Sunday, October 26, 2008
Shops move to new storefront
Jenny Kincaid Boone
Jenny reports on the latest news on the Roanoke Valley retail industry.
Recent stories
Visibility is essential in retail. That's one reason that an eclectic women's boutique shifted to a new space in Southwest Roanoke County earlier this month. And last week, a formalwear shop followed.
Pink, a shop formerly located at West Village, moved out of this Roanoke County retail center and into a new storefront at 4097 Electric Road, near Tanglewood Mall.
Michelle Jackson, owner of Pink, said she made the switch because her clothing and accessories shop on West Village's upper level was hidden. It wasn't easy for passers-by to spot.
Calling West Village "a destination place," Jackson said, "My store is something you need to be able to see the windows and catch people's eyes."
In the new space, Jackson has added several different clothing and accessory lines, such as Naughty Monkey shoes, Big Buddha bags, Miss Me Couture and Ed Hardy. The assortment includes casual and dressy apparel suited for teen customers and older.
Another store has followed Jackson's lead. Last week , Jackson's mother, Bonnie Jackson, moved her shop offering evening wear and tuxedo rentals into the same building as Pink, but on its upper level.
Bonnie Jackson owns Patina Formals, which had been located beside Pink at West Village.
She said she shifted the store mainly to complement Pink. Also, she is an owner of the building at 4097 Electric Road. It's the former location of her previous store, Patina Bridal & Formal Wear.
With a focus on formal wear, Bonnie Jackson said she's planning to pump up her shop's prom dress selection in the spring. Girls on the hunt for prom dresses each year are a lucrative customer base.
"We have more prom [business] than ever coming in," Bonnie Jackson said.
Meanwhile, it's unclear what new retailers will move into the former Pink and Patina Formals spaces at West Village. Real estate agents who lease space for this retail center did not return calls for comment.
CardSmart
On Dec. 31, a greeting card shop that has been in business for the past decade will close its doors.
CardSmart, located beside Wal-Mart at the Hunting Hills Plaza in Roanoke, is closing, and all of its merchandise is discounted.
The owner, Mason Haynesworth, said his lease is up at the retail center. He's not renewing his lease, because the owners of the center are raising rental rates.
There are other reasons why Haynesworth does not want to lock into a 10-year lease agreement, including the fact that he no longer is confident in the store's location.
Haynesworth said he has lost significant customer traffic at the shop with the closing of nearby Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts earlier this year. And now that Wal-Mart has revived plans to build a supercenter in Clearbrook, the retailer would close the smaller Wal-Mart beside CardSmart. That move would take away more business from Haynesworth's store.
"We need that traffic to survive," he said, explaining that he also experienced a business drop when Wal-Mart opened its supercenter in Bonsack. Customers who once shopped at the U.S. 220 Wal-Mart began shopping in Bonsack, he said.
Haynesworth said he has considered moving CardSmart elsewhere in the Roanoke Valley, but he has not secured a new space for the shop.
Bookkeeping Express
A company that offers bookkeeping services only to small businesses is scouting the Roanoke Valley for a franchisee to build a local presence.
Bookkeeping Express, based in McLean, is growing its enterprise through franchises, and it has chosen central and southwest parts of Virginia as its next area for expansion, said Greg Jones, chief executive officer and a partner in the company. The firm is specifically targeting the Roanoke Valley and Charlottesville, with the possibility of hiring a franchisee to cover both markets, he said.
Jones claims that Bookkeeping Express charges less than other firms that offer bookkeeping services.
"We bring the expertise and quality of a CPA [certified public accountant] firm with the economic costs of an independent [firm]," he said. "Small business owners ... they need somebody like this."
Bookkeeping Express seeks areas where there are small businesses with gross revenues of $200,000 to $2.5 million a year. In Roanoke and Roanoke County, there are more than 2,300 businesses that fit this criteria, Jones said.
His goal is to find a franchisee by the end of the year.
News from the Storefront blog at blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/storefront/
n Native Grace, selling fair trade coffee, fabric merchandise and tea, is a new store planned for downtown Roanoke.
n McAlister's Deli will open on or near Nov. 17 at Towers Shopping Center in Roanoke.
n Schewels' new furniture store has opened in Roanoke on Ferncliff Avenue.
