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Sears moving 11/25/04

Greg Massé

Sears will be the next store to make the move west to Rifle, leaving another void in Glenwood Springs’ retail landscape. Starting Jan. 12, shoppers searching for Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances will have to look for them in Rifle’s burgeoning shopping mecca that’s springing up along Airport Road. Sears’ new address will be 1876 Airport Road, about a half-mile east of Super Wal-Mart. “I think it’s a good location,” said Kathie Warner, who owns the Sears franchise with her husband, Rick. The move likely means even more sales tax dollars will hemorrhage out of Glenwood and into Rifle – but Glenwood Springs had its chance to retain Sears.The Warners originally had planned to build their new store on Devereux Road along the Colorado River. They went as far as designing the building, picking out a piece of land and bringing a conceptual plan to City Council in 2003. But Glenwood’s strict development rules and council demands doomed the project, so the Warners looked at building their new store in Rifle. “I think they were so tied up with what was going on, they had their hands full,” Warner said. “It just didn’t work out.”Rifle, on the other hand, welcomed the Warners’ plan with open arms. “The process when we went down to Rifle was so smooth,” she said. “They didn’t cut us any deals or breaks, they just used their common sense. I think it’s going to work out great.”Warners also said the move to Rifle had nothing to do with Lowe’s Home Improvements coming in. In fact the Warners were actually looking forward to the retailer being close by so people would be drawn there, then compare Lowe’s prices with those at Sears. “Sears matches prices on places like Home Depot, Lowe’s, anybody, plus 10 percent of the difference,” she said. She also said the mall was not a factor in their wanting to move – except for their tight quarters and the fact that they couldn’t own their own space there. “We just need to have a place of our own, we really do,” she said. The new store will have more than 1,000 additional square feet of retail space, plus a 3,500-square-foot warehouse in the back and a loading dock. But even with the bigger space, the Warners will continue to carry only the product lines they have now – barring changes caused by the recently-announced merger between Sears and KMart.”I know we won’t ever carry clothes or ‘soft lines,'” she said. “But we’ll be able to stock more items so we don’t have to order items.”Warner said her customers are sad to see the store move, but at the same time, they’ve been understanding. “They wish it wasn’t happening,” she said. Sears will be open at the mall through Jan. 11.Contact Greg Massé: 945-8515, ext. 511gmasse@postindependent.com


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