Some LV workers heard news of Ward’s closing from customers

Grace Leong

Friday, Dec. 29, 2000 | 10:47 a.m.

Several Montgomery Ward employees in Las Vegas said they learned they were losing their jobs not from the company -- but from customers who had seen television reports on the closure of the historic retail chain.

Workers said they received calls from customers who had seen the television reports and wanted to find out if its two Las Vegas stores at 2875 E. Charleston Blvd. and 2120 S. Decatur Blvd. were closing.

A sales associate at the East Charleston store, who asked not to be named, said she had been working there for 16 years. "It's sad. I like working at Wards. I don't know what I'm going to do now."

"All morning (on Thursday) we've been getting phone calls from customers asking if it's true that Wards is closing. But we weren't sure," said another sales associate, who also declined to be named.

But one officer at the South Decatur store said the store's managers had warned their staff of a possible closure Thursday morning -- but had said they weren't able to confirm the news then. "It's a shock. We'd heard the store wasn't doing well, but we didn't expect Wards to close," said the officer, who asked not to be named.

Managers at both Las Vegas stores declined comment.

Jack Yeo, an officer at Wards' Chicago corporate headquarters, said there are about 200 employees at the two Las Vegas stores. He declined to disclose the workers' severance packages.

Another employee at the East Charleston location, who also asked not to be named, said: "This store was opened in 1963, after moving here from its first location in downtown Las Vegas near Fremont Street. This is a good location. We get a lot of traffic from Henderson and Boulder City. This is the first stop into town from those areas."

But Greg Miller, a Ward customer and a long-time resident in Las Vegas, said the Las Vegas stores have bad locations.

"It's a real shame ... Wards is a good store with good prices. But the problem is its bad location. The Decatur store is in the middle of one of the busiest intersections in town, Sahara and Decatur, and it's awkward getting in and out of that location."

"And the East Charleston store is in a lousy neighborhood. It isn't in a mall nor is it a major anchor store. People aren't going to Wards to pick up necessities that they can pick up at a Wal-Mart or Albertson's," he said.

Other than a few curious customers who said they had heard of Ward's closing and were visiting the store to see if there were any good bargains, post-Christmas holiday traffic was slow on Thursday at both Las Vegas stores.

"Bad marketing is another problem," Miller said. "Wards didn't identify itself with the new generation shopper. It's an old company with an old reputation, and that's not always a good thing. Target, for instance, has a big music department, and has cheaper CDs and DVDs ... And kids with only a few dollars will probably go there."

Ward has not made any final decisions about closing dates for its 250 stores or its 10 distribution centers, company spokeswoman Joyce Pemberton said today, the Associated Press reported. The company's website was broken into this morning by hackers who posted a bogus notice saying stores will close Jan. 15, AP reported.