MOUNT VERNON – After months of anticipation, the Mount Vernon Rural King will open on Saturday morning.
Store manager Kelly Samson said that Saturday will be a ‘soft opening’ for the store, which means that “probably 98 or 99 percent” of the store will be filled. The store’s grand opening will be on August 26 and the ribbon-cutting will be on August 30.
“We just have little holes throughout,” Samson said of the store’s inventory. “So we’re just talking some holes here and there of stuff that we’re waiting on. There’s not a department that’s like, completely missing all their merchandise. It’s just little odds and ends things that we’re waiting to have come back in.”
Rural King inhabits what was formerly a Kmart at 1500 Coshocton Avenue. Since Rural King took over, the parking lot has been repaved.
The store will sell everything from guns and kayaks to food and household furnishing items. There will be chickens and rabbits for sale in the farm area near the back of the store as well. Samson noted the wide array of products the store sells, which she believes will appeal to the community.
“I think customers will be extremely surprised when they see what all we have to offer. We are a farm store first and we’re a home store. So a lot of people are surprised when they come in to find that we carry paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies,” Samson said. “We sell potato chips. We have all their canning needs. We carry candies. People are surprised when they come in and see what exactly we do offer.”
Rural King is an Illinois-based chain with over 100 stores in 13 states, according to its website. The Mount Vernon location will be Rural King’s 25th in Ohio and its 114th overall.
The store employs 65 associates, which Samson said are all from Knox County and the surrounding area. Some associates started training as early as May, with the majority beginning in June and July.
“It is super exciting. The whole entire staff is very excited. We feel the excitement in the community about us coming to town, so that makes it even more fun,” Samson said. “This week, we’ve just been putting the final wrap-up on the things that need to be done.”
Samson said the store will have extra staff on hand to work Saturday’s opening, given the anticipation surrounding the date.
Rural King prides itself in consistent pricing, Samson said, which means that there won’t be any earthshaking deals on Saturday. That is by design, however, as the company tries to use its level pricing model to its advantage.
“Basically, our pricing strategy is we have an everyday low price. Every single day,” Samson said. “We offer the best price every single day. We do not go up and down in our prices. A customer can feel confident when they come in on Monday that if they stop back in on Thursday, they’re going to get the same price. If they stop in in two weeks, they’re going to get the same price. So you’re not going to buy something from us and come back in a week and find that we’ve taken $20 off of it.”
Rural King also offers a ‘pet price guarantee,’ which means that the store will price match any pet merchandise below 10 cents of what it costs online.
Rural King is located in the Knox Village Square shopping plaza, which sits atop a hill between Wal-Mart and Kroger on Coshocton Avenue. Samson is not worried about the competition, however, because she believes her store’s customer service will separate it from the pack.
“I feel that the customers are going to love our associates,” Samson said. “Our associates are super excited about working with us and being in the store, and I think the customers are going to experience top-notch customer service from these associates that are in this building.”
The store’s hours will be 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day of the week.
