VALDOSTA — The city is beginning to enjoy the benefits of its new metropolitan status as two new national retailers open their doors for business this week.

Best Buy and Rugged Wearhouse are opening side by side in the Promenade Plaza shopping center on Norman Drive. Best Buy, known for its selection of electronics, computers, and games, will open Friday, Oct. 8 with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. and Rugged Wearhouse, offering brand name and designer merchandise at reasonable prices, will open Thursday, Oct. 7 with a ribbon cutting event at 9 a.m.



Best Buy

Steve Sager, Best Buy’s store manager, said he is very excited to be a part of the Valdosta community. Having just relocated from Atlanta, Sager said, “I love that I can get anywhere in town in 10 minutes. In Atlanta, I couldn’t even get out of my neighborhood in 10 minutes.”

Sager, a 7-year veteran with the company, said the 20,000 square foot store is filled with approximately $1 million in merchandise, which will probably increase as the holiday shopping season arrives.

Best Buy has hired 80 part and full time employees. Sager said more than 2,000 applied online and the he conducted more than 60 interviews to assemble the store’s staff.

Offering a diverse cross section of merchandise, employees have to be proficient in a number of areas and the two weeks prior to the opening have been devoted to training.

The store’s merchandise includes computers and accessories, telephones, CDs, games, boom boxes, televisions, digital cameras and much more.

Sager said he is particularly excited about Best Buy’s new Geek Squad concept. “They do in-home networking. They can install a wireless network or fix a computer. It’s a 24-hour service that people can access by calling 1-800-Geek Squad.”

A special VW bug sitting in front of the store is the rapid deployment vehicle for the squad. Customers can also bring their computers into the store for repair as well.

The store will be open from10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 10 p.m. on Friday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. A number of special events and giveaways are planned throughout the opening weekend and the public is invited to the ribbon cutting and grand opening.



Rugged Wearhouse

Rugged Wearhouse will open the doors to its 12,000 square foot store on Thursday with a tour and ribbon cutting at 9 a.m.

Walter Holbrook, senior vice president of operations, said the company is very excited to be coming to Valdosta. Describing the store as a family retailer offering name brand and designer merchandise and clothing at lower prices than other stores, Holbrook said the store will “appeal to the middle class consumer that loves the brands they see in the mall but can’t always afford them.”

The store will employ a staff of 25 and is the company’s 11th location in Georgia.

Holbrook said the store has new merchandise shipments a couple of times each week and loyal shoppers learn the shipment dates so they can have first choice at the selection.

The store will offer clothing items for the entire family as well as decorative accessories.

Although not affiliated with Best Buy, Rugged Wearhouse often teams with the retailer to time the opening of new stores.

The public is invited to attend the grand opening event on Thursday and to tour the store at 8:30 a.m.