Anchors bring individual styles of service to FlatIrons Crossing

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Business Report continues its series of reports leading up the August opening of the new FlatIron Crossing mall in Broomfield.

BROOMFIELD – Laid out in pinwheel fashion in the northeast corner of FlatIron Crossing, five anchors prepare to entice shoppers with special services when the new mall opens in August.

Nordstrom, Dillards, Lord & Taylor and Foley’s each offer something its competitors don’t, hoping that the service will tip the scale in its favor when people think of where to go for department store goods. Galyan has a built-in customer draw, being the only sporting goods retailer at anchor position.

Nordstrom, with $5 billion in sales at 108 stores in 23 states, has the most impressive services list. Personal Touch, a complimentary wardrobing service for men, women and children, offers individually selected fashions and color analysis for its customers, in addition to its personal shopper service by e-mail or at the company’s Web site, www.nordstrom.com.

An in-house café and coffee bar will provide sandwiches, salads, fruit smoothies, fresh-baked pastries and gourmet coffees while customers shop online at interactive terminals.

Supporting families during shopping excursions, Nordstrom is creating diaper-changing facilities in both men’s and women’s restrooms, and a family restroom where either parent can take their small children.

A professional will be available to fit prostheses for those who need special assistance and clothing following breast surgery, and a coordinator will help file Medicare claims. Instructional events and seminars will be held regularly at many Nordstrom stores.

The department store’s gift cards and complimentary gift boxes in new combinations of colors at every sales counter will make it easy for customers to purchase gifts for relatives, friends and acquaintances. Professional tailoring and alteration services will be available for men, women and children during all store hours at Nordstrom FlatIron Crossing. A beauty hot line adviser will help customers with cosmetic and fragrance shopping, offer color and fragrance tips /and information about new products.

Dilliards, a 50-percent stakeholder in FlatIron Crossing, has more than $8.9 billion in annual sales at 342 stores in 29 states. Its Merchandising Information Desk Director (MIDD) service allows sales associates to find an item for a customer at a Dilliards store anywhere in the United States and have it delivered. The store offers a wedding registry in-store and online at www.dillards.com/registry/index.html

Galyan’s specializes in big and bold sporting goods and casual clothing at its 18 stores in seven markets. Sales figures were not available. The firm also owns Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Structure and Lerner New York.

Galyan’s creates its signature bring-the-outdoors-inside ambiance with rich warm woods, raw steel, scrap metal, cast iron, recycled antique floor planks, slate, field stones and rocks along with live pine trees here-and-there throughout its stores.

The main attraction at FlatIron Crossing will be a simulated rock climbing wall 55-feet high and more than 20-feet wide, only the second of its kind in the United States. The first one was built in Galyan’s Buffalo, N.Y. store. The wall rises nearly three stories, has the look and feel of real rock and offers customers a free, practical way to try out climbing gear or to test their mettle scaling the wall.

Belayers help climbers of all abilities, and spectators are welcome. Sales associates at Galyan’s actively participate or compete in the sport or activity they represent at the store and can give real-world advice based on their own experience to customers. A virtual tour at www.galyans.com gives viewers a panoramic view of a Galyan’s store.

The May Department Stores Co., with sales of $14 billion in 422 stores in 36 states, owns both Lord & Taylor and Foley’s and operating eight regional department store divisions using 12 trade names. Lord and Taylor has 79 stores in 31 markets, Foley’s has 57 stores in 17 markets.

Lord and Taylor offers free shoe shines to customers and a coat check room. The FlatIron Crossing store will have a totally new look, different from other Lord & Taylor stores. Also, its chief executive officer at 37 will be the youngest women ever to hold the position.

Foley’s offers its wedding planning and registry services in-store and on-line for its customers. Its new Web site is www.FoleysWeddings.com. More information about Lord & Taylor and Foley’s can be found at www.mayco.com/may/index.jsp.

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