RETAILERS THAT ROCK; FOUR RETAIL OPERATIONS ARE RAISING THE BAR IN AN INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE YOUNG MEN'S MARKET.

Daily News Record, June, 2003 by Bailey, Lee; Lloyd, Brenda; Stewart, Al

d.e.m.o.

Even now, four years after the first d.e.m.o. store opened, management is at a loss to explain the chain's name.

"It can stand for anything you like," says Heidi Muther, vice-president of merchandising for d.e.m.o., owned and operated by the Anaheim, Calif.-based retailer Pacific Sunwear of California. "We just wanted a catchy name and that's what we came up with."

But if the acronym is purposefully left vague, the chain's position and direction are clear. Launched with only eight stores in April 1999, d.e.m.o. has now grown to 122 units. Having posted a same-store sales increase of 12.4 percent last year -- among the best of any apparel chain in any category -- d.e.m.o. is set to expand into footwear and plans to remodel its...