Published: October 24, 2007 11:36 am         

Peebles opens store in Kosciusko

Peebles department store opened its doors in Kosciusko Wednesday with a grand opening complete with free giveaways and prizes.

The store, which is part of Stage Stores, Inc. based in Houston, Texas, offers moderately priced, nationally recognized brand name and private label apparel, accessories, cosmetics and footwear for the entire family through over 675 stores in 34 states.

The company operates under the Bealls, Palais Royal and Stage trade names throughout the South Central states, and under the Peebles trade name throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Southeastern, Midwestern and New England states.

The company's focus is on consumers in small to mid-size markets. The company has recognized the high level of brand awareness and demand for fashionable, quality apparel by consumers in small and mid-size markets and has identified these markets as a profitable and under-served niche.

Utilizing a 10-mile radius from each store, approximately 68 percent of the company's stores are located in small towns and communities with populations below 50,000 people, while an additional 18 percent of the company's stores are located in mid-sized communities with populations between 50,000 and 150,000 people.

The remainder of the company's stores are located in metropolitan areas, such as Houston and San Antonio, Texas.

In targeting small to mid-size markets, the company has developed a store format, ranging in size from approximately 5,100 to 52,000 selling square feet, which is smaller than typical department stores yet large enough to offer a well edited, but broad selection of merchandise.

With an average size store of approximately 18,500 selling square feet, approximately 80 percent of the company's stores are located in strategically positioned strip shopping centers in which they are typically one of the anchor stores.

The company believes that it is able to differentiate itself from the competition in the small and mid-size towns and communities in which it operates by offering consumers access to a broader selection of basic, as well as fashionable, nationally recognized brand name merchandise not typically carried by other retailers in the same market area.