Merrifield Deserves Praise for Role at Pic ‘N’ Save

While overall we felt that your June 23 story “Can This Guy Really Run a Big Bargain Basement?” was a fair and accurate portrayal of both the state of Pic ‘N’ Save and its chairman, Lew Merrifield, there are three statements that we feel require clarification.

The statement by Edward Randolph, a supplier to close-out stores and former Pic ‘N’ Save shareholder, that “the stores are too pretty” indicates a lack of understanding of the present state of the close-out industry.

Twenty years ago, close-out retailers could operate out of substandard stores, with goods piled on slabs of plywood atop sawhorses. Today’s customer, however, demands more. Competition is greater for discount shoppers’ dollars; time is an increasingly precious commodity.

The statement by “an industry observer who asked not to be identified” that Mr. Merrifield seems to lack “an extra gene that merchants are born with” is ludicrous. We may not know about genes, but we do know about retailing. Lew Merrifield is among the best retailing executives that any of us have ever had the privilege to work with.

The last statement from an industry analyst that Pic ‘N’ Save’s expansion has failed is just not true. In fact, the stores that are performing best are our newest stores. We are pleased to say that this year, sales to date are up 18.5% for all stores and 5.7% on a comparable store basis.

Lew Merrifield dragged Pic ‘N’ Save kicking and screaming into the 1990s. The company and its employees, including the undersigned, are all better for it.

DAVID BLAKELY

STEVE MIRAL

The writers are executives at Dominguez-based Pic ‘N’ Save.