NorthwestJuly 23, 2000

A Clarkston entrepreneur known best for his flamboyant commercials has opened his 20th Colortyme store in Moscow.

The store is at 660 Pullman Highway next to Jack in the Box, near downtown and the University of Idaho campus. The hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Gary Hughes said college campuses may provide an untapped market for the short-term furniture rentals and payday loans his stores offer.

"College students like many people are on tight budgets,'' said Hughes, who is president of GCH Management, which does business as Colortyme.

The Palouse also seemed like a promising spot for expansion because the population is similar in size to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley and his advertising was already reaching into the market, Hughes said.

His other stores are in five Northwestern states and Hawaii. Colortyme has about 400 stores across the country.

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Hughes is using his standard grand opening television commercial that features him riding and falling off a pig to promote the store.

In other advertisements, Hughes has shot televisions from trees and sang Elvis tunes to push his stores' products.

At 4,000 square feet, the store in Moscow is an average size for the chain, Hughes said. In comparison the Clarkston store, which is one of the largest, is 7,000 square feet.

The store sells electronics such as televisions, stereos and video cassette recorders; and furniture for living, bed and dining rooms. The items can be purchased, rented or bought with payments. In addition Colortyme offers payday and title loans.

"The name of the game is to have very sturdy furniture,'' Hughes said. "Those kids get pretty wild sometimes.''

The store will employ three people including the manager, Eddie Comer.

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