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Kohl's moving in near Countryside

The retailer will anchor a new plaza near the Clearwater mall when it makes its bay area debut next year, the site's owner says.

By SCOTT BARANCIK
Published October 7, 2005

The Tampa Bay area retail scene is about to grow more crowded.

Kohl's, a Menomonee, Wisc., department-store chain that debuted this week elsewhere in Florida, has signed a long-term lease on a property in Clearwater, the site's owner said Thursday.

White Development Co. president Jim White said Kohl's will be the anchor store at Courtyard at Countryside, a proposed shopping center he's developing on a 13-acre plot across from Westfield Countryside mall. White said he expects Kohl's to begin construction in February and open for business next October. The lease is good for at least 20 years, he added.

Kohl's spokeswoman Lori Sansoucie declined to confirm the lease, saying the company discloses its expansion plans on its own timetable. But Pinellas County development review services manager Al Navaroli said Courtyard at Countryside's site plan, recently submitted for county approval, mentions Kohl's prominently.

It's unlikely Kohl's would open just the one bay area store next year.

John Crossman, a principal at the Trammell Crow Co. in Orlando, said the 731-store chain's modus operandi is to open multiple locations at once in a given metropolitan area. Doing so allows the company to build local brand recognition more quickly, advertise more economically and offer greater convenience to customers who want to use a gift certificate or return a blouse.

"That's absolutely how they've done every market, and that's the right away to do it," Crossman said. "That's how (grocery chain) Publix entered Atlanta. They were unheard of, and now they dominate it."

Case in point: Kohl's arrival this week in Florida, its newest market. Instead of scattering sites across the state, the company placed three in the Jacksonville area and seven in and around Orlando, including one in Lakeland.

Spokeswoman Sansoucie said Kohl's reserves two days each year for opening stores, one day each in the fall and spring. The soft opening for its 10 Florida stores and 47 others nationwide took place Sunday, while they officially opened Thursday.

Perhaps best known for its apparel, Kohl's competes with discount chains like Target or Wal-Mart and department stores like JCPenney and Dillard's, and it bears a resemblance to the moderately priced Beall's chain. Sansoucie said the publicly traded chain targets communities with high concentrations of families with children and the potential for rapid growth.

"Kohl's stores feature moderately priced, exclusive and national brand merchandise, which provide value to customers," the company said in its annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Kohl's merchandise is targeted to appeal to middle-income customers shopping for their families and homes."

At its planned location on State Road 580 in Clearwater, Kohl's will immediately test the competitive mettle of department stores at nearby Westfield Countryside, which include Macy's, Sears, Dillard's and JCPenney.

White said Courtyard at Countryside will include roughly 40,000-square feet for more tenants, including a junior anchor. It will rest on the site formerly occupied by Skylark Mobile Home Park, which a limited liability company managed by White bought this year for $6.5-million.

White originally planned to lease the site to BJ's Wholesale Club, but the proposal met with resistance from nearby residents who worried about traffic. BJ's pulled out.

In April, Pinellas County Commissioner Susan Latvala said Kohl's would be a better neighbor than BJ's.

"There won't be gas pumps, the big semis unloading every day, and not nearly as much traffic," she said. "It's much less intrusive."

According to its January annual report, Kohl's planned to open 95 stores in 2005, including more than 60 in new markets. Florida is its 41st state.

Information from Times files was used in this report. Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or 727 893-8751.

[Last modified October 7, 2005, 01:49:15]