People pulling into the small parking lot at K.T.’s Work Clothes can always expect a greeting.
Whether it’s from the samples of the store’s merchandise waving on a clothesline in the wind, the welcome sign, or a warm smile from owners Teresa and Ken Dickerson, shoppers feel welcomed when they arrive.
Customers walking into the small building on Presley Boulevard are struck by the size of the inventory.
The racks are full of scrubs of different colors and patterns. Work pants, shirts and other clothing line the walls.
The Dickersons said they offer a product that will last the user a long time. “It won’t fall apart after a few washings,” Teresa Dickerson said.
“We carry overalls, coveralls, jeans, scrub suits. … We’re going to be getting flame-retardant clothes, which are big on drilling rigs and in oil refining plants,” Ken Dickerson said. “They’re real popular with people who work in those areas, and we have a lot of people around here who do.”
The Dickersons opened their business in 2003.
“I was working on power lines,” Ken Dickerson said. “Then we heard the guy who owned this business was closing, and we bought the business from him and opened up.”
One of the things the Dickersons take pride in is their ability to provide hard-to-find work clothes.
“Some stores around here sell coveralls only during certain seasons,” Ken Dickerson said. “We sell long sleeve and short sleeve coveralls year-round. I keep them in every size and color.”
The store also specializes in big-size clothing, carrying items such as pants up to size 80.
“We had a lady come in the other day looking for size 60 pants,” Teresa Dickerson said, “and we were able to help her. We also carry work shirts with two pockets, which men prefer.”
Ken Dickerson said work clothes and scrubs split the store’s sales.
“It’s about 50-50,” he said, adding that the store doesn’t just cater to people working in industry. Some people, he said, come in just looking for a good pair of jeans or overalls, or a set of scrubs to wear around the house.
“A lot of people buy scrubs to sleep in,” Teresa said. “I have a lot of women who come in looking for scrubs to use as pajamas. One lady came in looking for scrubs for her and her husband to use as pajamas.”
And while the store benefits from local shoppers, the Dickersons said, they get a lot of out-of-town business.
“But our biggest business comes from local shoppers,” Teresa said. “And we appreciate them. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be in business.”
“We deal with local businesses,” Ken said. “The hospital recently changed scrub colors for the different floors, and the nurses have been coming in to get new scrubs.”
The Dickersons are considering expanding.
“We plan to open a flea market,” Teresa said. “But that is still in the works.”
“We’re just taking it slowly,” Ken added.
