Anna's Linens grandly opens three more stores in Puerto Rico

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 9/7/2012 1:55:18 PM

San Juan, P.R. - Anna's Linens knew it was going to like doing business in Puerto Rico. It just didn't know how much.

Yesterday, the budget moderate textiles specialty chain opened three stores on this island territory, joining the pair it had opened this past May. Those two units have skyrocketed to the top of the 307-store operation's roster, becoming the number one and two performing individual locations.

Alan Gladstone, the president and founder of Anna's, believes the three new stores could join them soon. He presided over an opening day soiree here, joined by executives from some 40 vendors who toured three of the five stores on the island by bus. A reception was held later in the evening for the group, which also included nearly a dozen Anna's executives.

And Anna's is not done. "We believe we can open 12 to 15 stores here eventually," said Gladstone, noting that at least three will be up and running by next spring.

The new stores average about 12,000 square feet and are located in both enclosed malls and strip centers in the secondary cities on the island. Anna's promoted the grand openings with both print and TV advertising and it clearly worked. At the Caguas store, close to 400 people were lined up in the mall by the time it opened at 9 a.m., snaking through racks of sale merchandise splayed in the common space of the mall.