Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, August 6, 1995                   TAG: 9508070006
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BECKY HEPLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Long

OUTLET STORES CAPITALIZE ON NEW TREND - SAVING MONEY

Shoppers who used to think a dream vacation was a weekend in the outlet sprawl of Reading, Pa., or Burlington, N.C., can satisfy their bargain cravings in the New River Valley these days.

"Why chase that sale when you can shop here at your convenience and still get the savings," said Leslie Whiting, manager for Virginia Apparel Outlet, citing the main selling point of outlet stores.

The norm of '90s outlet shopping is the Factory Merchants Mall in Fort Chiswell, where name-brand manufacturers cluster their shops to sell clothes and housewares directly to the public.

In the heart of the New River Valley, Blacksburg has two outlet stores. Virginia Apparel Outlet on the U.S. 460 bypass targets the professional woman but also offers clothing for men and children. Downtown on Main Street, TGIF angles for the student market with discounted catalog fare from L.L. Bean, Victoria's Secret and J. Crew.

In Christiansburg, Donnkenny, on North Franklin Street, sees its customer base as older women, but its recent line of cartoon-character apparel caters to a younger market. This line is handled primarily in the Donnkenny Characters store at the Factory Merchants Mall in Fort Chiswell, though a few irregulars can be found in the Christiansburg store.

The original outlets, often right on the factory grounds, let manufacturers profit from their mistakes: odd and unpopular sizes or colors, and items that couldn't be sold in retail stores.

Shoppers came to see outlet stores as inexpensive, but with little selection and the risk of overlooking a flaw. A good buy was the result of luck plus time; the lower prices weren't always worth the effort.

Today's outlets take less effort, since most stores now attach tags pointing out flaws. The larger selection frequently includes first-quality goods, such as sales samples or returned stock from catalog dealers. Sometimes, overruns are the result of bad positioning, and a sweater that won't move in Florida is snapped up in Pennsylvania. Other times, overruns are the result of bad luck, as bankrupt businesses cancel orders, leaving the manufacturer to sell the inventory.

Donnkenny Fashion Outlet in Christiansburg is a true factory outlet, located next door to its local factory. The store inventory comes from the company's factories throughout the Southeast and amounts to about 2 percent of its business. Only Donnkenny products are handled in the stores.

Peggy Conley, district manager for the 14 outlet stores (only five are located on factory grounds) said the polyester pull-on pants and skirts, often with matching blouses or jackets, are marketed mainly to women 50 and over, though some parts of the line would appeal to career women.

The clothes are never sold below cost, Conley said, but the outlet discounts the product when it first arrives, then again throughout the season, resulting in discounts between 25 percent and 40 percent. A third store at the Snooper's Mall in Wytheville handles only closeouts and has lower prices.

Virginia Apparel Outlet is a type of factory outlet store. Along with four other stores throughout Virginia, it handles merchandise made at its Rocky Mount factory, which contracts with L.L. Bean, Land's End, J. Crew and other catalog retailers. However, this accounts for only 20 percent of its stock.

The factory only makes pants, skirts and shorts, so Whiting has to find other sources to complete the look and develop the store's niche, which she sees as professional women and their families. She orders first-quality merchandise, such as Alfred Dunner dresses and suits, from the same wholesalers used by retail stores.

Whiting said her operating costs are lower than those for mall stores, allowing the outlet a lower mark-up. As the buyer for all five stores, she also gets some volume discounting, but mostly she counts on a strict eye for the budget that lets her offer her discount prices.

TGIF Outlet counts on a volume approach to provide merchandise at low prices. Derek Deasy is general manager of the five-store (soon to be six) chain that gravitates mostly to college towns (Blacksburg, Lynchburg, Farmville, Lexington and Smith Mountain Lake, and opening in Radford in late August). Frequent shipments from suppliers, such as Gap and J. Crew, who need to move merchandise quickly, offer him discount prices.

If the selection in Monday's shipment isn't great, there's another shipment tomorrow, and who knows what bargain that may bring?

Because of that, many of Deasy's items, which include clothing and shoes for men and women, start at 50 percent off retail. To counteract the selection situation, Deasy maintains a customer request book, where shoppers can record what they're looking for and the staff alert them when it comes in.

TGIF is now located across from the Virginia Tech campus Mall, on North Main Street. However, the store is moving closer downtown, next to Corner Drug, in September.

The Factory Merchants Mall in Fort Chiswell has 30 stores, concentrating primarily on men's and women's apparel, though there is a Black & Decker store, a Corning/Revere store and three other home furnishings stores. The mall also houses the Visitor's Center for the U.S. Forest Service, with information about the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest.

Janet Blair, general manager, said it is part of the lease requirements that the stores will offer at least a 25 percent discount from their regular retail prices. Most of the merchandise is first-quality and irregulars are marked as such.