White House Watch - May 16th, 2007
WHITE HOUSE - Driving through White House on Hwy. 76, you may not have noticed the relatively unassuming store, with its simple and discreet exterior that borders on minimalism. Even those familiar with this locally operated business are largely unaware of the recent, worldwide success of the store.
Specializing in high-end women’s attire (such as suits, hats, purses, and more), White House’s ExpressURWay provides individuals in the community with quality clothing at discounted prices – oftentimes, 30 to 40 percentbelow that of competitors.
However, while ExpressURWay has seen its share of local success, its commitment to online shopping has brought unforeseen, and perhaps unimaginable, growth on a larger scale.
With over 1,200 products on their website, this small business in White House has become the second-largest provider in the nation, when it comes to this particular style of high-end women’s clothing – with sales quadrupling in the past year and expected to quadruple yet again this year.
“The beginning of this year, until now, has just been awesome,” said Ross Oldham, manager of ExpressURWay. “We sell all over the world. Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Canada – you name it, and we’ve probably shipped there.”
This type of success has come as something of a surprise, even to the employees of EXpressURWay – especially considering the store’s origin.
“She just thought that it would be neat to supply women with clothes that she liked,” Oldham said, referring to EXpressURWay’s founder, Theresa Lott. “She likes to dress people, if that makes sense, so she opened up the boutique to have something in the area. Then we started the Web site; and, in that time, it just skyrocketed.
“It’s really amazing.”
Along with their fiscal success, EXpressURWay is also currently developing a non-profit program for nearby residents – a “community referral system” which will serve as a link between area jobs and potential job-seekers.
“It’s a community service,” Oldham said of the upcoming referral system. “It’s something that nobody here has had or done. All our efforts are to reach out to the community.”
EXpressURWay is located at 408 Hwy. 76 East, next to the White House Inn Library. For more information on EXpressURWay, contact Ross Oldham at 672-4454 or visit their Web site at www.EXpressURWay.com.
(Michael Marberry is a news reporter for The White House Watch. He can be reached via e-mail at news@checkyourwatch.com.)
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