Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 11, 1993 TAG: 9309110018
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Orvis Co. said Friday it will spend $2 million on a 96,000-square-foot expansion of its distribution center on Blue Hills Drive.
John W. Moticha Jr., vice president of operations, said the sporting goods and clothing merchant will add 200 operators to its work force. Hiring began Aug. 1 and will conclude in October.
Meanwhile, Tweeds Inc., an upscale women's apparel catalog company, said it has agreed to be acquired by Hanover Direct Inc., a Weehawken, N.J., company operating many direct-mail companies.
While Hanover Direct did not provide details for its plans for the Tweeds telemarketing and order-filling center in Roanoke, local officials said they expect the business to grow.
Gregory Miller, a spokesman for Hanover Direct, said it "bought the company to operate it as it is."
The Roanoke center, he said, "is quite a good one and a modern one." It will have no less work than it currently has, Miller said.
Hanover has other fulfillment centers in San Diego, Calif.; Hanover, Pa.; and LaCrosse, Wis.
Beth Doughty of the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership said she anticipates some job growth because of the sale.
Hanover Direct said the purchase price will consist of about $3.9 million in Hanover common stock and assumption of $5.1 million in bank and other long-term debt.
Closing of the transaction is scheduled for this month.
"Tweeds is a well-established brand name in the women's apparel market," said Jack Rosenfeld, president of Hanover Direct, "and this acquisition strengthens our position in that highly competitive segment.
"We intend to strengthen the profitability of the Tweeds catalog through the use of our proprietary 16 million-name mailing list and the synergies that exist with our operations," he said.
Rosenfeld said Tweeds, which appeals to upper-income women across a range of ages, broadens Hanover Direct's women's offerings, which now focus on specialized niches.
The agreement to acquire Tweeds is the third catalog acquisition by Hanover Direct in recent months. Gump's, a San Francisco specialty retailer with an upscale catalog, was purchased in July.
The Company Store, a leading direct marketer of high-quality down comforters, other down products and home furnishings, was acquired earlier this month.
The Orvis addition, which will bring its Roanoke plant to 220,000 square feet, will include a new outlet store. Orvis operates two retail outlets in downtown Roanoke.
J.M. Turner & Co. Inc. of Roanoke will start work next week on expanding the parking lot. Moticha said actual construction will begin Oct. 9, and the premises are expected to be complete in February. Rife and Wood of Roanoke is the architect.
Moticha and his employees "have proven once again that this area's unsurpassed work ethic attracts and keeps the best employers. . . . We are proud to count Orvis as one of our finest corporate citizens," said Roanoke Mayor David Bowers.
Virgil Thompson of the Virginia Employment Commission office in Roanoke said the mail-order companies should have no problem finding workers, although in the past year, other area telemarketers and similar companies have reported labor shortages. Thompson said there are many people in Roanoke who want data entry and warehouse jobs.
Moticha said 476 people now work at the Orvis facility, including some already hired for the expansion. Of that number, 166 are on-call operators. The rest are regular part-time and full-time employees.
He expects total employment to reach 600 when the addition is complete.
And because Orvis has leveled some of its seasonal business peaks and valleys, its employment level also is steadier.
He said orders from the hunting and fishing catalog, a business that peaks in late winter, were moved to Roanoke last year. Orvis' regular catalog sales peak before Christmas, he said, and summer orders have held up in recent years.
Moticha said Orvis expects to covert a large number of operators to full-time work.
This year, the Manchester, Vt.-based Orvis will mail some 32 million catalogs in fishing-hunting and clothing-gifts editions, for the spring, summer, fall and Christmas seasons.
by CNB