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NewsApril 8, 2005

In between shuffling from clothing to jewelry and back to clothes again, Jessica James was pleasantly surprised on her first trip to Kohl's Thursday, the grand opening day for Cape Girardeau's newest big-name department store. "It's better than I thought," said the Jackson resident, who was shopping for her three children. "I thought it'd be smaller. They also have a lot more variety. This one seems to have good sales, and I really like the way the store's set up."...

In between shuffling from clothing to jewelry and back to clothes again, Jessica James was pleasantly surprised on her first trip to Kohl's Thursday, the grand opening day for Cape Girardeau's newest big-name department store.

"It's better than I thought," said the Jackson resident, who was shopping for her three children. "I thought it'd be smaller. They also have a lot more variety. This one seems to have good sales, and I really like the way the store's set up."

Kohl's is banking that a lot of shoppers will have the same first impression, translating into frequent customers and substantial sales.

Kohl's quietly opened its doors to customers starting Sunday to give its 185 employees a chance to prepare for the crowds. Only a handful of customers, some perhaps deterred by rain, waited outside the store Thursday before it opened at 8 a.m. Many were armed with $10 gift certificates. The company mailed out nearly 3,000 to area residents.

After a 7 a.m. tour of the recently completed 88,248 square-foot building located in Cape West Business Park on Siemers Drive, those who had a hand in bringing the store to Cape Girardeau spoke.

"It's been long overdue," said Rob Carballo, Kohl's district manager.

Kohl's was interested in Cape Girardeau, Carballo said, because it is a promising market where other retailers have thrived. He mentioned the Wal-Mart Supercenter as an example.

Based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., Kohl's is a family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store offering national brand apparel, shoes, accessories and home products. Shoppers will find brand names such as Champion, Chaps, Columbia Sportswear, KitchenAid, Lee, Levi's, Nike, OshKosh B'Gosh, Playtex, Reebok and Royal Velvet. Kohl's also carries its own private labels such as apt. 9, Bodysource, Croft & Barrow, Sonoma and Urban Pipeline.

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Over the past two years, Kohl's has embarked on a 200-store national expansion and hopes to have 750 stores by the end of the year. The company expects to open approximately 95 stores in 2005. The remainder of the stores will be opened in the third fiscal quarter. New markets opening in the fall include Orlando and Jacksonville, Fla.

Locally, Kohl's has long been a target of business recruiters.

"For the previous two years, the number-one requested store was Kohl's," said John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

That's good news, considering that taxpayers had a hand in sealing the deal.

In June, the city council approved a $2.1 million development agreement that allowed some city sales tax revenue to fund public improvements in connection with Kohl's. A new street was constructed south of nearby Lowe's home improvement store to provide additional access to the growing commercial area.

The company, which operates 652 stores in 40 states, had $11.7 billion in sales for 2004. Kohl's expects the Cape Girardeau outlet will generate $10 million in sales annually.

The next big department store opening will come Oct. 15 with Sears Grand.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137

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