Mall finds Kmart’s replacement: U.S. Factory Outlets plans to hire 60

By JAMES CLARK / Editor for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.)

RAIFF

The black hole at one end of Three Star Mall is about to receive some light. Mall officials announced Monday that U.S. Factory Outlets will open an anchor store in the spot formerly occupied by Kmart.

The opening, expected in August, will give U.S. Factory Outlets three stores in Tennessee. The other two are in Clarksville and Cleveland.

“The wait is over and it’s been a long wait,” said Three Star Mall manager Teresa Martin. “We’re excited because our company has worked really hard on this.”

U.S. Factory Outlets is a close-out store that has a merchandise mix that’s approximately 50 percent clothing and 50 percent household items and other products. The company targets the middle- to lower-income group and says it initially plans to hire around 60 employees.

U.S. Factory Outlets are designed to convey a value message without looking like a bargain-basement center. In addition to the store’s general low prices, it also offers a dollar center.

“We work on a very limited mark up,” said U.S. Factory Outlets CEO Fred Raiff. “Because we’re a close-out store, you never know what you’re going to see. We might have artificial flowers one day and when they sell out, you might not see them again for a year.”

U.S. Factory Outlets will use approximately 40,000 of the 60,000 square feet left by Kmart’s departure almost a year ago. Remodeling work is scheduled to begin today. Local company TN Construction was awarded the bid for that work.

The store will have its own entrance where Kmart’s garden center used to be. It will also keep its entrance to the mall area.

The approximately 20,000 square feet of unused space will be at the back of the store. It will be converted to climate-controlled storage space that will be available to rent in late August.

“This is very good news,” said J’s owner Jean-Claude Petit, who said unlike other businesses at the mall his restaurant hasn’t suffered from Kmart’s departure. “This will really increase traffic and help all the businesses that depend on traffic.”