Office Stop to build armada of flagship stores

Discount Store News, Nov 5, 1990 by Laura Liebeck

Office Stop to Build Armada of Flagship Stores

TOWSON, Md. - Office Stop opened the first of six planned flagship stores here last month, providing central distribution and next-day delivery service to the Baltimore market.

The 45,640-square-foot unit, one-third larger than the company's existing prototype, also features a computer service center and expanded offerings in computers, office machines and furniture.

The service center, found only in the flagship store prototype, is equipped to provide technical support, design assistance and repairs to step-up computer customers.

Office Stop is able to offer customers more advanced computer systems because of the computer center, a requirement set by many manufacturers.

Only the flagship store offers Epson Equity (four models) selling for up to $2,800, and ALR (Advanced Logic Research) plus some new models by Packard Bell and Panasonic.

Office Stop plans to open flagship stores in markets large enough to hold three or four stores, said company chairman Frank Denny, noting that he is currently in final negotiations on sites in two other markets.

The flagship store has a $10 million sales forecast at maturity, in about two years, said Thomas Klimback, Office Stop's president.

So far flagship markets have been identified as Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, Long Island, metropolitan Washington, D.C., and northern New Jersey, Klimback said.

Long Island is "a priority" market for Office Stop, said Denny, noting that the New York suburb, currently with one unit, can hold five to six stores for the San Antonio, Texas-based company. Four potential sites are already under review.

The only other market with an Office Stop location is Paramus, N.J.

Denny sees Philadelphia as a six- to eight-store market; metropolitan Washington, D.C., could accommodate five stores, and Boston is ripe for six stores.

The prototype size of the flagship store is 40,000 square feet.

So far, Baltimore is Office Stop's largest market with three units including the new flagship store. The day the flagship store opened, Oct. 18, Office Stop opened a 31,000-square-foot unit south of Baltimore, in Glen Burnie, Md. One more Baltimore unit is planned.

On Oct. 25, Office Stop opened a 30,000-square-foot unit in Philadelphia, and the chain plans to open in Warwick, R.I., Nov. 8 and Rochester, N.Y., Dec. 7.

As many as 14 to 16 stores are planned for 1991 including January openings in Hartford, Conn., Warwick and Providence, R.I. Next spring, Office Stop plans to open in Boston.

In addition to the much larger size of the flagship store, the upgraded computer systems and the computer service center, other new features of the Towson unit include: 40 linear feet of software, double that of the traditional 30,000-square-foot units; seven sku's of MontBlanc pens priced from $74 to $299; cellular phones featuring such labels as Nokia, Oki, Mitsubishi and Panasonic; and a recycled paper department.

PHOTO : Office Stop chairman Frank Denny and president Tom Klimback said flagship stores are designed to provide additional computer support and other services to customers.