Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 13, 1995 TAG: 9501130080
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CROWDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Company officials think the 6,000-square-foot Tanglewood location will not be able to compete with the 54,000-square-foot superstore that CMT opened in November next to its Brandon Avenue headquarters, CMT President Banks Conner said.
CMT has operated the store on the upper level of Tanglewood Mall for about a decade. It employs about 10 people, who are expected to move to the Brandon Avenue superstore, Conner said.
Although the official decision to consolidate the stores was made this month, the possibility had been discussed since the superstore opened, Conner said.
"It was a situation where we thought we would see what happened at Christmas," Conner said. The sales numbers at the Tanglewood store for the holiday buying season were down 10 percent from the same period in 1993, a figure that Conner said was significant enough to warrant closing.
The new superstore employs 40 to 50 people and has 18 specialty shops, each devoted to a specific sport, Conner said.
CMT was founded in 1970 and also has stores in Blacksburg; Lynchburg; and Bristol, Tenn. The company has been one of the top 100 sporting goods retailers each of the last three years, according to Sports Trend Magazine. It finished 88th in the most recent ranking with sales of more than $13 million.
CMT will consider returning to the mall once a planned expansion is completed, said John Lambert, Roanoke spokesman for KTI of North Carolina Inc.
KTI is a legal entity controlled by Raleigh, N.C., developer J.M. Kane & Co., which owns the mall.
A Tanglewood Mall official said Thursday that the center's owners expect to announce by early next month plans to enlarge the center and make other changes. The changes were envisioned when J.M. Kane & Co. purchased the mall in December 1993.
by CNB