Clothes horse

Beall's Outlet Stores, the chain that cemented its name selling wares to discount-hungry retirees and seniors, is on a perception-alteration mission.

“We are probably the most pleasant surprise place to shop,” says Beall's Outlet President Dave Alves. “That's because people don't realize we have all this (other) stuff now. We need to get people to come back and visit.”

Alves, hired in October to replace longtime Beall's executive Conrad Szymanski, who retired, doesn't discount the key role the over-55 set plays for the company. But the focus now is to brand the chain in a family-friendly way, he says, where young moms will bring their kids.

That mission is so important to Alves that two weeks into the job he took a picture on his Blackberry of a circa-1940s poster ad that hangs in Beall's Inc. Chairman Bob Beall's office. The ad reads: “We outfit the family for less.” Alves keeps that picture on his phone's photo roll and refers to it often with employees.

The family-focused rebrand takes on several elements, some subtle, others overt. Gone inside the stores, for example, is what Alves calls a “hydroponic farm of clothes racks.” Those have been replaced by a de-cluttered four-way pod system of merchandise, where stores are made up of small mini-sections. That allows store managers to use space better, says Alves, and provide a broader selection of merchandise.

There are other changes. Stores have lower fixtures and lights, for instance, which Alves says are more customer-friendly and appealing. Several new fashion brands are in the product mix, too, and the color red is more prominent in the stores and marketing materials. Finally, Beall's Outlet and its sister business, Burke's Outlet, both have new logos and a revamped tagline: more brands, big savings.

Alves reports to Beall's Inc. CEO Steve Knopik. The Beall's Outlet and Burke's Outlet divisions, with 460 stores in 17 states, are in a separate unit from the Beall's department store chain.

Beall's Inc., which Robert Beall Sr. founded in 1915, launched the outlet division in 1987 and expanded out of Florida in 1992. The unit has since grown consistently for Beall's Inc., which had about $1.23 billion in 2012 sales, up 5.6% from $1.17 billion in 2011.

Discount chains nationwide, in fact, are doing well, from dollar stores up to high-end players like Nordstrom Rack. “Off-price is the darling of retail,” Alves says. “People always want great value.”

Alves is confident Beall's Outlet will provide that value, with the new brand message in tow. He says the 460-store count might stay roughly the same over the next year or so, with consolidations and closings of underperforming locations balancing out new stores. He instead targets a total annual square-foot growth rate of about 8% to 10%.

That square-footage growth, adds Alves, will come outside Florida, from states like Arizona, Georgia and Texas. Alves will focus on square-foot growth because sales per square foot is a key retail metric of success — or what needs improvement.

Nonetheless, with each growth move Alves says he will monitor two elements: Can the decision be defendable against competitors, and can it be scalable for growth?

For example, Alves says he will open new stores or expand current ones in shopping centers where competitors T.J. Maxx or Ross already have locations. At a minimum, he won't shy away from a battle. “We have a position of strength,” says Alves. “We don't have to run and hide.”