Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 25/01) - Cloaked in a secretive curtain of black plastic, a Yellowknife women's fashion chain store is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars updating its look.

"It's not cheap to renovate these stores but we think it's worth it," said Reitmans regional sales manager Bruce MacKeracher.

"We've been there for some time now and it was time for a renovation."

He said the Yellowknife store, which has been operating for more than 10 years, takes in well above average sales revenue compared with other stores located in similarly-sized communities.

"Typically in smaller centres we are more of a department store than a sportswear store," said MacKeracher.

He said the Yellowknife location sells more fashions for the teen and junior market than other Reitmans stores.

The store closed its location July 3 and moved into a temporary spot during the renovations. The new store will take up about 1,000 square feet of space in the Centre Square Mall and Reitmans executives hope for a mid-August grand opening.

"The whole thing will be new. New walls, floors, everything," said Reitmans Yellowknife manager Lori Baggs.

"The new store won't be bigger but we can carry more product."

The store's design is one of the corporation's two choices. The floor is going to be tile instead of carpet and the new fixtures will have the look and feel of wood.