Eastern Mountain Sports will hold the grand opening of two new stores in Newark, DE and Nanuet, NY on November 4-5. The Newark, DE store totals 17,000 square feet and the Nanuet, NY store totals 14,000 square feet. These new showcase stores are part of the Companys ongoing retail expansion strategy which includes plans to open or relocate eight stores in 2007, three of which will be in the Mid-Atlantic area.
The new showcase stores are tailored towards the outdoor athlete and encompass a strong community connection by offering local resources to plan outdoor outings, superior customer service through authentic and knowledgeable expertise from outdoor athlete guides and easy access to stores. Eastern Mountain Sports will host a rope-cutting ceremony to open each store.
“We are continuing to uphold our competitive retail brand profile and are currently considering up to 17 new store locations in the next three years,” said Will Manzer, President and CEO of Eastern Mountain Sports. “Our new stores portray our customers' point of view of what an outdoor retailer should offer – including the expertise of a local outfitter, cutting-edge products from leading outdoor brands and an authentic environment to hang out and feel comfortable with their friends.”
The stores utilize reclaimed machine-shop fixtures, recycled rubber floor mats, and exposed ceilings and floors to decrease material consumption. Also included in the layout is a bike, ski and snowboard tuning station, community lounge outfitted with couches and chairs, WiFi kiosks, resources to plan outings and an interactive Tech-Center stocked with global positioning systems, heart rate monitors and compasses.
Led by President and CEO Will Manzer, Eastern Mountain Sports continues to execute the Companys growth plan since its 2004 management-led purchase.
“We have made great progress on our buyout plan, which has included heavy recruitment efforts through the past two years leading to the strongest management team the brand has ever possessed,” stated Manzer. “Were actively repositioning our overall product assortment alongside
our web and retail development platforms to better serve the outdoor athlete.”
Recent key executive hires include Robert K. Mayerson and Mike Corey. Mayerson joined as
Executive Vice President, CFO and COO to help establish the Companys framework for strategic
growth. He spent more than 10 years at Staples, Inc. and most recently was the Senior Vice
President of Finance and Treasurer. Corey joined as Chief Development Officer to help build the
retail portfolio and strategy. He was most recently Vice President, Franchise and Emerging Brand
Development at Blockbuster, Inc.
Eastern Mountain Sports website is a key driver of business, in addition to the brick and mortar development. The site was recently overhauled to provide superior online
shopping experience. The Company has doubled its website business in the last two years. Other key Eastern Mountain Sports initiatives include a fall college marketing push and targeted direct marketing efforts.
