Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 19, 1995 TAG: 9507190036
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Stein Mart spokeswoman Susan Edelman did not have a specific employment figure for the company's first Western Virginia operation, but said that Stein Mart stores typically employ 65 to 70 people. The store manager will be brought in from an existing Stein Mart, she said. The rest of the hiring will begin in four to six weeks, she said.
The Jacksonville, Fla.-based chain considers itself a hybrid between department stores and off-price retailers, Edelman said. Stein Mart sells name-brand apparel for men, women and children at prices that are 25 to 60 percent below regular department- and specialty-store prices. The stores also sell household linens, gifts, shoes and accessories.
Stein Mart also will offer upscale women's apparel in boutique departments, a store-within-a-store concept that has become a Stein Mart trademark. The boutiques carry designer women's clothing in a specialty-store atmosphere. They are staffed by "boutique ladies," women who typically are selected more for their social and civic connections than for their retail experience.
Stein Mart opened its first store in Greenville, Miss., in the early 1900s. Since then, it has expanded to more than 80 stores across the Southeast and as far west as Arizona.
The Stein Mart opening is part of a larger renovation for Tanglewood Mall, according to Judy Tullius, who manages the mall for Kane Realty Corp. of Raleigh, N.C. The mall, which now leases to 101 tenants, was last renovated in 1985. The construction project is intended to update the look of the mall and make it more attractive both to potential customers and tenants, Tullius said.
Expansion of the TJ Maxx store into the upper level of the mall should be completed by early winter, Tullius said. The store will be expanding its clothing department as well as adding more housewares. It is moving into the upper-level space formerly occupied by a sporting goods store.
Within the next few weeks, additional escalators will be installed next to the escalators at each end of the mall, Tullius said. Work on lighting, floors and other interior fixtures will begin in the spring. Stationary planters will be replaced with movable ones that will permit more flexibility for holding marketing events, and the fountains also will be removed.
A grand reopening of the mall is planned for September 1996.
by CNB