Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 12, 1993 TAG: 9309100008
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A picture of the Bedford County home where he grew up hangs on the wall behind mounds of paperwork on his desk at the company's South Hill headquarters. He calls the two-story wood structure off U.S. 460 "Plumb Nearly."
"That's because it's plumb out of town and nearly out of the country," he said.
The 51-year-old department store president said that during his days at the old Montvale High School he never considered running a $140 million company - especially Peebles.
"I had never even heard of Peebles," he said. "Bedford is Leggett's country."
Moorman said he and his mom, a retired principal at Thaxton Elementary School, made treks to Roanoke often when he was growing up to shop at Heironimus and Leggett's.
Now, Moorman will do all he can to lure customers from those two stores to Peebles' newest location, in the New River Valley Mall.
Moorman joined Peebles' management training program in 1964, shortly after graduating from Hampden-Sydney College. He was recruited by J. Hugh Yelverton Jr., grandson of the store's founder, W.S. Peebles.
For a dozen years, Moorman worked as a manager and assistant manager at Peebles stores, including those in Woodbridge and Franklin, Va., and Winston-Salem, N.C.
In 1976 he moved to the company's Southside Virginia operations to supervise all of the company's buying.
Moorman, who earns more than $200,000 a year, was named chief executive officer and chairman of the board in 1989.
William C. DeRusha, chairman of the board and chief executive officer for Heilig-Meyers Co. and also a Peebles director, said he's been impressed with Moorman's leadership.
"The thing that makes Mike a good leader is that he's come up through the ranks and knows the company inside and out," he said.
Steven Hannah, vice president of advertising and marketing, said Moorman is a down-to-earth leader who's not afraid to get his hands dirty.
"He's not impersonal. He's not aloof," he said.
Moorman was late for a recent interview at the company's South Hill headquarters because he was busy selecting merchandise with one of the store's new vendors - not a job usually handled by a CEO.
"I like to know what's going on," said the soft-spoken Moorman.
Moorman spends a lot of time on the road - either looking for new store locations or visiting existing stores.
Malcom S. McDonald, president and chief executive officer of Signet Banking Corp. and one of Peebles' four board members, said he's been very impressed by Moorman's leadership.
"The thing about Mike that stands out in my mind is his combined dedication to both his customers and his employees," McDonald said. "That's something I don't see in a lot of businessmen."
On a recent trip to South Hill, Moorman wandered through the Peebles store greeting many of the sales associates by name.
Then he got to 73-year-old Florence Ball, who's worked at the store for 49 years. As soon as Ball saw Moorman, her face lit up and she greeted her boss with a warm hug.
"I love this store and I love my work," said Ball, who's watched 25 managers come and go from the South Hill store.
"The first thing I say when a new manager gets here is, `I was here when you got here and I'll be here when you're gone,' " she said. "I guess I might have to stop saying that soon."
Moorman and his wife, Joyce, live in Lawrenceville, where he recently accepted a spot on the Town Council after a member resigned.
It's a position that Moorman expects to be temporary.
"I have no desire to get into politics," he said.
Moorman just wants to keep expanding Peebles across the Southeast.
He grins when asked if his hometown of Bedford might be a good location.
"It's certainly a possibility, though nothing's planned now," he said.
by CNB