Eastern Mountain Sports newest store in North Conway, N.H. hit $1 million in sales in its first six weeks and is running 80% ahead of plan, according to senior executives B.O.S.S. visited in The Granite State.
The success of the store validates the companys latest store design and location criteria and positions the company to advance to the next phase of its turnaround – saturating New England and the Mid-Atlantic with 90 stores by 2012, said CEO and President Will Manzer.
“Today Im 100% convinced we can replicate what weve got,” said Mazner, noting that the company has become much better at finding locations that work for its target customer.
The 18,000-square-foot store was opened in late June along a section of Route 16 that has become a shopping mecca for tourists visiting the White Mountains. The store replaced one half its size that had operated for more than 30 years from the lobby of a historic inn about four miles down Route 16 in downtown North Conway.
The new store features a towering gabled entrance of windows and exposed wooden beams surrounded by a sea of parking.
It is highly visible along a strip that includes an L.L. Bean outlet and two other outfitters. Approximately 3,000 square feet is used by the companys climbing school, but the remainder is dedicated to retail.
Manzer calls the 15,000-square-foot format “Version 3.0” because it reflects the latest iteration since he lead a management buyout and turnaround of the retailer in 2004. The same layout has worked in suburban markets like Warrington, PA and urban communities like Harvard Square near Boston.
Eastern Mountain Sports has closed 44 stores since 2003 and opened 29. It now operates 66, including 14 in the new format, which Manzer says are behind three consecutive quarters of comp growth.
Under what Manzer calls a “gitty up” plan, the company would raise capital next year to build the 90 stores by 2012. If capital markets dont allow that, Manzer said it could take another two years to reach that goal.
