The Goody’s store location in Forest will be closing after eight years at the current location on Hwy 35 in Forest. The store will be transitioning to the department store Gordmans by the spring of 2020. Both Goody’s and Gordmans are a part of the Stage family of stores, and the transition is part of a rebranding of Stage stores nationwide.
The family of stores owned by Stage include Bealls, Palais Royal, Peebels and Stage. Stage Stores, Inc. operates more than 700 stores nationwide and the company acquired Gordmans in 2017.
Stage Stores has operated a location in Forest since September 2007 when the company opened Peebles in the current Goody’s location. In 2011 the current location transitioned from Peebles to Goody’s, and now Stage will bring Gordmans to Forest in 2020.
In a telephone interview with The Scott County Times, Blakely Graham, manager of brand publicity at Stage Stores said, “Both Goody’s and Gordmans are a part of the Stage community of stores. Gordmans is an off-price retailer, which means it will have a wide variety of merchandise for the entire family at the lowest possible prices compared to other department stores. Gordmans has been delighting shoppers for over 100 years and will have new merchandise deliveries arriving weekly at the new Forest, MS location.”
Gordmans is considered more of a home store, but it will also offer home, clothes, shoes and a little of everything as indicted by the store’s website.
“In 2018, Stage Stores began testing the conversion of department stores to Gordmans, and in 2019 it was announced as a long-term strategy to switch Goody’s locations to Gordmans mainly in the mid-west and southeast markets,” Graham said. “The company goal is to have 300 locations by the middle of 2020.”
One Goody’s staff member said that they have not been given an exact date for the conversion to be completed but they have been told that the store will be closed for about a week while the final changes are made to Gordmans.
“We are excited to bring another Stage family store in Gordmans to Forest,” Graham added. “When it comes to popular name brand apparel, home décor, footwear, gifts, accessories, fragrances and much more for the entire family Gordmans will have it. As with all Stage stores, customers will be able to use their Style Circle Rewards and Stage-brand gift cards at any Gordmans location.”
At this time there is not an exact grand opening date set for the new Gordmans, but Graham said that as the time approaches the company will make announcements as to the official transition and grand opening.
