Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 20, 1994 TAG: 9407200078
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The home furnishings and appliance retailer said Tuesday that long-term plans include stores in Greenville and Spartanburg and maybe a third South Carolina city, and a warehouse to serve the retail operations.
Company President George Cartledge Jr. said the southward move "is a major project for us, but we've done research that tells us Greenville will be a good market."
The site is about two miles from Interstate 85 and the area's major shopping center and near Wal-Mart and Circuit City stores. Cartledge declined to state the purchase price of the property..
He said it will take at least a year to complete the Greenville store, which will look like the Grand store at Valley View Mall. He also said that selection of a site in Spartanburg is on hold until he learns the outcome of plans for a major shopping center there.
Grand, which has 21 stores in four states, recently announced that it is moving its headquarters from downtown Roanoke to a Southwest Roanoke shopping center it owns. The remodeling of Grand Pavilion on Virginia 419, which includes the addition of offices and the creation of new entrances, is expected to be completed by January.
Also, the company said it plans to remodel its downtown Roanoke store and change its merchandising format.
The remodeling could begin within the next two weeks, but it likely will be the end of the year before the store's final look will be in place, said Robert Bennett Jr., vice president.
Bennett said plans are to convert the downtown store into a combination of a regular furniture store and clearance or outlet center.
Robert Carroll, senior vice president in charge of merchandising, is in the process of deciding which furniture lines will be sold in the downtown store and how the store will be configured.
by CNB