Famous Footware, Maurices going in strip mall

A two-store strip mall with a Famous Footwear and a Maurices outlet should be open in November.
Lynette Gohner, first assistant manager at Maurices in Jamestown, said that the new store would be carrying the same fashion and apparel as the mall store. They will also be keeping the same staff from the Buffalo Mall store that will close prior to the grand opening, she added.
“We will be opening in the new location this fall season, leading into the holiday shopping,” Gohner said. “We’re happy that we are growing in the community as we have been a solid retail branch here since the late 1970s, with almost 40 years here in Jamestown.”
The two-unit, 9,975-square-foot stripmall is under construction across the parking lot from Walmart at 809 26th St. SW. The 136-by-70-foot mercantile structure will cost an estimated $738,000.
“We are turning the bay over to the tenants on the 15th of August and they will have some of their own build-out and fixtures,” said building owner Patrick Flynn of Jamestown Development Group LLC. “We expect that they could open as early as October.”
Flynn, and building designer Cedar Corp., both based out of Menomonie, Wis., is developing another four-unit strip mall in Devils Lake. Also across from a Walmart, the Devils Lake location will house a Maurices, an AT&T store, a Dollar Tree and one more unit to be filled.
Flynn said he does a lot of development with Walmart outparcels in the Midwest. There are deed-restricted uses, but these two projects did not run into conflicting issues.
Famous Footwear is owned by Caleres Inc., a St. Louis, Mo.-based global footwear company that has 15 sourcing companies under its wing. The Jamestown store will open sometime this fall, according to Famous Footwear spokesperson Dana Rueda of Nunez PR Group.
“Famous Footwear is hiring about 10 to 12 store associates,” Rueda said. “The grand opening will feature several activities including free shoes for shoppers who visit the store, weekly free shoe drawings and an appearance from a local radio station.”
The Duluth-based Maurices is an 84-year-old clothing and accessories retailer with 930 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Maurices continues to grow with an average of 50 new outlets per year - and not including the relocations and expansions, according to Jeff Holmes, vice president, Maurices Real Estate.
“That is one thing about retail, it is alway changing,” Holmes said. “Something we are really excited about is that we will have this new decor in Jamestown as an investment for the long term.”
The decision to move the Jamestown and Devils Lake stores closer to Wal-Mart has a lot to do with accessing daily traffic, Holmes said. The big box stores like Walmart are an anchor that drives more customers to every store around them, he added.
“The new 5,000-square-foot store and decor is designed to capitalize on that traffic,” Holmes said. “The Maurices design will not be that different and will resemble the stores that we have been rolling out for the past five years.”
The changes are about better understanding the market and the consumer, he added. The stores and merchandise reflect what Maurices marketing finds that women are looking for in fashion in the large metro areas and the small markets.
“There is just a lot of demand for really good, fashionable merchandise at a good price,” Holmes said.
The smaller stores carry much of the same merchandise as the large Maurices stores, but maybe not the variety of colors and sizes, Holmes said. If a customer finds merchandise in the store but her preferred size or color isn’t available then she can order that from Maurices online.
“The assortment will be similar but we are constantly updating with a newer flow of merchandise through the stores,” Holmes said.
Sun reporter Tom LaVenture can be reached at 701-952-8455 or by email at tlaventure@jamestownsun.com