Country Outfitter Closing OPO Store in Downtown Fayetteville
by May 5, 2015 12:43 pm 424 views
Fayetteville-based Acumen Brands is closing its Country Outfitter flagship store in the historic Old Post Office at 1 W. Center St. in downtown Fayetteville.
The store, opened in August 2013, will close sometime this month, and Hayseed Ventures — the latest project of Acumen founder John James — will take over the space on June 1, according to a news release from Acumen.
Hayseed Ventures, founded in March, is a venture capital production studio, said Blake Puryear, technology and project management lead for the company. In addition to monetary investment, the team of experienced entrepreneurs and developers works directly with companies to improve operations.
Hayseed Ventures already occupies the second floor of the Old Post Office. Plans to open a co-working space in the basement were put in motion on Tuesday with the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to fund renovation of the space.
“John and I have shared a vision of helping grow a thriving entrepreneurial environment in this region since the day we started working together,” Acumen CEO and co-founder Terry Turpin said in a press release. He also sits as a board adviser for Hayseed Ventures. “This is the best use of the location at this time, and it will offer Hayseed Ventures the space required to ultimately create more jobs for Northwest Arkansas.”
Country Outfitter plans to debut a new physical retail format next year, according to the news release. The new format will be more scalable and replicable.
“The Old Post Office is a beautiful space filled with history and warmth, but we can’t expect to secure locations on every historic square in America,” Rich Morris, vice president and general manager of retail operations, said in the news release. “We are grateful to have launched our brick-and-mortar business in the building, and plan to leverage our learnings from this space and recreate its authenticity across the country.”
Store manager Cathy Campbell will take on a leadership role within e-commerce merchandising, with particular emphasis in the new Country Outfitter Home store.