Pottery Barn to open Saturday.

Byline: Joe Mosley The Register-Guard

Eugene-area shoppers, someone's been watching you.

And based on the products you're already buying from the Pottery Barn, you're about to get your own outlet. The national chain of high-end home furnishings and accessories stores is set to open Saturday at Eugene's Oakway Center.

"We've learned we have a great deal of shoppers in your area, based on what we've seen from the catalogs and online," says Leigh Oshirak, the San Francisco chain's director of public relations.

"We based our choice in large part on the demographics (of the Eugene area). And we were impressed by the kind of lifestyle center Oakway is going to be."

The Eugene store, on the shopping center's southwest corner, has just more than 13,000 square feet of floor space for products including furniture, bedding, bath accessories, rugs, window treatments, lighting, tableware and gifts.

And you can expect the mix to change regularly.

"We have very distinct seasonal assortments," Oshirak says. "That store will start with fall (products), which will shift pretty quickly to the holiday season. (Shoppers) are going to see fairly frequent updates to what we call 'floor sets.' '

Selections include an "organic assortment" of bedroom and bath items, as well as a line of "smart products" that combine furniture function with technical gadgetry - such as a shelf with built-in iPod speakers, or a countertop that hides the cords of cell phones and other household rechargeable items.

The store also will have a gift registry, holiday gift-wrapping and shipping, and a series of complimentary classes - from designing in small spaces to setting a Thanksgiving table.

Pottery Barn is the latest in a string of highly sought-after national retailers to be landed by Oakway Center since a comprehensive makeover began 10 years ago. It joins a neighborhood of merchants including Borders Books & Music (1998), Trader Joe's (1999), Bed Bath & Beyond (2000) and Pier 1 Imports (2001).

High-end women's clothing stores Coldwater Creek and White House/Black Market opened last year in the same renovated building that now holds Pottery Barn, while P.F. Chang's China Bistro opened six months ago in a new building just across a parking lot to the south.

"Any time there is empty retail space filled, it is always a good thing," says Kathleen Smith, manager of the Coldwater Creek store. "We're excited to see that end of the mall come to full completion."

Smith said the Pottery Barn would seem to be a complementary choice for the spot, adding to the mall's mix of retailers that cater to high-end and quality-conscious shoppers.

"This is kind of rounding out the shopping choices for the customers here," she said.

At Pottery Barn, Oshirak says her company's store is likely to be a "significant draw" for Oakway Center, attracting everyone from the just-married couple furnishing their first apartment to the well-established set buying accessories for a second home.

"Anecdotally, we've heard quite a bit that when one of our stores comes to a mall, it can attract many other brands," Oshirak says. "We're liking, also, what we're seeing there (among Oakway's existing tenants)."

The Eugene store is the 191st in the Pottery Barn chain, and the third in Oregon - following locations on Northwest 23rd

Avenue in Portland and in Tigard's Washington Square shopping center. The chain, which spans the United States and Canada, has more than 90 additional stores that operate as Pottery Barn Kids.

Citing company policy, Oshirak declines to discuss construction costs or the new store's staffing level, other than to say it will start off with a "huge seasonal work force" going into the holiday season.

The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Pottery Barn was founded in 1949, in Manhattan, then was acquired in 1986 by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM).

Retail Notebook runs on Friday. Joe Mosley can be reached at [e-mail].