Big discounts on luxury brands is this retailer’s specialty

Tuesday Morning, a retailer of off-price luxury home goods, is the kind of place shoppers can find real holiday bargains.

The metro Atlanta area is Tuesday Morning’s second largest market with 31 stores, after Los Angeles with 42 stores. Dallas is third with 24. Despite America going on a budget this Christmas, however, the Dallas-based discounter has not had a smooth year.

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Jason Getz/jgetz@ajc.com

This is a selection of Tuesday Morning’s gourmet foods. The chain specializes in off-brand luxury goods.

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Jason Getz/jgetz@ajc.com

Ross Manning, Tuesday Morning senior VP of merchandising and marketing, shows off some products at the Midtown store.

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In October, the company said third-quarter revenues fell 14 percent and same-store sales dropped 17 percent. The results may seem counter-intuitive: Tuesday Morning specializes in close-out deals on name-brand items.

“We are an upscale, deep discount, off-price retailer specializing in close-out merchandise,” said Ross Manning, the senior vice president of merchandising and marketing on a recent trip to Atlanta. Manning recently explained the 700-store chain’s business strategy during a tour of the Midtown Promenade store.

Know your customers

“Our customers tend to be affluent, educated, women and boomers,” Manning said. They come seeking sheets and gifts.

“My store is near the Sugarloaf Country Club. We sell a lot of hostess gifts,” said Duluth store manager Kelly Wright.

Ali Hilton, the manager of the Midtown store, says that her customers are savvy and “understand a bargain.”

What lures shoppers

• The promise of getting up to 70 percent off retail prices for brand names, such as kitchen gadgets by Cuisinart or crystal Wedgewood decanters designed by Vera Wang.

• Plus, Tuesday Morning chooses “secondary and tertiary” locations where customers can drive right up to the door and park without hassle.

Marketing 101

Tuesday Morning uses direct advertising. They send out circulars to registered customers and an e-mail called “e-treasures” with advanced notice of sales on the first Tuesday of each month (hence the name Tuesday Morning). Manning said they’ve added “six figures” worth of new names to their list since August.