Stage in seven towns
to become Gordmans
Stage stores in seven Arkansas towns will reopen as Gordmans off-price department stores beginning April 28, the Houston-based company said in a news release.
The effort is part of a campaign to convert more than 500 department stores in 42 states to Gordmans, an effort that was announced in September. Stage brands include Bealls, Goody's, Palais Royal and Peeble's as well as Stage.
Once the conversion is complete, Stage will operate about 700 Gordmans locations, making it one of the larger off-price retail chains in the United States, according to the news release. The chain plans to close an additional 40 stores this year.
All the Arkansas store locations -- in Camden, Clarksville, Crossett, El Dorado, Jacksonville, Mena and Russellville -- have been operating as Stage stores. Stage acquired Gordmans in 2017 after the latter chain filed for bankruptcy protection.
As part of the conversion, Gordmans will be hiring a variety of full-time, part-time and temporary positions that vary by store location. Interested candidates are invited to first apply online at gordmans.com/careers and then visit a job fair from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on March 3 at the store locations.
-- Noel Oman
First cruise in April
for paddle-wheeler
NEW ORLEANS -- The American Queen Steamboat Co. said its newest cruise paddle-wheeler has passed its second sea trial and will make its first cruise in April from New Orleans to Memphis.
The 245-passenger American Countess went through the Intracoastal Waterway from Houma, La. -- where Gulf Island Shipyard added 60 feet to its length -- to Morgan City, La., as part of its trial, the company said in a news release.
The ship is 318 feet long. It will move to New Orleans in late February for four weeks of finishing touches.
The American Countess was built on the hull of the Kanesville Queen, which was part of a Harrah's casino in Council Bluff, Iowa, for 17 years.
American Queen Steamboat Co., based in New Albany, Ind., has three other paddle-wheel cruise boats. One works in the Pacific Northwest. The American Countess will be the third traveling on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
-- The Associated Press
State index takes
dive of 16.06 points
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Monday at 431.56, down 16.06.
"The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all fell more than 3% on Monday as the number of coronavirus cases outside China surged, stoking fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown," said Chris Harkins, managing director at Raymond James & Associates in Little Rock.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 02/25/2020