Maxway department store on Shotwell Street was fully upgraded to Roses Express Thursday. Under the umbrella of Variety Wholesaler, Roses Express provides a bigger assortment of merchandise than its sister store Maxway.
“It’s a smaller version of Roses department store, which is why it’s called an express,” Floyd Hanes, Regional VP of Variety Wholesaler, said. “Where we can, we are making the name change of our stores to Roses. It’s just a different assortment, a little facelift.”
Roses Express sells everything from clothes and groceries to toys and electronics.
“It’s a little more upgraded than Maxway in a lot of areas,” Hanes said. “But it’s still low price, and not in any way taking away from the quality merchandise that we sell.”
Hanes said he has employed twice the number of people since the name change, helping give Bainbridge more job opportunities.
“With the high unemployment here, this is just a great opportunity to create some jobs,” Scott Ewing, Decatur County Chamber of Commerce Chairman, said. “It just looks good in general for Bainbridge to have some new construction and economic development going on.”
Bainbridge is continuing to grow as an economic hub for Decatur County and its surrounding counties.
With the expansion of larger retailers in the community, the city is developing into a retail hub.
Last month, Belk upgraded its facility, creating buzz within the community.
“It’s impactful for us to have jobs and the money that comes from those jobs and the sales here in the community,” Bainbridge Mayor Edward Reynolds said. “That just helps us all. It helps to have those opportunities locally because it brings in tax dollars.”