San Angelo Bealls stores are becoming Gordmans

UPDATE: This story was republished with information from a Stage Stores representative.

SAN ANGELO — Both Bealls locations are going to become Gordmans off-price retailers, the company has confirmed. 

"Stage is excited to announce it will convert both Bealls located in San Angelo to a Gordmans’ off-price retailer in 2020," a company representative said Friday.

An exact timeline for the conversion of San Angelo's two Bealls locations has not been announced.

Both Bealls stores — one inside Sunset Mall, 4001 Sunset Drive, and the other at 2230 W. Beauregard Ave. — are planned to close in the days leading up to the Gordmans grand openings in 2020. 

Store closing signage is already up at the West Beauregard location. 

The conversion from Bealls to Gordmans takes less than two weeks, and during the transition associates will be offered jobs at Gordmans, Stage spokeswoman Cheryl Moralez said.

If additional associates are needed they will be hired during job fairs, which will be announced at a later date.

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Stage Stores Inc., Bealls' Houston-based parent company, announced in September it was moving forward with plans to convert its Texas department stores to Gordmans.

The company began its conversion with nine stores in 2018 and after seeing success continued adding stores to the plan before announcing an all-in conversion strategy in September. 

The company plans to begin converting its remaining department stores in February and expects to be operating about 700 Gordmans stores by the third quarter of fiscal 2020, a news release states. The company also announced plans to close about 40 stores during 2020. Some stores may keep the Bealls name until lease agreements expire, the release states. 

“We are excited about our future as we fully transition to an off-price business model,” said CEO Michael Glazer. “Since 2018, we have converted 98 department stores to off-price, including 17 small market conversions ... Compared to their performance as a department store, off-price conversions have consistently delivered higher sales with less inventory."

In late July, Glazer said smaller market stores converted to Gordmans that were reaching their one-year anniversary were delivering sales nearly double the department stores they replaced. 

Off-price retailers — such as TJ Maxx, Burlington and Ross — take advantage of close-out sales and overstocks from traditional department stores to offer brands at a discount.

Stage Stores acquired 48 stores and a distribution center from Gordmans in March 2017 after the company, whose retail footprint is more established in the Midwest, filed bankruptcy. The purchase also included the Gordmans name along with all of the intellectual property.

Some changes already have happened.

In Burkburnett, 12 miles from Wichita Falls, a Bealls became a Gordmans store in March.

To learn more about Gordmans, visit gordmans.com.

Stage Stores' history

1920s — Palais Royal and Bealls are founded as Family Owned Businesses.

1988 — Three Bealls Brothers merged with Palais Royal to form Specialty Retailers Inc. (SRI), a private company based in Houston.

1992 — SRI acquired 76 store retail chain Fashion Bar of Denver, whose stores included a Juniors’ chain called Stage.

1994 — 45 Beall-Ladymon stores were acquired and the names were changed to Stage.

1996 — SRI acquired 34 Uhlman’s stores in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.

1996 — The company went public under the name of Stage Stores, Inc.

1997 — Stage Stores purchased 246 store chain C.R. Anthony Company located in the South Central US and reopened under the Bealls and Stage logos.

2001 — Stage Stores is reorganized.

2003 — Stage Stores acquired Peebles, Inc. which operated 136 stores in 17 states, maintaining the Peebles name and administrative office in South Hill, Virginia.

2004 — Stage Stores exceeded $1.0 Billion in sales volume.

2006 — Stage Stores acquired the BC Moore chain of 78 locations in 4 states. Sixty-nine of these stores were reopened under the Peebles name and the remaining nine stores were closed.

2009 — Stage purchased the Goody’s name through the Goody’s bankruptcy auction. The Company began using the Goody’s name in select markets in which there is strong customer awareness and recognition of the name.

2010 — Stage Stores launched its eCommerce website.

2012 — Stage Stores launched its new private label credit card loyalty program with enhanced. cardholder benefits; launch was accompanied by reissue of over 2 million credit cards.

2013 — Stage Stores consolidated its South Hill administrative office into its Houston headquarters.

2013 — Stage Stores replatformed its eCommerce website with enhanced functionality; site goes live in time for holiday shopping period.

2016 — Stage Stores launched Style Circle Rewards, to encourage and reward customer loyalty for both private label credit cardholders and non-cardholders.

2017 — Stage Stores entered the off-price segment with strategic Gordmans Acquisition.

2018 — Stage began testing the conversion of department stores to Gordmans off-price stores.

2019 — Stage announced long-term strategy to convert department stores to Gordmans off-price stores mostly in small mid-west markets, with a goal of reaching 300 total off-price stores by mid-2020.

USA TODAY Network-Texas reporter Chris Ramirez contributed to this article. 

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