PORT TOWNSEND — The Quimper Mercantile Co. has hired a project manager to design the store and determine its inventory.

Jim Wheat, an Indianola resident with 30 years of retail experience, has been working for about a month and is developing plans for the store, which is projected to open in 2012.

A group of Port Townsend residents formed Quimper Mercantile Co. — or QMC — as a publicly owned and operated general merchandise emporium to replace the “retail diversity” lost when Swain’s Outdoor closed in February after operating at 1121 Water St. in Port Townsend since 1996.

“We are now refining the concept,” Wheat said this week.

“We want to offer merchandise that is relevant to the community that isn’t available in other places, although we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.”

Wheat has spent the past few weeks visiting local retail outlets and determining what niches need to be filled.

While he won’t commit to any specific inventory, he cites clothes and gifts as well as merchandise that appeal to both residents and tourists as a starting point.

“We want to offer merchandise that will be appealing to people in town but also will interest visitors,” he said.

While there are several bookstores in Port Townsend, QMC could find a niche that was not explored such as travel and guidebooks, Wheat said.

The company is investigating two locations for the store, one being the old Swain’s space, though nothing has been finalized, Chief Executive Officer Peter Quinn said.

“Buy local” is an important guideline, with preferences for merchandise manufactured in Jefferson County, Washington state and the United States, Wheat said.

But if the store discovers an outstanding product that people want but is manufactured overseas, it will be included, he said.

One idea is to hold an “open house” during the next few months so that manufacturers of local products can come in “to show what they are making and see if it is appropriate to put in the store,” Wheat said.

The store will be financed with $50,000 of founder money and up to $950,000 from the public offering, according to the company.

QMC is now in a “quiet period” and has submitted its stock-offering circular to the state Department of Financial Institutions for review and approval, which Quinn hopes will be approved by the end of the year.

Wheat’s experience includes a long stint at Eddie Bauer during which time the Seattle-based chain opened almost 200 stores.

He left in 1987, subsequently building retail stores Westminster Lace and Paper Zone.

Swain’s Outdoor in Port Townsend was a separate retailer from Swain’s General Store in Port Angeles, which remains open.

For more information, visit www.quimpermerc.com.

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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.