Port of Portland / Courtesy photoLinda Fladwood, middle, and her daughter Rebecca Fladwood, right, at the lease signing for the cc McKenzie store in the Portland International Airport with Bill Wyatt, Port of Portland executive director.

Since Linda Fladwood was a child, she’s loved buying and selling.

“I used to go door-to-door selling rocks and things I found just to see what I could sell them for,” said Fladwood, the founder and co-owner along with husband, Clyde, of cc McKenzie, a women’s clothing store in Bend and Portland. “I enjoy retail, just the challenge of it.”

Fladwood purchased Central Oregon Clothing Company, an athletic apparel store in downtown Redmond, during the late 1990s. Shortly after, she opened a second location in Bend at The Forum Shopping Center on U.S. Highway 20. But the landscape of Central Oregon retail transformed quickly when new competitors opened in the region.

“Retail in Bend changed very fast because it was on the map, and all the big boxes came,” she said. “I had to make a change real fast because Nike was about 50 percent of my business. That’s when I switched to casual shoes and clothing.”

She said the change was a success, and she expanded to six locations throughout the Northwest, including Seattle and Eugene.

But her business took another unexpected hit a few years later when the recession started, forcing her to close or sell several stores to cut overhead, relocate headquarters to Portland and move her Bend store downtown to sell to the visitor market.

Despite the ups and downs, Fladwood said her company is now generating a profit.

“We know how to close the stores and open them,” she said. “We aren’t afraid.”

Fladwood still operates her downtown Bend store. But she has also opened two stores in the Portland International Airport, the first in 2009, with a third, scheduled to open in January.

“We went into a new business. We went from being a street store to being an airport store,” she said. “It’s always sunny at the airport.”

She said her airport businesses, due to the large volume of sales, has allowed her to continue to operate the Bend store.

“While (women) weren’t necessarily shopping in Bend, they were still shopping at the airport,” she said. “We were able to see what the women were buying and the trends. It’s allowed us to expand our lines and bring in a great selection to Bend.”

—Reporter: 541-617-7818,

rrees@bendbulletin.com

Q: What has been the most challenging part of operating your business?

A: The most challenging part was trying to learn the landscape of retail during the recession and with the new online marketplace. I’ve had to use a lot of hair dye to get through it.

Q: What is the value of the Bend store to your company?

A: The Bend store has a lot of loyal customers. That store has been there since 1998, and I still see some of my original customers shopping.