Anna's Linens pushes farther east

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 3/11/2003 3:00:00 PM

Atlanta — Value-oriented specialty retailer Anna's Linens moves one step closer to fulfilling its coast-to-coast strategy this week with its March 13 entry into Atlanta.

The Costa Mesa, CA-based company will open three stores in the market this week and another three in May, said Alan Gladstone, chairman, president and ceo. The company envisions opening up to 20 stores in the area.

"Atlanta is the most exciting market we have ever seen based on the demographics for our stores," Gladstone told HTT. "It's going to be a significant market for Anna's."

The company also has been building its presence in Alabama, which it entered last year in Mobile. The company recently opened a 16,000-square-foot unit in Birmingham — now the largest store in the 92-unit chain — and will open two more this year. It will also add a second store in Montgomery.

"We're very excited about the Southeast," Gladstone said, adding that Florida is on the agenda for spring 2004. "We're definitely going to hit the Atlantic Ocean next year."