Filene's Basement Coming In September

We first noticed the sign off Thunder Hill Road near Route 175...the folks at Filene's Basement are taking applications for new hires. A quick trip over to the retailer's Web site told us what we wanted to know: the discounter is opening a store Sept. 19 at 9031 Snowden Square Drive, over by the BJs.

Here's an excerpt from the company's history:

"Filene's Basement was founded in Boston in 1908 by Edward A. Filene as a way to sell off excess merchandise from his father's department store upstairs. Before long, other retailers and manufacturers were bringing their unsold goods to him to sell, and the concept of the "off price" store was born.

"Filene developed a revolutionary way to price merchandise called the “Automatic Mark Down System.” The price tag on each item was marked with the date it hit the selling floor. The longer an item remained unsold, the more the price would automatically be reduced, first 25%, then 50% and finally 75%. What was not sold was given to charity.

"Anecdotes abound describing the lengths to which a Basement shopper will go to snag a bargain: tug-of-war contests over coveted items, women changing in the aisles (even after fitting rooms were installed), shoppers trying to hide an item under other merchandise, hoping it will still be there when it hits its next markdown date (by the way, that never works).