Dillard’s prepares for entry into Wyo., Colorado markets

CHEYENNE – When new Dillard’s Department Stores open this month in Cheyenne, Longmont and Colorado Springs, shoppers are going to be in for a real experience.The stores will be large, roomy and exquisitely furnished with exotic hardwoods, color-coordinated wall fabrics and imported Italian Carrara marble walkways. Molded, dropped ceilings, with recessed lighting, simultaneously give the store the feel of a traditional large department store with more intimate boutique areas.
Each department is being stocked with a wide variety of national name-brand merchandise, along with Dillard’s exclusive labels, and Cheyenne’s store will include many designer brands never before offered in the community.
“We’re really very happy to be here – it’s a great opportunity for us,´ said Dillard’s Phoenix Division vice president Bob Baker as he and store manager John Meehan and assistant manager Leti Licon led a recent pre-opening “hard-hat” tour.
Dillard’s is scheduled to open March 14 in Cheyenne and the same week in the two new Colorado locations.
Dillard’s was founded in 1938 as a 25-foot storefront clothing store in Nashville, Ark., by a young man named William T. Dillard Sr. Today, at 83, Dillard still serves as chairman and CEO and from company headquarters in Little Rock, Ark., presides over a chain of more than 250 department stores located in 24 states.
Sales for 1995 were nearly $6 billion, a 7 percent increase over 1994, and the company has more than 50,000 employees. Last year, Dillard’s opened 16 new stores
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