Kohl's, Sport Chalet boost 580 retail center Kohl's, Sport Chalet boost 580 retail center (October 01, 2004)

Fast-growing department store opens Thursday
by Jeb Bing

Two major retailers - Sport Chalet, which opened last month, and Kohl's Department Store, scheduled to open Thursday - are giving Pleasanton's Metro 580 center a much needed boost on the city's north side, across from Dublin's Hacienda Crossings.

Sport Chalet's chief executive officer Craig Levra came to Pleasanton to join store Manager Sam Oakley in opening the company's new 42,000-square-foot retail store, which includes an on-site pool specially built for scuba diving lessons. As a brass band from Amador Valley High School played, more than 100 stood in line as Mayor Tom Pico and Pleasanton's Manager of Economic Development Pamela Ott welcomed Sport Chalet to the city.

At 8 a.m. Thursday, Kohl's will open its 88,000-square-foot Pleasanton store with gifts for the first 800 shoppers, ages 16 and older, and sweepstakes featuring prizes, including Chevy Equinox sport utility vehicles, educational scholarships and vacations. For Kohl's, the Pleasanton store is one of 11 that will open the same day in the Bay Area, raising the total number of stores in California to 62. The Wisconsin-based company, with posted sales of $10.2 billion in 2003, made its first entry in the West last year when it opened 28 new stores simultaneously in Southern California.

The two stores are expected to turn Metro 580 into one of the city's busiest retail centers, anchored by Wal-Mart at the west end, Border's bookstore at the east, and Red Robin restaurant and small retail and beauty care stores along Rosewood Drive. In the last three years, the center has seen some of its major stores close, including a computer retailer that was merged with Comp USA, two furniture stores and Staples Office Supply and Linens 'N Things, which were relocated.

Kohl's is widely known in the Midwest, where it has its corporate headquarters in Menomonee Falls, Wis., near Milwaukee. The publicly traded company is billed as "a family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store" that competes with other retailers such as Mervyn's. The company operates 637 stores in 40 states.

Kohl's spokeswoman Kelly Kruger said Kohl's has a longstanding tradition of supporting the communities served by its stores through its "Kohl's Cares for Kids" program, which is focused on improving children's health and educational opportunities.

"Kohl's has formed a partnership with the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford and Children's Hospital Oakland, which will be the beneficiaries of local Kohl's Cares for Kids children's hospital fundraising efforts," Kruger said.

The Pleasanton store has hired 150 employees for opening day.

Sport Chalet has 95 employees, a number that CEO Levra said will grow to about 125 over the coming Christmas shopping season.

"We're a store that focuses on customer service, on scuba diving and mountain climbing, with a whole training division that specializes in teaching our customers how to kayak, for example," Levra said. "When we looked at expanding, we saw Pleasanton as a family-oriented community with lots of athletic activities, many who go skiing and with demographics that are very favorable to Sport Chalet."

Whether backpacking or climbing mountains or diving, Sport Chalet has training programs, including a 13-foot-deep diving pool in its Metro 580 store and also chartered dive boats off the California coast, making it a 5-star certified Western U.S. training facility.

"This pool is specifically designed for scuba lessons," said Paul Carpenter, Sport Chalet's sales manager. "Its 12-foot and 13-foot depths give the students a chartable dive needed for certification. You can be certified right here at this unique training pool that is part of our Pleasanton store."

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