THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 14, 1995 TAG: 9507140466
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Caldor Corp., the Norwalk, Conn.-based discount chain, is joining the battle for Hampton Roads shoppers with plans to open eight area stores, most within the next year.
The discounter already has snagged at least four sites. It will break ground Wednesday on its first site, located in Chesapeake's Greenbrier section.
Sites for other stores include a proposed shopping center in Portsmouth's Churchland community, another in the Princess Anne area of Virginia Beach and a fourth in the Kiln Creek section of York County, real estate sources said.
The company also was looking at two other properties in Virginia Beach, one in Norfolk and two in Hampton, sources said. The exact locations were not available.
Most of the stores are tentatively scheduled to open next spring; the others likely will open the following year.
The 163-store chain has moved quickly because several other big-name retailers have joined the hunt for good locations, which have become scarce and expensive.
When Caldor debuts here, it will clash with a host of big discounters: Wal-Mart, Kmart, Rose's and Hills Stores. It also will vie with Target and SuperKmart, which plan to open several discount stores in the region.
``It sounds very crowded to me,'' said Kenneth M. Gassman Jr., a retail analyst with Richmond brokerage Davenport & Co. ``With that many broadbased, mass-market discount merchants, there will be some fallout.
``Some won't make it.''
Gassman said the larger national chains will have a better chance of grabbing market share than regional players like Rose's Stores Inc., which recently emerged from bankruptcy.
Caldor, founded in 1951 by Carl and Dorothy Bennett in a building loft in Port Chester, N.Y., went public in 1991. Since then, it has grown to a 163-store chain with sales of $2.8 billion last year. In addition to Hampton Roads, Caldor also has been concentrating on expansions in Washington and New York City.
The discount chain has focused on differentiating itself from its competitors.
``Our power areas are much more fashion focused,'' said Gary Vasques, a company spokesman. ``We have a lot of name-brand and department-store brands.''
The company's new format is often more upscale than that of its competitors, said Sally Wallick, an analyst with Legg Mason Wood Walker.
``The jewelry area, for example, has a nice look,'' Wallick said. ``It's right out front in a well-defined space. It's something you might not expect to see in a discount store.''
Caldor also sets itself apart from rivals by keeping its options open. It often moves to ``inside-the-beltway'' locations, or urban areas, that have been abandoned by other major retailers. The company also is willing to take over existing buildings and operate multilevel stores.
``The company is not bound by a set formula,'' Caldor said in its 1994 annual report. ``We have gained experience in operating nontraditional sites, and use this to our advantage.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color graphic by Ken Wright, Staff
by CNB