Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page 25

Star -165- SEARS GRAND OPENING TUCSON, ARIZONA Seoirs peons Dts. Fabulous Mew Stoire Today Company Vice President Expected For Opening One of the corporate offi cials who is expected to be in Tucson for the ribbon-cutting ceremony is Arthur M. Wood, vice president of Sears Pacific Coast Territory. The territory which includes retail and catalog operations in nine states The territory covers Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii. There are nearly 100 retail stores in these states (with more scheduled for opening in the next few months), two catalog order plants and 139 catalog offices.

Wood joined Sears in 1946, to head the company's legal division. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Wood became a vice president of the company in 1956 and a member of the board in 1959. Ribbon Cutting Set Official ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Sears store at Broadway and Wilmot will be held Wednesday, Sept. 1, at 9:15 a.m. Many Sears dignitaries plus Arizona and city officials will be present for the ceremony.

Doors will open to the public at 9:30 a.m. This week, the store will be open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 9: IS p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Starting Tuesday, Sept. 7, the store's hours will be Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m.

to 6 p.m.; Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. The automotive center will be open each day at 8 a.m. and close with the regular store closing each evening. Arthur M.

Wood Arizona Manager To Be Here Another Sears official who will be on hand for the opening is Wade L. Hampton, Arizona group manager and store manager in Phoenix. Hampton is in charge of all Sears stores in the state. He started with the company in 1929 as a merchandise trainee and has held a variety of positions until taking his present post in February 1961. iV, ''y -yd i ryy 'y 1 i i i --4 yay -301 Jyx A-y -ct 4X rxyy yl yy 'Xffi i.

y-'' 1 Joe Metcalf Says 'Welcome Tucson1 Arizona Manufacturers Sell Their Goods To Sears I 'it i New Bus Route Added of production of a given item, company buyers can go to a manufacturer and offer long-term buying contracts which will allow for an ample margin of established profit for the manufacturer, and at the same time supply Sears with quality merchandise that can be competitively priced. "Our policy of local purchases has brought important benefits to Sears as well as to the Arizona area," Met calf added. "By purchasing from sources which are strategically located across the country, we are able to reduce transportation expenses and pass them on to customers. "What is more, there is less time lag between the moment Sears places its orders and the time it receives it from a local source," he said. This makes possible lower inventory requirements, and means that Sears encounters out -of -stock conditions less frequently.

Several bus routes will serve the new Sears store on Broadway near Wilmot. A new Tucson Rapid Transit route covers downtown to Glenn to Craycroft to Broadway, every 45 minutes. This is the Number 18 bus. Number 8 Broadway, goes to and from downtown every 30 minutes. The number 4-8 Speedway goes to and from Speedway every hour.

The number 7-8 22nd St. goes to and from 22nd St. every hour. Special "return home" tickets are being arranged by Sears. Wade Hampton CREDIT CARDS ARE HANDY Customers who open a Sears Revolving Charge account in the Tucson store will find their credit cards are good in any of the company's other stores from coast to coast.

With more than 780 Just a little bit over now you've got it set it in place Small Services, Big Repair Jobs All Available At New Sears Store Last year, Sears purchased merchandise valued at from 29 manufacturers in Arizona, according to J.R. Metcalf, store manager. For Arizona, this has meant that many dollars have brought into me area, he said, adding to the overall local economy. "A basic tenet in Sears philosophy is that it has an obligation to the communities in which its outlets are located," he commented. Besides, its buying offices in New York City and Chicago, Sears has a regional office in Los Angeles.

The primary function of the regional office is to locate sources or Sears merchandise in the Pacific Coast Territory. The regional office operates in two basic First, starting with a given item of merchandise, it looks for factories with the capability of producing that item. Second, it studies the products of local manufacturers with the idea of including these products in Sears lines of merchandise. The majority of Sears merchandise purchasing is done under a system of "basic buying" or buying to pre- determined specifications. Knowing In advance the cost stores, virtually every major city in the United States now has a Sears shopping center.

Beauty, Convenience Abound In Concrete, Steel Structure tained in slipcovers, bedspreads, cornices and other items. There are room planners on hand, too, to turn old or bathrooms into new. Planning sketches and estimates are available without charge. Home improvement consultants will plan building, plumbing and heating work. There's a hearing aid department and a full time optometrist at the new store, along with watch repair service and key making.

