Cecile B. Corral

Weaver's celebrates 150 years of community retailing
October 10, 2007

This week I learned about the 150th birthday of a small, single-unit department store -- Weaver's -- tucked in the community of Lawrence, Kansas.

I had a feeling, as I made my initial phone call, that reaching Weaver's top executives would be far easier than reaching some assistant buyers at big box stores.

I was right.

Joe Flannery, president, took the time -- "As much as you need," he said -- to candidly answer my questions, first about his softening but here-to-stay home textiles business and then about the store's history and his tenure there as a member of the third family to own and operate Weaver's.

The more I spoke to him, the more I wanted to shop Weaver's for myself.

The national chains satisfy, with their prolific real estate locations and collectively broad assortment of goods.

But I envy Lawrence residents. It must be refreshing to have the option to shop a store with such a community-focused perspective on retailing, not to mention a legacy shoppers can trace back to their own ancestors. Not many small or even middle -- forget big – cities still offer a Weaver's of their own to local customers. (Lawrence's population is just over 80,000.)

As longtime vendor, Kurt Hamburger of Lintex Linens/Cobra Trading, summed up, "We are certainly going to do business with [Flannery] as long as I am alive, and I only wish there was a Weaver’s in every town the size of Lawrence in the U.S.”

The article on Weaver's is set to run in HTT's October 15 issue, complete with old and new photographs.

Posted by Cecile B. Corral on October 10, 2007 | Comments (0)