CLOSURE TO LEAVE VOID WARDS HAS PRIME SPOT IN TOPANGA PLAZA.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

CANOGA PARK - After 36 years in the Valley, the closure of the Montgomery Ward store leaves a void - not for customers, but for other businesses hungry for its space.

The mid-market retailer, a fixture of the American shopping scene for more than a century, announced Thursday that it will close its doors. Though the company had struggled to stake out a niche for itself, shoppers were unresponsive.

``It looks like they're doing everything right,'' said Rene Bernal, a sales clerk in the Topanga Plaza housewares department. ``Customers just don't want to come in.''

Analysts differed, suggesting that the handwriting was on the wall for the beleaguered company.

``The world changed; Wards did not - bye-bye,'' said Jack Kyser of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

With Wards soon out of the picture, its former competitors will be looking to fill its space.

``It's prime real estate, given the traffic flow and the longstanding placement of the mall,'' said Janine Baker, spokeswoman for Westfield Shoppingtown Topanga, which operates the mall. ``We want to put something in there that complements what we do have already.''

Since Wards has not yet announced a timeline for its store closures, Westfield has not offered names of prospective new tenants. However, talks have taken place in the past over who might take over the 116,000-square- foot space in the mall at Owensmouth Avenue and Victory Boulevard, Baker said.

``Over the least few years, with Wards trying to make a go of it, there's been discussion of it,'' she said.

Baker wouldn't comment on tenants of its other malls possibly moving to the vacated Wards store. Westfield also owns the Shoppingtown Promenade in Woodland Hills - anchored by two Macy's stores - which is evolving into more of an entertainment destination.

Speculation abounds over where discussions might lead. Wards prominent, two-floor location would provide an attractive space for an upscale retailer.

``At Topanga, the obvious candidate would be Dillard's,'' Kyser said, referring to the Little Rock, Ark., corporation. ``They're trying to expand their operation from the Antelope Valley.''

Dillard's representatives did not return phone messages left Thursday.

Wards was one of Topanga's original stores.

``They've been here since 1964, and they're one of our anchors,'' Baker said. ``They've changed a lot since then.''

It was this change, or lack thereof, that spelled the end for Wards, said Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Trend Report.

``The company is going out of business because it has lost its reason for being,'' he said. ``In its particular branch of retailing, Sears dominates.''

With Sears located in the same mall, Wards would have had to strikingly distinguish itself, Barnard said.

``It never gave shoppers a reason to prefer it - never,'' he said.

Thursday's noon shopping hour revealed minimal customer traffic at Wards Topanga Plaza store in an otherwise buzzing mall. The few customers roamed the well-stocked aisles, climbing the inoperable escalator as clerks patiently awaited their next prospective sale.

The lone customer in the Men's Department, Gary Wilson, was taken aback by the announcement.

``It's kind of surprising, but I guess the competition is just too great,'' he said. The West Hills woodworker was one of many who looked at Wards as a last resort for shopping.

``This is probably the first time I've been in here in three years,'' he said while shopping for a pair of work pants. ``I guess it'll be the last time now, too.''

Wards Woes

Montgomery Ward Inc. announced Thursday that it will close its 250 stores in 30 states and lay off 37,000 employees.

< Local stores

--Westfield Topanga Plaza, Canoga Park

--Panorama Shopping Center, Panorama City

--Eagle Rock Plaza, Eagle Rock

--Buenaventura Mall, Ventura

History

1872 Aaron Montgomery Ward founds the first dry-goods mail-order catalog business. The company's first catalog lists 163 items on a single sheet.

1900 Records $8.7 million in sales, but falls behind Sears & Roebuck, which generates $10 million. Thirty years later, Montgomery Ward would decline a proposal to merge with Sears.

1926 First freestanding retail store opens in Plymouth, Ind.

1939 Advertising copywriter Robert L. May develops character and illustrated poem ``Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' for company executives.

1985 Company unveils specialty store strategy and discontinues catalog operations.

1991 Resumes mail-order catalog business.

1994 Montgomery Ward opens first Electric Avenue & More stores, acquires New England retail chain Lechmere.

1997 Company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

1999 GE Capital Services purchases Montgomery Ward, brings it out of bankruptcy. Company abandons specialty store design and begins offering moderately priced apparel, electronics and furniture.

2000 Montgomery Ward announces plan to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, shutter its stores.

SOURCE: Daily News and Associated Press 

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