And at the Customer Convenience Center in the basement, one can buy postage stamps, cash checks, utility bills, have papers notarized, make credit payments, buy money orders, travelers checks and gift certificates. Service areas are designed right into the new Sears store beginning with the 24-car automotive service center, the huge parking lot and ending with the customer package pickup center Sears services are as varied as customers' needs. Homemakers can receive immediate help in planning room arrangements, changing colors, fabrics or furniture. There are 27 room vignettes which will be changed regularly to give the shopper ideas on room and color arrangements. Interior decorating consultants will bring drapery, slipcover, upholstery fabric or carpeting samples to the home.

Custom tailoring can be ob- Massive Parking Area Surrounds Sears Store How many cars can park at the new Sears store? It depends upon the size of the cars or how far the driver wants to walk. Some say 1,650. Others 2,000. There are approximately 1,600 marked places, on paved area, plus several hundred more spots on graded levels. The store, on Broadway, near Wilmot, can be reached from either thoroughfare.

It is prominently lighted at night, by low-level lamps. These low lamps cut down the glare on nearby streets, yet perfectly serve the store area. center. However, beneath the surface lies a complex organization in itself the huge shipping, receiving and storing area plus the vast office departments, all ready to provide service. Main entrances to the store are from Broadway and to the east and west however, there is a large seasonal area to the southeast, which enters directly into the main store.

The seasonal shop will be devoted to nursery items, primarily. The fashion center at the Broadway end includes women's fashions and accessories (including cosmetics and drugs), lingerie, teen shop, baby foods, women's and children's shoes. This shoe department is separate from the men's and boys, a departure from Sears regular floor plans. The men's and boys shop has been doubled in size from the old store downtown and great emphasis is being placed on new fashion styles. The fashion theme is found throughout the home furnishings department, located on the west side of the building.

Here high-styled decorating vignettes let you see furniture in regular room settings draperies and lamps are openly displayed special emphasis is placed on the television area, the better to see the color and black and white sets. Home improvement, appliances and sporting goods are located to the south end of the building. These are placed in room arrangements, too kitchen planning bathroom settings light fixtures are lighted, the better to see. New to the Sears store is a tobacco shop, adjacent to the Karnival Korner where you can buy a light refreshment. Hungrier? Try the Coffee House, located at mid entrance on the east side.

And toys, toys, toys a ton of them ready for layaway right now, at the south end. And if you really can't find just the right item you want, there's always the catalog order department. There's a big long desk holding the various Sears catalogs and downstairs, 15 telephone operators standing by io take catalog orders- over the phone. 9s. Sears has close to 800 stores in the United States.

The new Tucson store is the most elaborate to date. The multi-million dollar structure opens its doors for business at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1. Some 10,000 Tucsonans are expected to view the brief ribbon cutting ceremony, and then will have the opportunity to view, and shop, at their hearts content.

Beauty reigns throughout the new building, located on East Broadway, just west of Wilmot Road. The concrete and steel structure was built by Murray J. Shiff construction company from a Sears design by Stiles and Robert Clements, architects-engineers from Los Angeles. Sears is the first of a large shopping center complex, developed by Joseph and Simon Kivel. The new store was started on July 22, 1964, with one journeyman, one foreman, two operating engineers and one oiler.

Construction superintendent for the project has been Bill Bullington, under the direction of Howard Shiff, vice president of the construction company. Average personnel on the job was 40 men at high peak, 170. Because of the summer-long construction strike, completion of the building was delayed more than six weeks. But now it is open and ready for business. The high fashion appearance of the new Sears store is in line with the company's overall trend to better quality, smarter styles and price ranges to suit all.

The new women's fashion area covers 10,000 square feet, alone. Here women will find luxurious Paris-inspired gowns, some with $100 price tags, furs from a $40,000 collection jewels valued at $30,000 and the tried-and true Sears housedress, two for $5. Similar ranges in merchandise are found throughout the well designed store, which covers 250,860 sq. with 108,912 of that devoted to merchandise. AH of the 55 merchandise departments are located on the main floor and in the adjacent automotive Modern Building Houses Sears 'Fashion Look'.