Old Navy opens in Heritage Mall

By Alex Paul
Albany Democrat-Herald
Last Updated on: September 8th, 2005
www.dhonline.com

Mothers and their children waited patiently on the sidewalk this morning for the 9 a.m. grand opening of the new Old Navy store at Albany 's Heritage Mall.

For Mandy Jansen of Albany, the new store means she will will no longer have to travel to Eugene or Salem to shop at one of her favorite clothing stores.

"My daughter is 10 and she's picky about her clothes," Jansen said, sitting in her minivan and watching employees enter the store. "Prices at Old Navy are good and they're up on what's new and in style."

Jansen said she shops Old Navy for her entire family's needs. "My son is 6 and it's hard to find things for him at other stores," Jansen said.

Tami Barclay of Albany said that although she enjoys shopping Old Navy for her family, today's shopping trip was primarily for herself.

"I love to shop," Barclay said. "Old Navy has trendy clothes at good prices and it's a fun store. They have great clothes for kids. I can get everything I want here, whether it's to dress up or dress down."

Barclay has two sons, ages 7 and 11, and says Old Navy makes it easy for her to dress them stylishly and affordably.

Pam McKnight Jones of Millersburg brought along daughters Taylor, 4, and Emma, 1. A third daughter is due in a month.

"This is good news for families," Jones said. "The South Albany Community Church bulletin included a note about Old Navy opening."

Jones said the Albany area is composed primarily of middle class families who "are budget conscious."

"I had heard the opening was the other day and I showed up then," Jones said with a laugh."

The new store is 18,810 square feet at the far west end of the Heritage Mall. It does not have indoor access to the rest of the mall, according to district manager Ken Mermelstein. Local manager is Mike Schott.

The store will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The phone number is 791-8255.

The store features a full line of clothing for men, women, women's plus sizes, maternity, boys and girls, and babies. The interior of the store is brightly lighted and features wide aisles.

Old Navy is owned by The Gap Inc., and has headquarters in San Francisco and San Bruno , Calif. The store was founded in 1994 in Colma, San Leandro and Pittsburg , Calif. That first year, 59 stores were opened. Today, there are 844 stores. Other Oregon stores are in Bend , Eugene , Salem , Clackamas and Gresham .

In 2001, Old Navy opened its first 12 stores in Canada.

The Gap is the second largest specialty retailer in the country with total sales in 2003 of $15.85 billion.

Alex Paul can be reached at 812-6076 or alex.paul@lee.net.

Original Article

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