THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996 TAG: 9606260611
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 43 lines
You've watched the jewel pendants, gas grills, dresses and tool belts showcased on the tube. Now you can get off the couch and examine the shopping network's goods in person.
QVC Network Inc., the well-known cable television purveyor of goods, is opening a retail outlet in Virginia Beach on July 3.
Located in Loehmann's Plaza, in the space once occupied by Herman's Sporting Goods, QVC will offer product overruns, seconds, samples and returns. The store joins a strong lineup of outlet retailers and discount shops already in the shopping center, including the Baby Superstore, Loehmann's women's apparel and Lillian Vernon.
This is the West Chester, Pa.-based company's first outlet store in Hampton Roads and the first outside its Pennsylvania and Delaware home turf. QVC's first store opened eight years ago, said Diana Capirano, district manager of retail stores for QVC.
After a six-month search spanning from New Jersey to Virginia, QVC chose Virginia Beach because of its strong corporate identity among Hampton Roads residents.
``I felt that the one thing that drove my decision are our QVC on-air customers,'' Capirano said. `We're pretty hooked into the cable in the area and people love it. There's a lot of name recognition.''
She said that the company's call center in Chesapeake and distribution facility in Suffolk helped establish that familiarity among area residents.
The Virginia Beach Boulevard location will be the retailer's largest store, covering 10,000 square feet. It's envisioned as a prototype of future QVC retail space with its new design and fixtures, which differ from previous stores, Capirano said.
The product line includes everything from clothing, books, linens, tools and jewelry. About 40 percent of the merchandise mix is jewelry that ranges in price from a few dollars to thousands.
``I liken it to a small department store,'' said Capirano. ``Lots of collectibles.''
QVC expects to hire about 50 employees for the new store, Capirano said, and 36 have already been put on the payroll. Only the manager and the assistant manager transferred from other locations.
QVC nailed down the Loehmann's Plaza site in October. by CNB