For Henderson-based Zappos.com, that has been a reality as the online shoe company continues its monumental growth since the company moved its headquarters and customer service center from San Francisco to Southern Nevada in 2004.

When it arrived, Zappos had about 80 employees at its then-Warm Springs Road headquarters that has since shifted to an office park near Green Valley Parkway. That workforce grew to 200 employees by early 2005 and is now approaching 500. Nearly 1,000 people work at its Kentucky distribution center, where it has more than tripled staffing since early 2004.

Zappos, a privately held company that Inc. magazine a year ago named one of the fastest-growing companies, expects to do more than $600 million in sales in 2006, double the $300 million in 2005. The company was launched in 1999.

But for the first time, some of that revenue will be generated by Zappos' outlet store, which opened three weeks ago at Safari Business Park, 7770 S. Dean Martin Drive, north of the Silverton Hotel. The store, which stocks more than 20,000 pairs of shoes, also serves as a West Coast return center for its product lines. It was recently expanded to include apparel. The company also carries handbags and eyewear.

"We started out slow, but it has doubled in size every year because our owner has focused on the customer," said company executive Dory Dyer. "We are completely focused on customer service. We want Zappos to become a household name, not for the products we carry. We are a service company that sells shoes, handbags and accessories."

Zappos offers free shipping and its products get to buyers within two days after they are ordered, Dyer said. There is also free shipping on returned products. The company's call center is also geared toward service; employees are encouraged to take as long as necessary with customers to meet their needs, Dyer said.

The selection of Las Vegas for the outlet store and return center was an easy one, given its proximity to the Henderson headquarters, said Dyer, who serves as its manager. Having a return center based in Kentucky isn't ideal because it takes longer for West Coast customers to return items and be credited.

Zappos counts on both locals and tourists for its customer base at the outlet store, Dyer said. Many customers are coming in the store simply by seeing its sign along Interstate 15, she said.

The products sold in the store will be the same as those offered online but at cheaper prices, Dyer said. There are also opportunities for customers to purchase discounted returned items that couldn't be resold online because maybe they were sent back with scuff marks, Dyer said. Other products sold at the store include some online that are at too low of price to be profitably sold over the company's Web site. There are other product lines that have been discontinued and need to be sold, she said.

"You are trying to get your money back on a lot of merchandise, and you have to have an outlet store to sell them," Dyer said.

Zappos also has an outlet store at its distribution center in Kentucky.

In 2005, the Nevada Commission on Economic Development approved $85,000 in training funds for Zappos.