ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 23, 1997 TAG: 9704230039
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL THE ROANOKE TIMES
Because the store buys close-out merchandise from other stores, when an item is gone, it's gone for good.
Its name notwithstanding, Tuesday Morning will open Thursday at 8 a.m.
And you'll be able to shop at the new houseware and gift store Sunday through Saturday, although not during January, July or the first week in February.
Confused yet? You're not alone. Store manager Linda Weidner said the store, behind Kenny Rogers Roasters on the upper level of Towers Shopping Center, has attracted plenty of attention even before its opening.
The Roanoke shop is part of the 300-store Tuesday Morning Corp., a Dallas-based chain that sells name-brand merchandise at prices that the company says are 50 percent to 80 percent below department store prices. The company buys close-out merchandise from manufacturers of gifts, crystal, luggage, linens, toys and seasonal items.
On Tuesday morning, the corporation reported profits of $744,000, or 9 cents per share of its common stock for the quarter ended March 31 vs. a net loss of $676,000, equal to 9 cents per share a year earlier. Sales rose to $47.5 million compared with $35.7 million in the first quarter of 1996. The company's stock is traded on the Nasdaq stock market.
There are several explanations for company's unusual name. One tale holds that the founder, Lloyd Ross, started the business out of his garage and was open only on - you guessed it - Tuesday mornings. Another version says that Ross at one time delivered the Saturday Evening Post and simply liked the idea of including a day in the company's name.
Whatever the origin, the store's name has mystified customers already, Weidner said. She's gotten several calls from people who just couldn't understand why the shop is opening on Thursday instead of Tuesday.
To further confuse shoppers, Tuesday Morning stores aren't open year-round. Instead, they open four times a year, for six to 10 weeks at a time, during peak shopping seasons. Customers can pick up schedules in the store.
Nor does the inventory remain consistent. One month, shoppers may find a huge selection of Farberware pots and pans; the next month, the store may be packed with Ralph Lauren bed linens. And if something sells out, even on the first day it is offered, it doesn't get restocked.
For Weidner, who has worked in retail for years, the idea of selling until your shelves are bare takes some getting used to. "We were always told, 'Keep your aisles stocked,''' she said. "I think I'm probably going to be doing a lot of explaining. Here, when the stuff goes, it goes."
So expect long lines of bargain hunters the first day of every sales period. Weidner said she's heard of people arriving at stores as early as 5 or 6 a.m. and camping out in lawn chairs.
Perhaps, then, it's fitting that Tuesday Morning occupies a space that once housed a dance studio.
"We may have some line dancing out here," Weidner said with a laugh. "Because they say people will stand in line for hours to get in."
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JANEL RHODA THE ROANOKE TIMES. 1. Linda Weidner, managerby CNBof the new store in Towers Shopping Center, says the shop will be
open four times a year, for six to 10 weeks at a time, during peak
shopping seasons. Customers can pick up schedules in the store. 2. &
3. Knickknacks, gifts, crystal, luggage, linens, toys and seasonal
items are just some of the things Tuesday Morning will stock.
color.