Vera Bradley crew gears up for 50,000 shoppers

By Bob Caylor | News-Sentinel

On Tuesday, many of the more than 1,000 workers needed to run the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale were busy at Memorial Coliseum doing the prep work for the event.

An event it unquestionably is. Holly Wagner, public relations manager for Vera Bradley, said the company expects 50,000 people to visit the sale. Shoppers from all 50 states have registered for the sale.

The draw is clear: tons upon tons of Vera Bradley gear. New this year are footwear and fragrances, both made under license from the company, Wagner said. But the staples – purses, duffel bags, accessories and so on – comprise the bulk of the 40 semi-trailers of goods available at the sale. That amounts to 700,000 pieces of merchandise, Wagner said.

The sale is today through Sunday at Memorial Coliseum. Today, Thursday and Friday are divided into four 2½-hour sale sessions between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., with an hour between each session. Admission to each session is $5. Saturday and Sunday are both free-admission days with shorter hours.