Adding Up

"We think it's going to be a great year if the weather doesn't destroy us," says Michael Perlman, president of BrandsMart USA, a seven-store electronics and appliance chain based in south Florida. In fiscal 2005, the chain had $850 million in revenue and opened a store in Georgia. Perlman expects $1 billion in 2006 and another new Georgia store. "We're expecting an increase in comp store business (same-store sales) anywhere from 7% at the low end to 10% at the high end."

Florida-based retail chains are positively drooling over the prospects for 2006. Fort Myers-based clothing retailer Chico's, with 53 of its namesake stores across the state, plans to add six to eight more of its monochromatic clothing White House Black Market stores, says CFO Charles Kleman. In November, Chico's bought 105 acres for a new campus to house the 1,000 headquarters employees it expects by late 2007 or early 2008, when it moves in.

City Furniture, based in Tamarac, opened seven stores in 2005, bringing its total to 21, after never having added more than two in a year. City Furniture put up $297 million in revenue in 2004, approximately $350 million in 2005 and expects more than $400 million this year. "We've added a lot of square footage. We're aggressively going after increasing our market share," says President Keith Koenig. "I'm optimistic for us for top line and bottom line growth." City Furniture will have five stores under construction in 2006, including two in Collier and Lee counties, its first outside southeast Florida, for openings in 2007.

Jacksonville-based Stein Mart expects to open 20 stores this year.

GROWING MARKET: Chico's plans to add as many as eight White House Black Market shops.

Rick McAllister, Florida Retail Federation president, says retailers in Florida in general worry about gas prices. So far, there hasn't been much impact, but he and retailers wonder how much money can be taken out of consumers' pockets without someone suffering for it. Hurricanes also have been troubling both from store damage and lost sales days. City Furniture, Koenig reports, didn't meet its sales budget from August through October for the past two years because of hurricanes. "If this is a repetitive event, it's just going to chew into our profitability. The investment analysts will tell you furniture retailers are not known as a huge profitability category -- 3% to 5% after taxes, if it's a good operator."

Cocoa Beach-based Ron Jon Surf Shop, after weathering the recent hurricanes -- Wilma destroyed a licensed store in Cozumel, Mexico -- plans a new, small Key West store this month and a Panama City store in 2007. "We're all finding out how weather-dependent the tourism industry is," says Edward Moriarty, president of the chain, which has $55 million in annual revenue.

Person to Watch
STEVE ODLAND
Chairman and CEO,
Office Depot, Delray

BeachMarch 11 marks the one-year anniversary for Office Depot Chairman and CEO Steve Odland, brought in from AutoZone to take over the Delray Beach-based office products company. In September, Office Depot announced a $320-million charge against earnings for store closings, among other things. Office Depot trails rival and industry leader Staples.