CROWDS EXCEED EXPECTATIONS AT SEARS REOPENING

A crowd estimated at 1,200-1,500 shoppers was waiting outside the doors of Sears Roebuck & Co.'s store at 754 S. State Wednesday as the store joined three other Sears stores along the Wasatch Front and hundreds more across the country in reopening after a 42-hour closure to prepare for the debut of its "everyday low prices" campaign.

"It was beyond anything we ever expected," said Denny Morse, general manager of the downtown store. Prices of some 50,000 items were lowered during the closure which began at 6 p.m. Monday."Sales are going extremely well. That's the key. We monitor how many people are tire kickers and how many are actually putting their money down and carrying out merchandise and there was a lot of people carrying merchandise. It was spectacular, absolutely crazy right from the opening bell."

Morse said the store's hardware and children's clothing departments were particularly busy.

Similar scenes were being enacted nationwide as the 103-year-old retailing giant orchestrated its permanent lower prices campaign for maximum effect. Store managers everywhere reported record crowds as stores reopened with virtually all merchandise permanently marked down.

Sears Chairman Michael Bozic announced the "everyday low prices" last week, promising "to come out of the box in a way that would be dramatic."

The 824 Sears stores across the country closed Tuesday for the first time in more than 100 years as employees hurried to apply some 250 million new price labels to merchandise.

Sears Merchandising Group spokeswoman Mary Jean Houde said the "excitement is really interesting.

"We had high expectations, but the store managers are saying it's much better than anything anybody had expected," she said.

A random sampling of shoppers at Sears' two Salt Lake area stores Wednesday and Thursday brought mixed reviews.

"I love it," Tana Sutton said at the downtown store Thursday morning. "We just bought a refrigerator. It was reduced about $100."

Will you shop at Sears more often now?

"Yes, I like to shop at Sears."

"I'm pleased. Their stuff is cheaper. I don't usually shop here, but today I thought I would try it." said Jackie Little.

But others were less enthusiastic.

"I don't know if the prices are lower or not," Lorraine Meyers said Wednesday afternoon while shopping at Fashion Place Mall. "Some things seem to be."