Stage's Goal: 70 Stores a Year, 1,200 total

BOSTON-Stage Stores Inc. officials said Tuesday at a presentation that they plan on doubling their new store count from about 35 to 70 stores per year, with a goal of almost 1,200 stores. The presentation was at the CIBC World Markets Seventh Annual Consumer Growth Conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston.

The company currently has 667 stores in 33 states, with Bealls, Palais Royal and Stage throughout the South and Peebles throughout the Midwest, Southeast, and East. The stores, typically about 18,000 sf, carry name brand clothes, shoes and accessories, but are usually located in small towns of 8,000 to 10,000 people, and reaching a shopping audience of about 50,000.

The company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2001, with about 342 stores. Since then, Jim Scarborough, chairman and CEO, says the company is moving forward, growing its sales from $875 million in 2002 to $1.6 billion expected this year. The secret, he says, is to know the customer, which in this case nine times out of 10 is female. Also, since the stores are in such a small town, there’s little competition, especially from big department stores trying to scale back into just larger markets. “Clearly, we understand how to operate in small markets, that’s what makes this all work,” he said in his presentation.