DAILY MAIL BUSINESS EDITOR
Coldwater Creek Inc., the upscale catalog retailer, said it willadd jobs to its Mineralwells distribution center because it isclosing its Idaho shipping center.
The company said it is laying off 220 employees - 120 at theSandpoint, Idaho, distribution center, 80 who work in its nationalretail store operations and 20 who work at the company's Sandpointheadquarters.
David Gunter, Coldwater Creek's director of corporatecommunications, said, "Most definitely there will be increasedemployment at our West Virginia facility.
"In the near term, I don't anticipate a dramatic job growth therebecause this is our slower time of year," he said. "But goingforward, throughout 2002, as we move into our peak season and as weadd additional retail stores, the job growth on the shipping sidewill all take place at Mineralwells, Wood County."
Gunter was unsure how many jobs eventually could be added atMineralwells.
The company's Mineralwells distribution center now employs about750 people year-round and about 1,000 during the Christmas seasonwhen it benefits from the holiday gift-buying rush.
Gunter said the 600,000-square-foot Mineralwells center iscurrently operating at 75 to 80 percent capacity. "So we still haveroom to grow in the existing building."
He said the company owns property between the existing buildingand Interstate 77 that would allow it to add 400,000 square feet, asneeded.
The two factors that prompted Coldwater Creek to locate in WoodCounty in 1999 were the quality of the work force and the geographiclocation, Gunter said.
"Our West Virginia distribution and call center is located withinabout one day's shipping of a majority of our customer base," Guntersaid. "Just as important, it also is going to be located favorably tothe largest base of our retail stores in the future."
Coldwater Creek, which began as a catalog retailer, also sells nowover the Internet and through retail shops in expensive locationslike downtown Seattle. Gunter said the company has 29 stores andplans to have 80 stores in 29 states over the next few years.
During the peak of the 2001 Christmas season, Coldwater Creekshipped 45,000 packages a day from its Mineralwells distributioncenter, he said.
"Our crew in West Virginia is operating at an incredible level ofefficiency and productivity," Gunter said.
"We had a better than 14 percent improvement in productivity thisholiday season over the holiday in 2000, and 2000 was quiteimpressive.
"What we're seeing there is, we've got a veteran crew of employeesthat have three peak seasons under their belts and they just keepgetting better and better at what they do."
Gunter said he believes some Idaho employees will be given theopportunity to transfer to West Virginia. "But our experience hasbeen that our real job growth opportunities and our real hiring poolis in West Virginia," he said.
The company said that as a result of its restructuring:
* It will conduct all catalog, Internet and retail storedistribution from West Virginia.
* The decision to cease shipping activity at Sandpoint does notaffect long-term plans to maintain that location as nationalcorporate headquarters.
* The decision does not affect operations at its customer serviceand technical center in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
* It will close two clearance outlet locations by March 1.
* It has accepted the resignation of its chief financial officer,Donald Robson.
Dennis Pence, Coldwater Creek's chairman and co-founder, said in aprepared statement, "We worked very hard to keep our Sandpoint centeropen and providing jobs for the past several years, and wereinitially hopeful we could continue to do so. Unfortunately, thedownturn in the national economy has required that we further enhancecost controls and increase efficiencies."
Georgia Shonk-Simmons, chief executive officer, said in a preparedstatement, "We believe that these actions, along with other costcontrols we have implemented, will significantly reduce operatingexpenses for fiscal 2002."
Coldwater Creek has praised its West Virginia work force onnumerous occasions. In November, Karen Clark, the company's humanresources director at Mineralwells, said the company's Sandpointdistribution center had begun raiding the Mineralwells facility foremployees because of the training the West Virginians have received.
Coldwater Creek's Mineralwells operation is state-of-the-art.Since it opened in 1999 as the company's East Coast distributioncenter, it has steadily taken on additional responsibilities. Forexample, it added an entire section devoted to Web-based inquiries.The Internet has become a major source of company sales.
The building sits alongside Interstate 77, just north of theMineralwells exit. It is highly visible to passing motorists.
Writer George Hohmann can be reached at 348-4836 or by e-mail atbusiness@dailymail.com.
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