Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 27, 1994 TAG: 9409270087
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: C8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CLAUDINE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
John Norman Clothiers for Men and Women, a local retailer known for its traditional stock of men's suits, is changing the way it looks - not only on the outside, but also on the racks.
The store next month will reopen its headquarters store at Roanoke County's Tanglewood Mall after eight weeks of remodeling at a cost of about $100,000.
Although the conservative styles which made Norman stores popular will prevail, changes in the retail business have led store officials to add updated casual looks and sportswear to their stock.
The store is answering the call for what the menswear industry is calling casual corporate wear, a more relaxed look suitable for the office.
"Corporate casual is still dressing for success," said Jeff Wendell, the company's president. "You are not wearing the same things on weekends as you are to work. It's not something that you can just change your shoes and mow the lawn in.
"It's not jeans and a T-shirt. It's not a suit. Sometimes it's not even a sports coat."
The new fall collection shows that the clothing industry has strayed from traditional blue and gray suits, for generations the staple of a business wardrobe. Shoppers at the remodeled store will find earth tones like olive and taupe.
The store will have a new facade as well as an overhaul of its interior. A mezzanine has been added to accommodate a small office. The additional floor space will allow more display space and a larger inventory of both men's and women's clothing.
"The whole idea is to get as much selling square feet as you can," Wendell said.
The new store will add 500 square feet of selling area to the 2,400-square- foot store. The company also operates stores at Towers shopping center and Valley View Mall in Roanoke.
Wendell declined to reveal sales figures for the Norman stores. But the Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C., real estate research organization, said its 1993 study of shopping centers showed men's clothing merchants averaged sales of $189 to $218 a square foot.
It has been about 10 years since the Tanglewood Mall store was renovated, Wendell said.
"Usually, you renovate every 10 years or so. Stores need either a major or a good-sized minor renovation, and it's time now," he said.
A current trend of shoppers favoring the drive-up convenience of strip shopping centers and stand-alone stores over malls prompted Norman executives to consider relocating the store.
However, last winter's unusually cold and icy weather helped Wendell decide to stay in the mall.
"The surveys we did showed that people don't like to drive in ice," Wendell said. In malls "you park one time, and you don't have to worry about the ice."
John Norman's location near a major mall entrance gives the store the convenience of a free-standing shop. That's good, Wendell said, because most men do not like to walk through malls to reach the store they want.
John Norman was established as a men's store in 1932. Although women's clothing was added in 1958, many customers still perceive it as a men's store.
"People still don't know that we have a ladies' department," Wendell said. "We hear that all the time."
by CNB