Brandon Lewis rushed to A&N on Friday as soon as he heard of the retailer's shutdown, giving up his usual day's sleep before his midnight work shift.
Lewis, 33, said he has shopped at A&N since buying school clothes as a child with his mother and aunt. The Chesapeake resident did the same with his 15-year-old son at the start of every school year.
"I'm kind of shocked that they're going out of business," he said, leaving the Greenbrier Parkway store in Chesapeake with two large shopping bags. "They've just been a staple in the area for so long."
A&N Stores, a 139-year-old privately held chain based in Henrico County, announced Friday it plans to close all locations this year after failing to find a buyer for the struggling business. The owners were negotiating a sale, but it fell through late last year, said Thomas J. Dillon III, the retailer's attorney.
The chain, which specializes in athletic clothing and footwear, has 48 stores across Virginia, including 15 in Hampton Roads.
Heavy competition from large national chains and increasing economic pressures on consumers created a difficult sales environment that ultimately pulled A&N under, Dillon said. Many retailers, he said, expect to report disappointing results in 2007.
"It's just not a great time for being in the clothing retail business," Dillon said.
Founded in 1868, the chain started as a dry goods dealer, an early version of a department store, in downtown Richmond. It evolved into an Army-Navy surplus supplier, deriving its name from that designation, and later expanded into camping gear and sportswear.
In the last 20 years or so, the stores gained a following for well-priced athletic shoes. Today, they sell ski pants and sweatshirts, sunglasses and swimsuits, heavy jackets and pocket knives.
"This is pretty much where we get our sneakers, always," said Angela Ortiz, a Virginia Beach mom. She cited A&N's reasonable prices on needed items for her fast-growing kids, including 5-year-old daughter Jasmine, who held a foam football and a pink backpack for her sister while shopping Friday at the Greenbrier store.
"You've got the mall right there, but sometimes that gets too crowded," said Jasmine's father, Eddie Ortiz. "I'd rather come to a store like this."
A&N has begun a liquidation sale, offering all merchandise for 60 percent off, though the Chesapeake store still had signs that advertised 50 percent markdowns.
On some items, an orange tag listed a price lower than the 60 percent discount. The owners have set no final dates but hope to unload as much inventory as possible before shutting the doors, Dillon said.
Everything Casual Inc., the corporate parent of A&N, has remained in the Sternheimer family, which launched the business.
In the company's registration with the State Corporation Commission, Mark A. Sternheimer is listed as president. Dillon declined to provide any information about the family, citing their privacy and sadness over the closing.
"A&N was a Virginia institution," said Dillon, who said he has represented the owners for 17 years. "This was a chain that touched the lives of many people across the state."
The retailer employs about 450 people. Each A&N store has an average of six workers, Dillon said.
Doris Wilgus said she had no idea that A&N was heading to its end when she went there Friday to help pick out long-sleeved shirts with her niece, who is heading for a five-month deployment in Iraq.
"I did a lot of my Christmas shopping here," said Wilgus, of Virginia Beach.
Some A&N shoppers Friday afternoon said they had heard about the pending shutdown and came for the discounts. Even they expressed sadness about the loss of the store.
"I'm really disappointed, actually," said Katlyn Craig, 16, who shopped at the Greenbrier store Friday with a friend who had told her of A&N's demise. "I used to come here all the time to get bathing suits."
Brandon Lewis and his wife, Paula, spent about $130 on five pairs of shoes, four T-shirts, a pair of shorts, three pairs of pants, a top for her and sunglasses. Paula Lewis acknowledged she harbored less nostalgia about the store's closing than her husband.
"This has made my day," she said, "to find a bargain."
Carolyn Shapiro, (757) 446-2270, carolyn.shapiro@pilotonline.com
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I am too upset that A & N is
I am too upset that A & N is closing, I have been an employee since I was in high school. I now have to find a new job so that I can support my 2 kids. Just because A & N didn't carry some of things that people weren't looking for doesn't mean that's why they are going out of business. We had many loyal customers and many are sad to see us go. The economy is very slowly going down and people don't realize it until something like this happens or they do work retail to notice that sales aren't what they used to be. Right now is not a good time to be looking for a new job either.
You all fail.
You all fail to take into account that the American wage has slipped in value. The big box retailers with their streamlined supply chains are vital for our low wage workforce. If you buy a very expensive brand name shirt with some name screen printed on it, or buy a cheap shirt with some low class screen print (fantasy art), chances are it's made in the same turd world nation. It's just one company is demanding a larger profit due to trends. I'd recommend checking out the documentary called "The Corporation." What I'd like to see is fair trade clothing places. That is, pay $20 for a shirt, know that $15 of it hit the workers hands in some other country. Bring back manufacturing in the USA, and raise the standard of living in other countries so we can sell them goods.
Awful clothes
Conpetition is one thing, but oversized merchandise is something else. Everything they cary is in size XL because that's what their clientele wants and not because they are overweight. Their T-shirts are long enough to be a dress. Add a smart belt and you are all decked out for the evening. That is if you want some "slang" on the front of your dress.
You must be a loser
if you are 40 and work at A&N. The job is just what it is Debi minimum wage. You sound like you hate corporations and I bet you work for one. A&N should blame themselves cheap goods and no change in the 10 years Ive seen equals low sales. Get smart do what Kmart done against Walmart. Step your game up!! After all its a business!!!
This is just one example
A & N is not going to be the only victim of the bigger stores. Our Cities cater to the large companies and not the small even though it's the small businesses that keep this economy going. I use to own a small store but couldn't compete with the "big boys" - They could sell stuff at a price it cost me to buy- Look around you - aren't you seeing the demise of small businesses like family owned restaurants?
We try to stay in Chesapeake and support our local businesses - Their survival depends on us. I don't drive a foreign vehicle and am extremly upset by the proliferation of foreign goods from China.
Our biggest mistake was becoming a "Service Oriented" society versus the type of country we use to be.
This is only the beginning I'm afraid.
No products
You have to have the product to sell. Last time we went into an A&N, I thought I was in a Dollar store or Flea Market. They had a long wall and a neon sign with Levis lit up, But when we walked over there not a pair of levis no where to be found. Just a bunch of $7.99 jackets. It was not the A&N I remembered. If you don't have the product, you're not going to get the business.
not me.....
I happen to LIKE A&N. There's neat stuff in there to buy and it's generally made a lot better than the crap in those discount stores.
debi, get a clue
DEbi, how can a retail store take jobs "overseas"? It's the market that decides if a store is a success and that market is YOU. If the consumer doesn't shop there, how can the store stay in business???
It's the competition
Small family-owned "Main Street" type businesses are falling by the wayside because of the extra extra low prices on the same items at the "Big Box" stores, and guess why.... it's us, the consumers, who allow it to happen. It's just like changing the channel on the TV if you don't like what you see. We've tuned out A&N Stores for lower prices elsewhere.
another one bites the dust....
and more people head to the welfare line. This country needs to get with it. We also need to heavily fine corporations that leave the U.S., set up shop in some third world country and sell their goods back to us at mega-profits. We need to KEEP JOBS IN THE USA. Why is this so hard for everyone to understand? We're in economic trouble because all of the jobs are leaving this country.