Renys expands in Portland and Topsham
The long-awaited opening of the first Renys in greater Portland is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday at its new downtown location on Congress Street. And just four months later, in August, Renys will open another new store in Topsham, co-owner John Reny says.
On opening day, the new Portland location will offer sales and raffles, including a $500 Renys gift certificate, according to Reny. About 50 people have been hired to work the floor in anticipation of a large crowd. The permanent work crew will also number about 50.
Without disclosing projected sales, Reny says he expects the Portland store will become one of his better performing locations. However, he admits, "it is a different market," and that he still meets people in Portland who've never set foot in one of his discount stores. "It will be a brand new market for us."
The store will fill the space left vacant after both L.L.Bean and Olympia Sports moved out last fall. The total sales floor space is 22,000 square feet, Reny said, and cost about $300,000 to refurbish.
"It will fill up a big hole on Congress Street, and while we think that there are great stores and shops, there is no place you can buy everyday stuff you need," he says.
Meanwhile, plans are moving forward to open a Renys at the Topsham Fair Mall this summer, in a 32,000-square-foot space that formerly held part of Village Candle. Village Candle is consolidating its operations in Wells.
Reny says this will mark the first time the department store, founded by his father in 1949 in Damariscotta, will have opened two stores in one year. When the Topsham location opens, it will bring the number of Renys stores in Maine to 16.
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