2011: Anniversaries of Our Past Make Our Future

Warehouse shoe retailer coming to ex-Reed & Cross site.(Business)(DSW Shoes, with headquarters in Ohio and 277 stores nationally, is opening a third Oregon branch in Eugene)

The Register Guard (Eugene, OR) September 12, 2008 Byline: Joe Mosley The Register-Guard The numbers are in: 16,061 square feet; 30,000 pairs of shoes; 2,000 shoe styles.

And this one: Oct. 16.

DSW Shoes will open its new Eugene location in just over a month, at the former site of Reed & Cross – across Oakway Road from the Oakway Center. web site dsw printable coupons

The store will offer what the company’s Web site (www.dswshoes.com) describes as a “sea of shoes” approach to merchandising, with an extensive inventory of name-brand and house-brand shoes.

“DSW takes great pride in kind of catering to the passionate shoe enthusiast,” said Austin Barger, a spokesman at the company’s Columbus, Ohio headquarters.

The chain, which operates 277 stores in 37 states, features a self-service format in which customers help themselves to shoes on racks. It also offers a popular “loyalty program” that allows shoppers to earn certificates that are good for future purchases.

DSW stores – the acronym stands for “Designer Shoe Warehouse” – carry designer dress, casual and athletic shoes from more than 200 brands: from Adrienne Vittadini to Zoo York; from Asics to New Balance; and from Birkenstock to Teva.

“We offer thousands of shoes in the latest styles,” Barger said. “DSW offers brand names, but we do have some proprietary products, as well.” The company’s newest stores all feature hardwood floors, brick walls and interior “accent walls” signed with DSW phrases. The stores are equipped with modern fixtures and sleek merchandise displays, according to company descriptions.

The Eugene store will be DSW’s third in Oregon, following outlets in Portland and Lake Oswego.

Barger said the decision to open a store in Eugene came down to the city’s size and location, relative to the chain’s overall expansion plans. It was not clear if any recent demographic trends factored into siting a store in Eugene.

“The best way to say it is that the opening is a recognition of demand for DSW in the Eugene market,” Barger said. “We’re opening at least 35 new stores this year, and that one has been part of our plans.” He said the company also has been targeting so-called lifestyle centers such as the nearby Oakway Center, which mix retail operations with leisure amenities that are oriented toward upscale shoppers.

Barger declined to discuss the company’s costs in getting the new store up and running, but information submitted to Eugene’s Planning & Development Department lists construction costs for the new building at $1.05 million.

The building will be leased from the Robinson family of Eugene, which previously owned Reed & Cross and continues to have other land holdings near the new store. The Robinsons closed their flower and gift shop in January and demolished the building in February to make room for DSW.

The Reed & Cross name, floral department fixtures and delivery vans were then purchased in April by Gray’s Garden Centers, which melded the business into its store at 737 W. Sixth Ave. in Eugene.

DSW (NYSE: DSW) opened its first store under that name in 1991, in Dublin, Ohio. It was purchased by Value City Department Stores, Inc., in 1998, and then became a publicly-traded company in 2005. in our site dsw printable coupons

The company’s stock closed Thursday at $15.06, for no gain over the previous day’s trading. Its 52-week range is $10.10 to $29.92.

Roxanne Meyer, a retail analyst with Oppenheimer & Co., described DSW at a conference in July as “still an early-stage growth story.” DSW will operate its new outlet kitty-corner across Oakway Road from Burch’s Fine Footwear, one of Eugene-Springfield’s largest and oldest shoe stores. Other footwear shops at Oakway Center include Miss Meers Shoe Boutique, which opened in May on the west side of the shopping center, along with the Eugene Running Co. on Oakway’s north side and the recently-opened Nike Store in a stand-alone building near the intersection of Oakway and Coburg roads.

Barger, the DSW spokesman, did not comment on the nearby competition other than to say DSW’s formula typically holds its own.

The company anticipates hiring 25 to 30 employees, including managers, for its Eugene store.