Hats at Burlington Coat Factory

[J.T.Marcus]

I have this image in my head of JT just driving about for days on end, never sleeping, looking for outlets of Burlington Coat Factory.

You're a man on a mission, JT.

I love your image! Unfortunately, I can only do it on Saturday or Monday, and lately a lot of those have been taken up with work. I am still looking for that Huckel that looks like a Stetson Whippett!

 

[deanglen]

I'm bummed. Our local BCF just opened a new store at the Mall and turned the old one turned into a training store. Expecting a new selection of Tonak Treasures, or Adama & Spires Inspirations, now I find only wool, (and you know I don't mind wool, that much), in either brown or black, and the kind of variety I used to see and the kind apparently J.T. is revelling in, is gone, and maybe for good! This is a grim reality to face. It's not just the cheap hats I miss, it was that those budget beaters provided great grist for the modification mill without the guilt of wrecking a quality fur felt if the idea crashed. Just when you find something that works...

dean

 

[duggap]

Hey, complain to management. Who knows, they just may listen.[huh]

 

[deanglen]

Hey, complain to management. Who knows, they just may listen.[huh]

Now there's an idea that hadn't occurred to me. Thanks! I'll see what it might produce, at least I'd find out what the heck happened.

dean

 

[J.T.Marcus]

deanglen, We've obviously got a club going here, but what to call it? The Burlington Coat Factory Scavengers? The "Huckel" Berries? The "Tonakers?" The Czech Federation Conspiracy...

 

[deanglen]

I don't know. Good question. I like your suggestions.

ean

 

[Kentucky Blues]

I don't think anyone here has ever known how they go about stocking their hats. I know whenever I've been there, and they've had fur felt, they had more wool. The stores seem to be hit and miss, some stores having a great selection, others having poor. And they might get them in somewhat regularly, or just get a few fur felts in from time to time. Bring it up to management? Great idea. But don't have too much fear that they won't get fur in again, even if management ignores you. It's possible that they don't order fur or wool, they might just order "hats" and wherever they get them from just sends a variety.

 

[deanglen]

I asked an emplyee at BCF once how they order their hats. They said they didn't place an order...the hats were just sent.

dean

 

[carter]

They most likely have a centralized Ordering and Inventory System. New stock would be based on depletion (sales) at the store level. Therefore, the stores that sell more hats get more hats. The mix is probably based on availability in the centralized inventory. What they have is what they ship to the stores.

This would be a very dynamic inventory in a business like BCF.

 

[fedoracpa]

JT - those hats you bought at BCF are great, I especially like the gray one. This past weekend, I went to the BCF in York, PA - about 45 minutes from my house. They had a few fur felt fedoras in black, a few woolies, and that was about it. Of course, all the sizes were too small for my head. I guess I will check in from time to time, but maybe that store does not get many hats. I will have to check the BCF at the Arundel Mills mall near the Baltimore airport (about an hour drive), they may possibly stock more hats there.

 

[Josephine]

They most likely have a centralized Ordering and Inventory System.

I'd be willing to bet that. I needed a certain glass tile from Home Depot and drove around repeatedly buying out three stores over a period of a month. After my project was over, I went to my usual store for something else and they had a ton of the tiles, more than they had ever had before. lol

 

[Rick Blaine]

This one's a PIP!
If I could find a higher crowned/wider brimmed fur felt like that at our local BFC I'd buy it in a heartbeat! Very nice... All I ever seem to find there are the lower crowned "metro" & "Barsalona" models, still nice all in all, but just not right on me. I may just have to reconnoiter their current inventory here & see if anything like that is in. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[RBH]

.. The "Huckel" Berries.....

lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol

 

[deanglen]

The Tonak Pack.

dean

 

[Paratrooper]

how about the BCF group?

 

[J.T.Marcus]

This one's a PIP!
If I could find a higher crowned/wider brimmed fur felt like that at our local BFC I'd buy it in a heartbeat! Very nice... All I ever seem to find there are the lower crowned "metro" & "Barsalona" models, still nice all in all, but just not right on me. I may just have to reconnoiter their current inventory here & see if anything like that is in. Thanks for the heads up!

That hat was the most expensive of the three, $29.95! Still a bargain. It has a fabric sweatband, and no liner, but I can fix that.

 

[John in Covina]

We're taking you down to headquarters!

This type of store chain deals with buyers that are at their HQ and the store probably does not bother with any input as the computer tracking the sales lets HQ know what is happening.

Also, they probably don't order the Hats much, it is more likely the companies make available the overruns from the regular production, so selection is based on what is available. If you can find an adddress for the HQ you stand a slim chance of bending a buyers ear but if the sales don't back up the need they may blow you off.

What would be cool is if one or more of the hat dealers were to hook up with Hueckle and the like to offer those overruns instead.

 

[Dr Trinidad]

I went to BCF in Greenville SC today after following this thread. They had what had started out as nice fur felt hats but they were all trashed out really bad. They had huge stains and some of them looked like they had been dipped in bleach and the color had faded out in spoches. I did not see anything in saleable condition Broke my heart as there were several I would have bought if they had been in better shape. Maybe this is the store they ship all there damaged stuff to. The one bright side I did get a panama straw hat that the wife cousion bought while in panama. Looks like just a shell no sweat band or ribbon but it looks like it could be a great hat!

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Dr. Trinidad, "Crushed" is not a problem with these hats (assuming the price is low). With steam or a good cold water soak, they are easily reshaped. This also applies to ribbons that have been mis-shaped by stacking. Stains may or may not come out in a cold water wash with Woolite or dish detergent. As for one with bleached (lighter) areas, I wouldn't even waste $5 on it, unless I just wanted to experiment with trying to dye a hat.

 

[John in Covina]

Somebody did some cool dye experiements in a thread a while back.