School Aids opening in Beaumont, Texas
School Aids is opening a new store in Beaumont, Texas, next week, the eighth store in the 35-year-old family business with headquarters in Baton Rouge.
“We hope to add five additional stores over the next several years,” Jamey Firnberg, company president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
School Aids specializes in educational materials for teachers, parents and students.
“We have been able to expand even in tough economic times because of a strong management team and conservative fiscal policies,”Firnberg said.
In addition to a retail store, home office and warehouse in Baton Rouge, School Aids also has stores in Shreveport, Alexandria and Lake Charles as well as Jackson, Miss., and two in Jacksonville, Fla.
Each retail space averages 10,000 square feet.
The business also distributes more than 80,000 catalogs throughout the Gulf South and has an ecommerce website for selling its merchandise.
The retail chain was started in Baton Rouge in 1977 by educators Jim and Ancy Firnberg.
The company expanded first to Alexandria, where Jim Firnberg became chancellor of the LSU campus.
Ancy Firnberg opened the second location in 1985.