WAREHOUSE DEPOT Power buyers open own store

Phar-Mor buyers from out-of-state are already looking to expand in the valley.
The VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
BOARDMAN -- Laurie DelNegro lost her job when Phar-Mor closed, but she also lost a place to shop.
That gave her an idea.
Opening her own store seemed like the best way to fill a professional and personal craving -- bargain hunting.
"I know the costs of these goods. I can't go in some of these stores and pay these prices and sleep at night," said DelNegro, who was a buyer at Phar-Mor and previously owned a chain of dollar stores in Vermont.
In April, she and another Phar-Mor buyer, Brian Patterson, opened Warehouse Depot on Market Street next to Jo-Ann Fabrics & amp; Crafts.
Sales pick up
Sales have been increasing in recent weeks, and Patterson said their only regret is that they didn't move more quickly so they could have had a former Phar-Mor location.
They want shoppers to connect their store with the original concept offered by the Phar-Mor.
"Power buys are back," proclaims a sign on the side wall.
That's the phrase Phar-Mor used for the constantly changing variety of bargain merchandise that its first stores offered.
At Warehouse Depot, that concept is combined with an idea that large warehouse retailers use. Paper towels, squirt guns, cookies and other items aren't placed on shelves but are lined up on wooden pallets.
When the items on the pallet are gone, another pallet with different merchandise is put in its place.
"The old Phar-Mor mindset was 'Here today, gone tomorrow.' That's what we're bringing back," DelNegro said.
The store is different from Phar-Mor in that it doesn't have a pharmacy and is about one-fourth the size. Youngstown-based Phar-Mor not only had large stores, but also the chain itself was large. It had 73 stores when it went out of business last year but had operated 300 stores in the early 1990s.
Store has improved
Warehouse Depot has just one store, but Patterson said it has been improved recently with a greater variety of items and the addition of coolers so it can offer dairy products and baked goods.
Merchandise includes clothes, makeup and seasonal items. Much of it is priced at 99 cents, but DelNegro said they aren't trying to create a dollar store. She pointed out racks of Eddie Bauer and Bill Blass golf shirts being sold for $8.99 each.
"We only have items that people can save money on. If we can't get a good deal on it, it's probably not in here," she said.
The owners' relationships with vendors have allowed them make the buys necessary to offer low-cost items, Patterson said.
Someone without those connections would have to buy much larger volumes to get discounts, but vendors are working with them to help them succeed, he said.
Recruited
Patterson bought items such as paper products and candy for Phar-Mor. He was recruited to join the company last year while it was in bankruptcy court.
He said the financial offer was good enough for him to leave Mobile, Ala., where he owned a wholesale grocery company, and he was convinced that management was going to turn Phar-Mor around.
When Phar-Mor folded, Patterson and his wife, Leigh Ann, decided to stay with their two young children.
She liked her new job as a teacher at Youngstown Christian School and they liked their new Boardman home. They wish the Mahoning Valley had more sunshine, but they feel safe here and like that they can get around the area quickly.
DelNegro, a Massachusetts native, said she wanted to stay here because she has two daughters attending Youngstown State University. Her husband, Art, is dietary director at Washington Square Nursing Center in Warren.
At Phar-Mor, she bought seasonal items and general merchandise such as batteries and light bulbs.
She came to this area three years ago from San Antonio to be general merchandise manager for Stambaugh Hardware Co., which later closed. In Texas, she worked on developing licensed goods products.
More stores planned
DelNegro and Patterson already are planning to expand their concept with more stores. They think they can open three more stores in the Valley in the next 18 months and will be looking for high-visibility locations that are next to well-known retailers.
They know, however, that the pressure is on them to stock what shoppers want and do it at the right price.
"Anything you do today is a risk. Neither one of us felt like this was guaranteed. We know we have to buy right," DelNegro said.
shilling@vindy.com