Robert Webster, Chairman and CEO of Palmetto Moon, announced today that the popular South Carolina lifestyle, collegiate and specialty gift retail chain will open its ninth palmetto state location in June 2014 in Columbia, South Carolina at the Village at Sandhill Shopping Center. Construction is now underway on the 4,300 square foot retail space. Palmetto Moon currently operates eight retail stores throughout South Carolina in Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Summerville, Bluffton, Greenville, Florence and Myrtle Beach.
Webster said, “We’re very excited about coming to the capital. We’ve been working hard to find the right space in Columbia for the past two years and are eager to enter that market. The location is a natural. Our Florence store is sixty miles away and has been drawing Columbia residents for a while now so we’re ready to bring our unique retail experience to Columbia and make it more convenient for everyone to shop in our store.”
What began in 2002 as a collegiate kiosk in the Citadel Mall in Charleston, South Carolina, Palmetto Moon remains a privately held, family owned business. The company has maintained steady growth by opening new markets annually including Bluffton in 2011, Greenville in 2012, an expansion in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre and the addition of an online store in 2013.
Webster explained that the company’s Facebook page has over 75,000 followers and the staff consistently receives requests to open a store in Columbia. “Our Facebook fans send us messages regularly asking us to come to Columbia,” he added. “Since we launched our new online store in October, we’ve been studying traffic to our website and discovered a number of opportunities; Columbia being the most logical expansion.”
Palmetto Moon’s newest store will be located at the Village at Sandhill, a 300-acre lifestyle center in the northeast area of Columbia, South Carolina, halfway between Interstate 20 and Interstate 77 on Clemson Road at the intersection of Two Notch Road. The open-air center offers a mix of nationally and locally owned merchants and restaurants, as well as national and regional banks. This new 4,300 square foot space will be the company’s second store featuring the Palmetto Moon prototype introduced in Mount Pleasant in 2013. The design celebrates the South Carolina lifestyle and is centered on visual merchandising to enhance the shopping experience for customers.
“We are very proud of the design plan for this Columbia store and our merchandise mix. We will feature our most popular South Carolina collegiate and lifestyle brands including Southern Marsh, Salt Life, Guy Harvey, Tervis, Yeti, Rainbow, Reef, Sanuk, Lilly Pulitzer, Costa and more. Our goal is for the customer experience to be spectacular,” added Webster. “It’s time we bring Palmetto Moon to Columbia. Our entire company is excited and we’re working diligently to open the doors on schedule in early June.”
