Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 15, 1995 TAG: 9503150059
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Officials of Raleigh, N.C., developer J.M. Kane, owner of the Roanoke County shopping center, also reportedly are negotiating for expansion of the mall's TJ Maxx store into upper-level space formerly occupied by a large CMT Sporting Goods Co. store. An in-store escalator will connect the two floors.
Stein Mart Inc., a Jacksonville, Fla.-based chain, operates 82 stores. Most are in the Southeast, but some are as far west as Arizona. Spokesman Andy Hofheimer said the chain has a commitment to open a store as far north as Baltimore.
The chain operates two stores in Richmond and one in Virginia Beach. It opens about a dozen each year, and three or four will open in the next few weeks, according to Hofheimer.
Hofheimer said the Tanglewood store will occupy 36,000 to 38,000 square feet, typical for a Stein Mart outlet. He said it will employ about 40 full-time people.
``We look forward to being in Tanglewood Mall,'' Hofheimer said. He is with the company's real estate office.
The addition of Stein Mart on the mall's first level, beneath the food court, and expansion of TJ Maxx will require the shifting of several smaller stores to new locations within the center. Tanglewood also is said to be negotiating with other potential tenants.
From its founding in the early 1900s until 1977, Stein Mart operated a single store in Greenville, Miss. The company went public in April 1992, with common stock traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The stock closed Tuesday at $9.625 a share, unchanged from Monday. Its most recent financial report, for nine months ended last Oct. 1, reported net income of $7.1 million, or 30 cents per share, on sales of $267.8 million.
The company's aggressive expansion program has been under an operating policy that it describes as ``The look, the name, the price.''
That means, according to the company's annual report, stocking fashionable, current season and primarily name-brand merchandise, displaying it as would a traditional department store or fine specialty shop, but selling at prices competitive with off-price retail chains. The company claims its prices are 25 percent to 60 percent below those in specialty stores.
The company said it features moderate to designer brand-name apparel for women, men and children, as well as accessories, gifts and linens. Stein Mart stores also contain leased shoe departments.
Ladies and boutique apparel account for about a third of the chain's sales, with ladies accessories adding another 11 percent. Men's and young men's clothing contribute 22 percent, shoes 9 percent and children's 6 percent. Gifts and linens account for 18 percent.
A unique Stein Mart feature is its women's boutique, which Hofheimer called a store within a store. Boutique merchandise is intended to attract more fashion-conscious customers to the chain. It carries better to designer apparel and offers services typical of a specialty shop.
The boutique section, Hofheimer said, is staffed by what Stein Mart calls its ``boutique ladies.'' These usually are women who are well-connected through civic and social ties in the community and who work one day a week at Stein Mart in return for a small salary and a discount on their own clothing purchases. These women keep records of the tastes and sizes of their friends, acting as personal shoppers and calling their customers to come to the store when fashions suitable for them arrive.
In a 1992 article about the boutique ladies program, The Wall Street Journal said most Stein Mart stores have waiting lists of women eager to work one day a week. They escape the evening hours of the regular staff, of which they are not members.
In its annual report, Stein Mart said it offers customer service superior to off-price retailers and more comparable to upscale stores.
Menswear consists of sportswear, suits, sport coats, slacks and dress furnishings, including branded and private-label neckwear and dress shirts. In recent years, Stein Mart said, this category has been expanded to include a separate ``big and tall'' presentation in most stores.
Gift and linen departments offer primarily gifts for the home, rather than basic items, and a range of table, bath and bed linens.
The company said it typically spends $400,000 to $650,000 for fixtures, equipment, training and other costs for a new store. Initial inventory for a new store is worth about $1 million. Stein Mart said its new stores typically generate an operating profit in the first year.
by CNB