Woo-Hoo, This makes me excited.
Michaels renovates, expands on Grape Road
MONEY: MARKET BASKET
By HEIDI PRESCOTT
Tribune Columnist
Shoppers cannot see it from the outside, but there actually has been about 6,000 square feet of vacant space sitting idle between Linens 'n Things and Michaels for more than a year.
But soon, all that space will be filled with scrapbook paper and stamping pads and frames and artificial flowers.
Michaels plans to expand into the space and complete a renovation of its existing store at 6502 Grape Road, Mishawaka.
So if you think the shelving units are too high now to grab merchandise, and the center aisle too awkward to find anything or see across the store, the upcoming changes should make a big difference.
No more high shelves.
No more long center aisle.
Michaels will grow from just under 18,000 square feet to an estimated 24,000 square feet. Shorter shelving units will be installed around a trendy racetrack aisle format that shoppers find inside stores such as Kohl's and SuperTarget.
"It's an older store and not in very good shape. It has not been renovated" in the 10-plus years it has been in operation, says Doug Sullivan, executive vice president of Irving, Texas-based Michaels Stores. Michaels operates more than 800 stores across the country.
While the product lines will remain the same, crafters will need to reacquaint themselves with the new layout after the renovation and expansion are completed around June.
"It'll be like a new store," he says, adding that construction should get under way soon. It will constitute an investment of about $750,000.
The store will be open during the expansion. "It's counterintuitive, but business steps up when you have all the mess in there," Sullivan says.
Michaels executives believe the expansion will spur additional business, additional volume in sales that likely will translate into the need for more employees, although that is uncertain at this juncture, Sullivan says.
University Center, the Grape Road strip center that houses Michaels, is owned by Simon Property Group of Indianapolis, owner of University Park Mall in Mishawaka.
Simon officials say the store must be in a good location for Michaels to invest money into updating the space inside and out. The exterior, by the way, will get a whole new facade.
"It tells me that Michaels is doing good business in South Bend," said Les Morris, manager of corporate public affairs at Simon. "It's a positive, and we are pleased to have them expand into the space."
I can't WAIT!!!!
MONEY: MARKET BASKET
By HEIDI PRESCOTT
Tribune Columnist
Shoppers cannot see it from the outside, but there actually has been about 6,000 square feet of vacant space sitting idle between Linens 'n Things and Michaels for more than a year.
But soon, all that space will be filled with scrapbook paper and stamping pads and frames and artificial flowers.
Michaels plans to expand into the space and complete a renovation of its existing store at 6502 Grape Road, Mishawaka.
So if you think the shelving units are too high now to grab merchandise, and the center aisle too awkward to find anything or see across the store, the upcoming changes should make a big difference.
No more high shelves.
No more long center aisle.
Michaels will grow from just under 18,000 square feet to an estimated 24,000 square feet. Shorter shelving units will be installed around a trendy racetrack aisle format that shoppers find inside stores such as Kohl's and SuperTarget.
"It's an older store and not in very good shape. It has not been renovated" in the 10-plus years it has been in operation, says Doug Sullivan, executive vice president of Irving, Texas-based Michaels Stores. Michaels operates more than 800 stores across the country.
While the product lines will remain the same, crafters will need to reacquaint themselves with the new layout after the renovation and expansion are completed around June.
"It'll be like a new store," he says, adding that construction should get under way soon. It will constitute an investment of about $750,000.
The store will be open during the expansion. "It's counterintuitive, but business steps up when you have all the mess in there," Sullivan says.
Michaels executives believe the expansion will spur additional business, additional volume in sales that likely will translate into the need for more employees, although that is uncertain at this juncture, Sullivan says.
University Center, the Grape Road strip center that houses Michaels, is owned by Simon Property Group of Indianapolis, owner of University Park Mall in Mishawaka.
Simon officials say the store must be in a good location for Michaels to invest money into updating the space inside and out. The exterior, by the way, will get a whole new facade.
"It tells me that Michaels is doing good business in South Bend," said Les Morris, manager of corporate public affairs at Simon. "It's a positive, and we are pleased to have them expand into the space."
I can't WAIT!!!!