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Container Store finds right box in Denver

Retailer plans 2nd Colorado location at Cherry Creek

Janet Forgrieve, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 10, 2006 at midnight

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The Container Store specializes in finding the right boxes - for its customers and for its new stores.

And, when it comes to the stores, location is way more important than speed, said real estate vice president Valerie Richardson.

The Texas-based specialty retailer expects to launch its second Colorado location, at Cherry Creek Shopping Center in Denver, next fall - a few months after its first store here turns 10.

"Our growth has been very deliberate and very strategic," Richardson said. "We approach our retail growth as an extension of our brand and culture."

The privately held retailer doesn't reveal sales figures but claims average annual revenue growth of between 15 percent and 20 percent since its first store opened in 1978.

It hasn't grown by rapidly adding stores but by increasing per-store sales, building online revenue and selectively launching in new markets, she said.

On Thursday, when it opens its first Los Angeles location, the retailer will have 38 stores in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Companywide, it has about 3,500 employees, with about 75 at the store near Park Meadows mall in Lone Tree.

The company has been working with Cherry Creek for more than two years to find the right space, said Richardson, who has been in charge of the store's real estate and site selection since 2000.

"Cherry Creek is a very mature market, but our brand has been so well received (at the Lone Tree store) that we felt like it was a really good opportunity," she said.

When Tower Records solidified plans this year to vacate its 20,000-square-foot store on the center's west side, the Container Store saw the perfect home.

The store sits near Bed, Bath & Beyond, Cost Plus World Market and the Macy's Home store, all of which complement each other and draw in similar shoppers, said mall general manager Nick LeMasters.

The Container Store sells boxes, bins, cabinets, shelves and about 10,000 other containers to organize every room.

Eighty-five percent of its shoppers are women, Richardson said, who vary widely in age but tend to have higher-than-average incomes - a good fit for Cherry Creek, which specializes in higher-end stores.

"What the Container Store brings is a use that our customer has wanted for a long time," LeMasters said.