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

DATE: SUNDAY, January 23, 1994                   TAG: 9401240254
SECTION: ECONOMY                    PAGE: EC-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LOW-IMPACT CHANGE

O\Larry Drombetta joined S.H. Heironimus Co. in 1985. Glenn Lavinder came in 1966 as a co-op student from Virginia Tech.

Now as president and vice president of operations, respectively, both seem to fit right in with Heironimus' new ownership, The Dunlap Co. of Texas: They haven't moved around much in jobs - Drombetta worked for only one other company - and they don't care much for the limelight.

"Notoriety has its price. We don't get in the paper much here by design," said Tom Hoskins, president of Dunlap, from his office in Fort Worth, Texas.

"I've only had one other job. I worked on a cotton farm until I was 18. These air-conditioned buildings beat that cotton farm," said Hoskins, who has worked for Dunlap for 32 years.

Hoskins said Dunlap keeps a low profile with the retail chains it buys. Since Dunlap bought the Roanoke-based department store in November, plans for change have included moving the accounting and data processing functions from Roanoke to Fort Worth by the end of January. But merchandising, inventory purchasing and day-to-day operation still are local functions.

Lavinder and Drombetta both received new titles following the sale of the company by former Heironimus owner and Chairman Richard Lynn. Lavinder, formerly vice president of stores, became vice president of operations; while Drombetta, who had been senior vice president, was named president.

The 11 store managers and the credit office, which will remain in Roanoke, report to Lavinder; the buying staff and merchandise managers report to Drombetta.

Hoskins said Dunlap tries to keep management in place when it buys stores because the local leaders know the community.

"People say, `Well, they got bought out by somebody, they'll be buying goods for them.' We have enough trouble buying goods in Texas," Hoskins said.

In addition to the Heironimus and Petite Place stores in Roanoke, Lynchburg and Blacksburg, Dunlap acquired the Petite Place stores in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Chesapeake.

So far the company has stuck with plans set up by the previous ownership. A new store will be built in the New River Valley and the downtown Roanoke store will stay open. "We have a lease left there," Hoskins said of the downtown store. "It will continue to be viable."

\ THE DUNLAP CO.

A NEW NAME

The company: The Dunlap Co. is a privately owned company that owns and operates department stores in 10 states. Among its holdings are Dunlap, The White House, McClurkans, M.M. Cohn, Porteous, Mitchell & Braun, Clark's, Goldstein-Migel, Russell's, Gabriel's, Kerr's, Schreiner's, Ware's, Lintz, Steketee's, Stripling & Cox, Marcom's and Kerr's and Heironimus stores. The majority owners are Chairman Edward Martin and Co-Chairman Reg Martin of Fort Worth, sons of former longtime Dunlap employee and subsequent partner Retha Martin. Tom Hoskins, company president, owns a minority stake in the company.

Headquarters: Fort Worth, Texas.

Roanoke Valley operations: Last November, The Dunlap Co. acquired S.H. Heironimus Inc., a Roanoke-based company that operates seven Heironimus stores and four Petite Place stores. Heironimus employs 475.