Discount retailer Bealls Outlet opening 2 Tucson stores

Bealls Outlet — whose name is pronounced like “bells” — offers discount prices on department store items such as clothing, accessories, shoes and home furnishings and has two stores under construction in the local market.

Grand openings will be held at both Tucson locations on June 2, said Bill Webster, director of public and government affairs for Bealls Inc.

The outlet stores will be in the Tucson Place Shopping Center, at First Avenue and Wetmore Road, and at the Marana Marketplace at Orange Grove and Thornydale roads.

There may be a third store here in the future, according to Andy Seleznov, director of leasing for landlord Larsen Baker LLC, but it is not yet confirmed.

While Bealls Outlet has more than 20 locations throughout Arizona, including about 15 in the Phoenix area, the only Southern Arizona stores are in Green Valley and Willcox.

Webster said the Green Valley location is doing well, and having a few stores in Tucson will only add to the outlet’s success in Southern Arizona.

“The sky’s the limit as far as what we can do in Tucson, considering the population,” Webster said.

The regional Tucson market is a destination for people who cross the border into the U.S. to buy various goods.

Seleznov said outlet stores bring more Mexicans to Tucson, thereby helping the economy through buying merchandise and eating at local restaurants. Shoppers often come in groups and stay in hotel rooms, further expanding their economic impact.

“I think they’d be well-received in Tucson,” Seleznov said of the Bealls Outlet stores.

Mexican shoppers are a key retail demographic with Tucson’s proximity to the border.

Webster said Bealls didn’t move here specifically for the Mexican market, “but it will just be a cherry on top.”

Big box retailers like Bealls attract more Mexican shoppers than smaller retailers due to customers’ desire to purchase many items at once, said J. Felipe Garcia, executive vice president of Visit Tucson.

“They have a limited amount of time, so they want to maximize their duration,” Garcia said, “so these big boxes, they will definitely be another reason to bring them here to Tucson.”

Garcia offered retailers some insight into how Mexican shoppers do business:

• Customers start shopping early in the morning and stay until stores close (some, like Ross, have extended hours, especially on the weekends).

• They use mainly cash to buy things.

Visit Tucson has an education program for retailers and local businesses called “15 Steps to be Mexico Ready,” which teaches business owners and staff about 15 simple cultural nuances that can help them successfully interact with the Mexican shopper. For example, place cash and receipts in the shopper’s hand, not on the counter.

Some shoppers spend the night in Tucson or stay a few days, while others get all their shopping done in one day, Garcia said.

Mexican shoppers are only officially counted as tourists if they spend the night, but millions come here for a day and contribute greatly to the local economy, Garcia said.

Even if they don’t stay overnight, he said, retail tourists pay sales taxes, which goes toward the city’s general fund, which in turn goes toward infrastructure such as emergency services and road repair.

Garcia said Tucson and its city government values Mexican shoppers and their contribution to the economy.

“The more options we have, the more reasons we can have for them to stay here and not go somewhere else to shop,” Garcia said. “That’s important for us.”