Lodi Kohl's open for business

Eleanor Bender, of Lodi, left, and her daughter, Shirley Kemp, of Galt, look at a display of holiday decorations at Kohl's on Kettleman Lane on Monday. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

Lodi Kohl's open for business

By Jordan Guinn
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 6:20 AM PDT

Comments (3 comment(s))

After spending nearly 10 months as a vacant building, Kohl's department store on Kettleman Lane in Lodi is open for business.

As customers streamed through the doors Monday, a day after the store opened, Melissa Park eagerly greeted customers and attended to their needs.

"It's homey, welcoming and comforting," Park said of the store she manages.

While the store is smaller than a typical Kohl's, Park said it still has a wide selection and the same merchandise to choose from as the bigger ones. She said the storage space is tighter, but they have shipments come in weekly and the merchandise moves quickly.

"The goal is to get it out to the floor," she said.

Kohl's features what is called a racetrack design, which is a pathway that loops around the store. Around the racetrack are clothes, bedding, kitchen supplies and other merchandise. The middle of the store is dedicated to items that compliment what is for sale around the racetrack.

Kristen Cunningham said that Kohl's is designed to make the shopping experience easy for the customer. The public relations specialist for Kohl's said the racetrack helps customers find what they are looking for.

"You find clothes around the racetrack and jewelry in the middle," she said.

Park said customers who came to the store's opening on Sunday were impressed and gave her positive feedback. She said there were roughly 20 people at the doors when the store opened but a steady rush followed them throughout the day.

Despina Diaz bags items purchased by a customer at Kohl's on Monday. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

She said the new store benefits the customers and the employees.

"The customers are excited," she said. "And the people who got hired here are excited, too."

The store employs more than 100 people, most of them part-time, Park said.

On Monday afternoon, more than 20 employees were spread across the store as they welcomed shoppers, offered Kohl's credit cards, arranged merchandise, handled returns and exchanges, and attended to other store needs.

Grand opening deals

Early bird discount: From 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. selected jewelry is up to 80 percent off.

Vivitar digital cameras with 10.1 mega pixels are on sale for $69.99.

Oster rice cookers are on sale for $15.99.

Selected shoes are 10-50 percent off with an additional 15 percent off during the early bird special.

Thirty, 20 or 15 percent off everything from Sept. 30 to Oct 7 with the use of a Kohl's credit card.

Meanwhile, customers filled their carts with everything from clothing to Christmas decorations.

Dee Schnabel was looking at dishes while his wife was shopping. He said he had shopped at the Stockton Kohl's and was checking out the new Lodi location for the first time.

Schnabel said he regularly shopped at the location when it was a Mervyn's, and said he liked what he saw so far. He said the prices were competitive and he was going to buy a new pair of sandals as well. While he liked the prices, he conceded he wasn't the family expert.

"I'm not the real shopper," he said. "My wife is."

Heather Robels was in Kohl's for the first time on Monday. She was looking for jeans and T-shirts for her husband, and some items for herself and her children. She said she was probably going to buy something during her visit, but that she was mainly scouting prices and would be back to buy more during the grand opening on Wednesday.

Kohl's will have its grand opening at 7 a.m. on Wednesday. Park said customers would receive coupons during the celebration.

Robels also used to shop at Mervyn's and said she was pleased with the changes and the selection Kohl's offers.

"It looks a lot better," she said. "There is a lot more to choose from."

Josie Twofeathers came to check out the Kohl's because she watched the exterior remodeling of the store and wanted to see the inside.

She was shopping for skinny jeans and was pleased with the selection. Twofeathers, who works near the store, said she had trouble finding what she was looking for at other stores but had success at Kohl's.

"I'm excited over Kohl's," she said. "It's convenient and I think it will do well here."

Nationwide, Kohl's is opening 35 new stores in former Mervyn's sites this week. Thirty of them are in California. There are a total of 121 Kohl's locations in California.

Contact reporter Jordan Guinn at jordang@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

southeaster wrote on Sep 29, 2009 12:00 PM:

" LodiReader--that's why there are different stores--for different people. I am thrilled that Lodi now has a store that has so much available. I would rather shop in my home town than in Stockton. "

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LodiReaderFromStockton wrote on Sep 29, 2009 9:49 AM:

" I've been in Kohl's a few times and never could find what I wanted/needed and I don't like the way it's set up. They should have registers in every department not just at the front of the store. Thanks, but I'll stick to Macy's and JC Penney for my shopping enjoyment. "

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pooreastside wrote on Sep 29, 2009 9:09 AM:

" Thank goodness. Kohl's opening will provide a few jobs that were lost when Mervyns closed. Much success in the future, Kohls. "

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