Leah and Jon Jones, of Spirit Lake, Iowa, are shown purchasing a decorative shelf that was on sale at Hobby Lobby's new Southpark Mall. An informal survey found cars from 32 Iowa counties in the mall's parking lot the second week the store was open.
Russ Oechslin, Sioux City Journal
A bird's-eye view of Southpark Mall's new Hobby Lobby and expanded Dunham's stores shows the Sears Hometown store and Bomgaars in the foreground.
SPENCER, Iowa | With Hobby Lobby’s January opening as the west anchor at Southpark Mall, the Oklahoma City-based, family-owned business now has 651 locations.
Spokesman Vince Parker said 70 more outlets are scheduled to open this year, making it the company’s most aggressive year for new openings. Sixty-eight stores opened last year, he said.
David and Barbara Green’s family started Hobby Lobby by building picture frames 45 years ago in the family’s Oklahoma City garage.
While Hobby Lobby bills itself as “the go-to location” for everything from furniture and vases to clocks, birdhouses and arts and crafts supplies,” those picture frames are still part of the product line.
Parker said Hobby Lobby felt the Spencer store could bring a very unique shopping experience to the area, with over 65,000 orderable items and even more seasonal items.
The Spencer outlet covers 53,000 square feet in what was originally a Woolco store, then Shopko, before being occupied more recently by several smaller retailers, including Dunham’s Sporting Goods.
Other nearby Hobby Lobby locations include Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Mason City, and Ft. Dodge, Iowa; Sioux Falls, S. D.; and Omaha, Norfolk and Columbus, Neb.
Leah and Jon Jones, who live in nearby Spirit Lake, Iowa, made two visits to Hobby Lobby before deciding to buy a decorative shelf they found marked down. While the couple had previously shopped at Hobby Lobby in Sioux Falls, they agreed they’d probably shop the closer store more often.
At Dunham’s, manager Rhonda Hartje said they have more traffic because they have more of everything, especially a greater variety of merchandise.
Craig Renken, manager of the JCPenney location -- the mall's east anchor -- said the new Hobby Lobby store and the expansion of Dunham’s Sporting Goods obviously brought in new traffic.
But it takes more than traffic to drive sales, Renken added.
Renken’s store has won several company awards for its customer service, which he said is the sales driver in today’s retail climate.
“It’s that personal touch that makes a difference, because in today’s world and today’s economy you can shop anywhere in the world -- not just Spencer or Sioux City, or wherever, but anywhere in the world.
“With the Internet you can get anything from anywhere. But you can’t get that personal touch that you would if you walked in to a store.”
Leah and Jon Jones, of Spirit Lake, Iowa, are shown purchasing a decorative shelf that was on sale at Hobby Lobby's new Southpark Mall. An informal survey found cars from 32 Iowa counties in the mall's parking lot the second week the store was open.
