Baskins Western and Work Wear will open stores in Baton Rouge and Lafayette by the end of the year, the broker representing the Texas apparel chain said Tuesday.
The Baton Rouge location will open in October in the 12,875-square-foot Books-A-Million store at Siegen Lane Marketplace near Interstate 10, said Austin McWilliams, vice president of SRS Real Estate Partners of Austin, Texas, which represented Baskins in the deal.
Books-A-Million’s corporate office could not be reached for comment Tuesday about whether the decision to get out of the space at Siegen Marketplace had any broader implications. Books-A-Million also operates a store at Towne Center on Jefferson Highway.
The Lafayette Baskins store will be a 15,750-square-foot store in the Ambassador Way shopping center on Ambassador Caffery Parkway.
Baskins, based in Livingston, Texas, will have 28 locations with the opening of the two Louisiana Stores and another in Katy, Texas.
Jack Gunion, Baskins’ chief executive officer, said the company will be looking at other options in Louisiana and throughout the South. He said the Baton Rouge market is likely large enough for a second store.
“We’re going to start with the one (location) and take a look,” he said. “The population base, I think, could support two stores, but we’ll start with the one and go from there.”
Gunion said Baskins is “a true Western store,” with about 12,000 square feet of its typical 15,000-square-foot store devoted to floor space. In addition to a large selection of boots, Gunion said Baskins boasts a women’s department that is larger than the average Western store and has items for the home and apparel for boys, girls and infants.
Gunion said Baskins’ workwear segment — particularly flame-retardant clothing and steel-toed boots — is a significant part of the business, with a direct-bill program available for local companies looking to outfit employees.