Mar 30, 2010

Owners of Altar’d State Christian Stores tap into $8 million retail industryBy Carly HarringtonKnoxNews.com

The company’s tag line says it all: Where faith and fashion come together.

Aaron Walters, 31, and Brian Mason, 37, are hoping to fill a void in the contemporary Christian retail market with Altar’d State Christian Stores in Turkey Creek.

“We are targeting folks who want to show their faith but still be stylish. We want to be relevant in current trends,” Mason said.

The two former Goody’s Family Clothing executives, whose combined retail background includes Macy’s, Walmart, Kohl’s, Walgreen’s and Proffitt’s, joined together following the closing of Knoxville-based Goody’s.

Instead of opening another discount retail store, the pair said they wanted to bring something different and unique to the marketplace.

“We’re so different than anything else out there. We’re not just a Christian bookstore,” Walters said. “We want people to shop here because they have a great experience, because they understand me as a customer and a Christian.”

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