Discount shopping las vegas

LAS VEGAS -- Breaking out of its core market base in Southern California, 99 Cents Only stores opened its second Las Vegas location on March 30, a move that is part of an accelerated store opening plan.

The new Las Vegas stores, at about 28,000-sq.ft., is larger than the typical 99 Cents Only Store, which totals about 20,000-sq.-ft., said David Gold, company founder, chairman and ceo.

"This store includes some extra frozen food and refrigerated space as well as some other storage so we can supply other stores from this location," Gold said.

99 Cents Only opened it first Las Vegas location late last year and by December the store became on of the chain's highest volume stores, grossing more than $1 million in December, said Eric Schiffer, 99 Cents Only's president.

Despite the fact that several other dollar stores operate near 99 Cents' two Las Vegas locations, Schiffer said he is confident the chain's new locations will do well.

Two hours before the 9 a.m. opening of the second Las Vegas store, several hundred people formed a line that snakes from the front door, through the parking lot and down a sidewalk along a bust street.

As is typical for a 99 Cents Only grand opening, which is usually promoted via a direct mail circular, the first several people in line have been waiting 20 hours to be buy one of nine television or nine microwave ovens for 99 cents.

Schiffer said that 99 Cents Only's management is pleased with the results from Las Vegas.

"Las Vegas is much more blue collar than people realize," Schiffer said. "It's a good market for us."

With the Las Vegas venture, the 87-store 99 Cents Only is gearing up to move into Arizona and Texas. The mixture of blue collar families, retirees and middle class bargain hunters in the Las Vegas area, Phoenix and cities like Houston and Dallas offers ample opportunities for 99 Cents Only.

"Texas is a perfect market for us," Gold said.

99 Cents Only plans to sell about 65 multi-price deep discount close out stores in the mid-west, upstate New York and Texas that it acquired last year from Universal International in favor of concentrating on it high-growth single-priced format.

99 Cents Only has grown about 20% per year and selling Universal will allow it at 25% per year. The company expects to open at least 20 net new stores in 2000.

"We had a shareholder who kept calling us up and telling us that our concept was high-octane and we should concentrate on the high octane and not worry about this other stuff," Gold said.

99 Cents Only is still in the early stages of shedding the Universal stores and hasn't yet determined a price for the chain, Gold told DSN.