On Monday, Durango will bid a final adieu to its downtown Polo-Ralph Lauren Factory Store.
Currently adorned with “50 percent off” signs, the store will attempt to sell the last of its remaining merchandise. Last week, customers were browsing the shop in hopes of finding last-minute deals.
“In an effort to grow and improve operations, Ralph Lauren Corporation has made a strategic business decision to close the Polo Factory Store in Durango,” a Polo-Ralph Lauren spokeswoman, who declined to give her name, said in a statement to The Durango Herald. “ ... Ralph Lauren values each of our employees, and our focus is on maintaining a strong commitment to our talent. We will make every effort to identify other areas of opportunities for them within the company and ensure they are supported throughout this transition.”
The building is managed by Jackson & Jackson, a property-management firm overseeing commercial properties in the area. The property manager, Sandra Medearis, would not comment about the future status of the building.
Bob Kunkel, special events and business coordinator with the city of Durango, said the Polo-Ralph Lauren store was the last of the popular wave of outlet stores.
“It had a good run, and something else will replace it,” he said. “We will continue to move ahead.”
The closing of the store will result in a loss of jobs for both part-time and full-time employees in Durango.
According to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for July 2013 was 5.3 percent for the county and 7.1 percent for the state.
Overall employment has picked up in Colorado. Nearly 60,000 jobs have been added in the state since August 2012. Colorado-based Business and Economic Research reports the tourism industry leads the state in adding jobs.
vguthrie@durangoherald.com
