DILLARD’S INC.
What: Fashion apparel, cosmetics and home furnishings retail chain
Where: New store opens Oct. 8 at 7660 Blake Rd., Liberty Twp., inside Liberty Center development
Phone: 513-712-5902
Store Manager: Richard Lanthorn
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays
Website: www.dillards.com
OPENING DAY DETAILS
Dillard’s Liberty Center grand opening celebration kicks off with a ribbon cutting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at the store’s Liberty Way entrance.
Special guests include:
- Myra Biblowit, president and chief executive officer of Breast Cancer Research Foundation;
- Barbara Bradley Baekgaard, co-founder and chief creative officer for Vera Bradley; and
- Monica Botkier, founder and creative director of Botkier New York.
Also part of the celebration:
- Ten percent of all sales at Liberty Center Dillard's Oct. 8 will benefit Breast Cancer Research Foundation;
- The first 200 customers at the Liberty Way entrance Oct. 8 will receive a mystery gift card valued at $10, $20 or $30; and
- From Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 11, over $40,000 total in prizes will be given away including apparel, accessories, cosmetics and a trip for two to New York City.
SOURCE: Dillard’s Inc.
ONLINE ONLY
Get all the news about Liberty Center in one place, with photos and videos online only at: www.journal-news.com/data/news/liberty-center-project/
When Dillard's opens this week at the approximately $350 million Liberty Center development, it will be the retail chain's furthest north Cincinnati location, which the manager says could help the department store capture more Dayton-area shoppers.
The Little Rock, Ark.-based retailer currently has no Dayton-area stores. It entered the Cincinnati market with the acquisition of the former McAlpin’s parent company.
Because Liberty Center is located off Interstate 75 within several exit ramps of Cincinnati Premium Outlets and The Streets of West Chester, Dillard’s expects to draw more customers that weren’t willing to make the drive before to other Cincinnati sites.
“This being somewhat in between… I think it really opens it up to a little bit larger marketplace especially with this center, it’s going to be a destination area,” said Richard Lanthorn, the manager of the new Dillard’s store officially opening Thursday, Oct. 8, in Liberty Twp. A soft opening with limited hours started Saturday.
“Anytime there’s more retail, it’s just going to bring more customers,” Lanthorn said.
Shoppers of the new, nearly 160,000-square-foot store will see the company’s latest prototype design with an open layout and fewer walls blocking the view across the floorplan. Each department has service experts that have received extra training on certain brands or clothing fittings, Lanthorn said.
“Everything we try to do is to try to send someone to a specialized school for that brand to get them to know about it,” Lanthorn said.
Other features that set Dillard’s apart include exclusive private brands such as Southern Living home decor, according to the company.
The second floor of the two-store anchor tenant is entirely women’s departments.
Altogether, the store will employ about 140 to 160 employees. Job openings are still available and listed online at careers.dillards.com.
“We try to keep our staff as close to at least 50 percent full time and the reason being is when people come in, we want that service level there,” Lanthorn said. “We have the majority of the staff in place but we’re always looking for great people.”
Ten percent of all sales at Liberty Center Dillard’s on Oct. 8 will benefit Breast Cancer Research Foundation, according to the company.
Construction continues at Liberty Center, located at the crossroads of Liberty Way, Ohio 129 and Interstate 75 in Butler County's Liberty Twp. The first phase consists of just over 1 million square feet of shopping, dining, office and residential space.
Anchor tenants Dick's Sporting Goods and Dillard's will be the first retailers to open at the approximately $350 million Liberty Center development on Oct. 8. A grand opening will be held Oct. 22 for about 65 percent of the retail, restaurant and entertainment tenants, Kevin Cedik, Liberty Center general manager, said Sept. 22 during a tour of the Liberty Twp. complex.
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