Downtown area preps for Abercrombie store

By ANGELA J. GATES
Collegian Staff Writer

Local businesses are already anticipating the effects of a new retail store coming to the downtown area, even though construction has not yet begun.

Abercrombie & Fitch signed a contract with Edward Friedman, a local real estate developer and owner of the former McLanahan's Drug Store lot on the 100 block of South Allen Street, where the new store will be located.

Construction will begin within the next 30 days if all goes well, Friedman said. Building plans have not yet been completed because continuous changes are being made, but plans should be finalized in the next couple of weeks, he said.

Friedman said Abercrombie should help the economy and life of the downtown area by providing more retail variety. The new store should be open for business by the end of the summer, he said.

The current vacant lot has had a negative effect on the appearance of the downtown area, he said.

Many downtown store employees said they are looking forward to the new store, because it will help their businesses.

"If anything, Abercrombie will help get more people into the downtown region," said Doug Redfern, a manager of American Outfitters, 216 W. College Ave.

Redfern said he is not worried about his business declining due to the added competition. American Outfitters offers more name brands, Redfern said, whereas Abercrombie sells its own line of merchandise exclusively.

Along with more business, Abercrombie can bring more college-age shoppers to other stores.

Betsy Corman, a manager of Tadpole Crossing, 101 E. Beaver Ave., said she is excited to see new faces in her store, a change that probably will be Abercrombie's biggest impact on downtown stores.

Corman said she is pleased to see the development of plans for building improvements downtown, such as the McLanahan's lot project and the former Danks Department Store building refurbishment.

Some store managers, however, said Abercrombie will bring more competition for businesses because most stores downtown target the same age group.

While Eddie Bauer, 131 S. Allen St., and Abercrombie both target college-age students, they do not target consumers in the same price range, said Darwin Light, assistant manager of Eddie Bauer. Light said Eddie Bauer carries different styles of merchandise and has less expensive prices than Abercrombie.

"Once they find out the price of Abercrombie," he said, "they'll decide to stop over here."