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Extra-large expansion: Clothing retailer Coldwater Creek needs room to grow(Charleston Gazette, The (WV) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 12--Business is growing so fast at apparel retailer Coldwater Creek that it has run out of space at its sprawling distribution center in Mineral Wells. The women's clothing company, which does business at traditional stores as well as through catalog and Internet orders, expects to add 300 locations over the next four years. The company's profit in its last fiscal year surged more than 60 percent, to $132.4 million. "If sales hadn't grown at the rate they have, we really wouldn't have the need for additional space," says company spokesman David Gunter. Coldwater's clothes are really catching on with its target customers, women ages 35 to 60, he said. "It is merchandise that is stopping [customers] in her tracks and pulling them in the door," he said. To cope with the demand, Coldwater is expanding the 600,000-square-foot facility by about 60 percent. Begun in December, the project should be finished sometime this fall. The center, which sits about a mile past the Mineral Wells exit of Interstate 77, opened in 1998 and has been Coldwater's only distribution hub since 2002. Also on the campus is a call center. The Wood County Development Authority built the facility, estimated to cost $25 million, and leases it back to Coldwater. The agency is also funding the expansion, which was planned as part of the deal to locate in West Virginia, Gunter said. The state also chipped in building money, provided low-interest loans and helped upgrade the road leading to the center. Coldwater Creek is making an investment for storage racking in the project, Gunter said, but he wouldn't say how much the company is spending. Right now, there are 174 stores, which account for about 60 percent of sales. Internet and catalog orders generate the rest. The distribution center employs about 750 people, but the staff swells to more than 1,000 during its busiest times, between October and December. Coldwater moved its distribution operations to Mineral Wells from its headquarters in Sandpoint, Idaho, to save on shipping costs. West Virginia is central to 70 percent of Coldwater's customers. "We feel it is very important to keep our distribution together," said Gerard El Chaar, senior vice president of operations. It's also important to maintain a casual, worker-friendly environment at the plant, he said. El Chaar, for instance, prefers jeans and a button-down shirt to a fancy suit. While walking through the facility, he greets everyone by first name. "It's really a family atmosphere," he said. The facility has its own cafeteria, child-care center, a full-time nurse and employee-shopping center. Coldwater also pays "nearly all" of employees' health insurance premiums and sponsors a 401(k) retirement plan, Gunter said. The idea is to keep employees around, he said. "A lot of people have been with us since we opened," he said. "We have a really nice continuum. We get these great people and we really do bend over backwards for them." For El Chaar, who has worked abroad and in other U.S. cities, the employees are one of the state's greatest assets because of their work ethic. "From a work-force perspective, it's a hidden gem," he said. "This is an unbelievable place to work. ... I'm so proud of the people we have." To contact staff writer Sarah K. Winn, use e-mail or call 348-5156. |