A 105-year-old Lexington landmark will be reopening its doors later this month after Phillip Gall's, which closed in August, was bought out of bankruptcy by the owner of a Cincinnati outfitter.
Richard Kassar, who bought Cincinnati's Benchmark Outfitters out of bankruptcy four years ago, hopes to work the same kind of magic with Phillip Gall's, starting with its grand reopening on Black Friday, Nov. 23.
Kassar, who worked for outdoor manufacturers before going into retail ownership, said his experience on the manufacturing end helped him with Benchmark. "(I) turned that chain around, and I feel like I can do that again," he said.
He said he feels good about bringing a store back that had to shut its doors three months earlier. "It is an industry I love, and I think the industry has kind of fallen on some hard times, but I feel like I can make it work just with what I know and how manufacturers operate," he said.
The proximity of Phillip Gall's, which will keep its name, to Benchmark as well as greater buying power with two stores should allow Kassar to take advantage of economies of scale, he said.
"We'll probably tighten up the buy and use some of the efficiencies between having both of the businesses and try to leverage that. I think there are some efficiencies to be had with both of them that we can use to our advantage," Kassar said.
Plans are to keep Phillip Gall's at its Woodhill location, Kassar said, but he plans to shrink the size of the store, which is currently around 16,000 square feet, according to an August interview with former store owner Steve Gall. Kassar said he would like to start store renovations in the early spring.
Aside from differences with the shape of the store, some of the goods carried in the store will also be going through a metamorphosis as Kassar will drop some lines of clothing to emphasize some of the core outdoor brands. He also plans to stop carrying some types of goods; furniture, kites and skateboarding equipment are likely to go.
Kassar has split time between the Cincinnati store and Lexington while trying to assemble a staff for the store, which has remained untouched since it closed in the mid-summer.
"Hopefully, they will be a more experienced staff," he said. "One of the things we do very well (at Benchmark) is have a very knowledgeable staff, and very service oriented, and I hope to bring that down (to Lexington) as well.
Phillip Gall's buyer