The Buckle leases mall space

The Buckle, Inc., a men's and women's clothing outfitter based in Kearney, Neb., is slated to move into a section of the retail space at Meadowood Mall vacated when Sam Goody music store closed its doors.

Tony Vail, general manager of Meadowood Mall, said The Buckle will fill 5,000 square feet of the 12,000- square-foot space.

He added that the space would be divided between The Buckle and another store to be confirmed at a later date.

"The only space we have to announce right now is The Buckle," Vail said.

"They're expected to open this summer or possibly even in late spring."

The vacated space, located next to EyeMasters, became available after Sam Goody closed operations.

Best Buy, which owns the music retailing chain, decided to close 90 of its stores nationwide.

The Reno branch is one of 11 new The Buckle stores opening throughout the nation this year.

The clothing chain now has 309 locations in 38 states.

Some locations are under the name of Buckle.

This is the first store to be opened by the company in Nevada.

Buckle, Inc.

specializes in an assortment of clothing apparel aimed at young men and women including casual wear, sportswear accessories and footwear.

Stores also carry a number of brand names such as Mavi, Elko, Quicksilver and Dr.

Martens.

With the opening of the mall shop, The Buckle will introduce a new store layout consisting of innovative fixtures and enhanced lighting.

Reno's store will be one of the first locations to showcase the new look.

Founded in 1948 by David Hirschfeld, the company originally went by the name of Mills Clothing and only sold men's clothing.

Hirschfeld's son, Daniel, took over the reins in 1965 and purchased a store under the name of Brass Buckle.

In 1977, the company, introduced women's clothing to its inventory.