Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 8, 1995 TAG: 9501060056
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: BUSINESS EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CLAUDINE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Because most retailers don't close their fiscal year until early February, reports of 1994's final results won't be known for several more weeks.
``The economy has stabilized, and people are planning for a good year, even if it is not as robust as former years,'' said Bill Coiner, president of the Virginia Retail Merchants Association in Richmond.
The slow-growth economy will prompt retailers to find other ways to prod sales.
Stores such as Roanoke-based Holdren's Inc. will become even more service-oriented and specialized, said Stan Cross, the appliance dealer's president. The company has retrained and renamed its sales associates, teaching them to help customers make better selections, and calling them customer service specialists.
``We are changing to get ourselves right for the future,'' Cross said. ``People want to buy the best product and get the most out of it.''
Surging development of superstores in the Valley may cause even more retailers to change their marketing strategies, Coiner said, but there always will be a place for traditional merchants.
``People like smaller, specialized places,'' Coiner said. ``Generally, in the economy, people have a doom-and-gloom prediction; but many large stores have come and gone, and smaller stores have prospered.''
Owners of the two superstores that opened in Roanoke last year are off to a prosperous start.
In November, CMT sporting goods launched the area's first sporting supercenter in southwest Roanoke.
And Books-A-Million, an Alabama chain, followed in December by opening the area's first mega-bookstore at Crossroads Mall.
CMT's 54,000-square-foot store carries everything from camping equipment to diving gear, but the 25-foot climbing wall quickly gained most of the attention.
Store owners say shoppers could look forward to an improved climbing wall by the end of 1995.
Of the seven Books-A-Million supercenters launched last month, the Roanoke location had one of the strongest openings in the company's fourth quarter.
More than 1,000 customers a day bought books and other merchandise, the company said.
``Sales exceeded our expectations, said Brian Pia, spokesman for Books-A-Million. ``When a company takes the time to find out what a customer wants and fills that need, the store will ultimately be successful.''
by CNB