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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 9, 1994                   TAG: 9411090050
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MOVE OVER, MACY'S; PENNEY'S IS NO. 1 WITH SHOPPERS

There are many variables that determine where we shop: what we're searching for, a store's convenience and price. Choosing a No.1 store is difficult. But 800 women, ages 18 to 64, were asked to do that in a national poll conducted in 10 major metropolitan areas for Women's Wear Daily, an apparel-industry trade publication.

They were told to select the best place to shop for women's apparel.

You might expect one of the tony department stores or speciality niche merchants. But the winner was J.C. Penney Co., traditionally a mass merchant.

It scored first among all groups except those with household incomes over $70,000. Those deep-pocketed shoppers selected Macy's.

Penney's was selected first for sportswear, activewear, career clothing, suits, dresses and swimwear. It came in second behind The Gap for jeans, second behind Victoria's Secret for intimate apparel and third behind Macy's and Nordstrom for better brands and designer clothes.

The poll found that Penney's own private labels - Worthington, Hunt Club and Arizona - are recognized as national brands. Now some national designers who used to shun Penney's have opted to join the stores' lineup of goods. These include Ultima II cosmetics and Leslie Fay.

The Women's Wear Daily findings confirmed what Phil Boggs, manager of Penney's at Tanglewood Mall, said he already knew from his own surveys.

Blind interviews - those with customers who didn't know which store was doing the polling - conducted at Tanglewood and Valley View malls over recent years revealed growing awareness of Penney's among shoppers.

As reported a year ago in this column, 20 percent to 25 percent of shoppers interviewed in the Roanoke Valley malls in 1989 identified Penney's as a source for brand-name fashion at a good price. In a similar survey in 1993, the percentages were in the 40 percent and 50 percent ranges.

Penney's image as a full department store is a big factor in its popularity.

In addition to determining which stores were tops on shoppers' lists, the Women's Wear Daily survey found that shoppers still are fond of department stores.

Six of the 10 top stores on the list are department stores, with 71 percent of the survey participants adding that a full assortment of goods makes a big difference in where they choose to shop. Price usually was the second reason in selecting a place to shop. Next was location, and then brands.

Other factors that draw customers, in descending order, were sales or discounts, size or fit of clothing, service, money value, ambience, convenience, charge or membership services and guarantees or return policy.

NPD Group, an independent research company based in Port Washington, N.Y., compiled the findings after 10-minute telephone interviews. It found that regional loyalty exists. Burdines in Miami and Dayton's in Minneapolis were hometown favorites.

Every area probably has such hometown merchants, so it will be interesting to learn which stores are popular with readers of this newspaper. The graphic with this column has a section you can use as a ballot, so cast your vote. Don't forget to say why you like that store.

by CNB