keep the same sort of store in Roanoke as she had in Rocky Mount - casual and dress clothes for professional women - but might redo the mix of inventory.
"As we find out who our customers are, we will change," she said. Already she knows that Roanoke women are more interested in buying dressy city shorts and short skirts than the longer, more conservative skirts sought by shoppers in Rocky Mount.
She knows from experience and from what she hears from the fashion manufacturers' sales representatives that the retail clothing business has been in turmoil and a lot of companies have folded.
"I had a beautiful sweater line and they're out of business," said Weddle.
Kim Copses, who represents seven manufacturers including some labels sold by Weddle, said the economy is not quite as rosy as the news media paint.
"Business is still not what it has been," Copses said on a recent visit to Weddle's shop.
Copses, who lives in Charlotte, said the last three years have been the worst of the 12 he has sold clothes.
He has seen manufacturers and retailers go out of business or have credit problems. He said his income is still as good, but he now represents seven companies instead of the one he sold for five years ago.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB