Posted 11:15 am Sunday, March 07, 2010
In The Works: Bealls Opening Second Tyler Location
By BRIAN PEARSON
Staff Writer
Less than two years after Goody's, Linens 'N Things and Circuit City evaporated from Tyler's retail scene, all three box spaces are on the brink of being filled.
Staff Writer
Less than two years after Goody's, Linens 'N Things and Circuit City evaporated from Tyler's retail scene, all three box spaces are on the brink of being filled.
It started last year with Lifeway Christian Bookstore and the Ulta beauty-products filling the Goody's void.
Now, a second Bealls -- whose original company was once based in Jacksonville -- will open in the former Linens 'N Things space near the intersection of Rice and Old Bullard Roads.
Houston-based company spokeswoman Kim Bell said the store is set to open April 28. The current store at 1934 East Southeast Loop 323 will remain open, Ms. Bell said.
"I know it's an older store," she said of the first location. "We've been there for quite some time. Tyler is one of our better stores. It's one of our bigger markets as far as sales are concerned."
Ms. Bell said it was that store's success that led the company to decide to make Tyler part of its national expansion plans.
Bealls, whose parent company, Stage Stores Inc., still has a Jacksonville distribution center, for decades has been a retail staple in cities large and small. The once family owned Bealls was founded in the 1920s.
Stage was formed in 1988 when Palais Royal management and several venture capital firms acquired Bealls and Palais Royal chains, according to written account of Stage history. At the time, Palais Royal operated mostly larger stores in and around Houston, while Bealls primarily operated smaller stores in rural Texas towns.
Through 1993, the company focused on integrating the two department-store chains and developing a growth strategy, with an eye on underserved markets nationwide.
The company the next year aggressively pursued small markets and acquired 45 stores from Beall-Ladymon. The acquisition of 34 stores from Uhlman's followed in 1996.
The next year, the company purchased the 246-store C.R. Anthony Co. Stage also stayed busy opening new stores, rising to 688 spread out over 34 states by 1999.
Stage then struggled due to executive-level turnover, inflexible capital structure and retail-market changes. In 2000, Stage filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
During the reorganization, Stage whittled the number of stores to 342 in only 13 states by September 2001, the same year it emerged from Chapter 11.
Getting back into growth mode, Stage in 2003 acquired the Virginia-based Peebles, Inc., which operated 136 stores in 17 states. Stage also resumed opening stores, adding 92 by 2005.
The next year, the company expanded in the Southeast with the purchase of B.C. Moore & Sons, which had 78 retail locations spread over four states.
In early 2009, competitor Goody's Department Stores went out of business, and Stage acquired the Goody's name through a bankruptcy auction. The company uses the name in select new store markets.
Today, Stage, a publicly traded company, has 760 stores spread over 39 states, according to the company Web site. It operates stores under five names: Bealls, Goody's, Palais Royal, Peebles and Stage. It has 210 Bealls locations.
Ms. Bell said the company opened 30 stores last year and has plans to open another 30 this year.
"Our niche is basically small-town America," she said. "We are the alternative to Walmart. We provide name-brand fashion at reasonable prices. We also have brands that are exclusive to us, which are also fashion- and value-driven."
"We are in a conservative expansion mode. Prior to the recession, we were opening 70 stores a year."
Ms. Bell said grand opening festivities for the new Bealls in Tyler on April 28 will include prizes, shopping passes and discounts.
"It's always a lot of fun," she said. "We have fun, great grand openings."
Mark Whatley of Burns Commercial Properties said the Bealls opening stands in stark contrast to the retail woes nationwide.
"That is good news," he said. "I'm surprised, (considering) the way these retailers are cutting back. It's the first retailer who is expanding in a long while."
The good retail news does not end with Bealls, he said. A tenant soon is expected to lease the space that once housed the now-defunct Circuit City, located near the corner of Broadway Avenue and Rice Road, he said.
He added because metro markets are saturated with retail outlets, companies are turning their attention to smaller markets such as Tyler.
"Most of the people I'm talking to are (looking) in the 15,000- to 20,000-square-foot range," Whatley said. "We have seen some increased activity in national and regional retailers in the last few weeks."
Have a new business? Curious about a construction project? Contact Brian Pearson at bpearson@tylerpaper.com or 903-596-6280.
