Retail News Digest for Sunday, February 6, 2011

Comings and goings:

Other retail news:

56 thoughts on “Retail News Digest for Sunday, February 6, 2011”

  1. Wal-Mart, humbled king of retail, plots rebound

    By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and RACHEL BECK, AP Business Writers Story Published: Feb 5, 2011 at 10:21 AM PST

    SADDLE BROOK, N.J. (AP) – The battle for shoppers is playing out in this New York suburb: Wal-Mart versus everyone else.

    Dollar stores beckon, their small size ideal for quick shopping. Target offers 5 percent off if you pay with its store-branded card. Costco tempts with high-end, brand-name food and designer clothes at competitive prices.

    Bernadette Clark used to visit Wal-Mart here twice a week. Now it’s twice a month. She got fed up last year when Wal-Mart stopped stocking some of her favorite brands and she couldn’t count on low prices.

    “It gave me the opportunity to look elsewhere,” she says. “I shop around more.”

    Three years ago, Wal-Mart ruled for convenience, selection and price. But today it is losing customers and revenue, and smarting from decisions that backfired.

    Wal-Mart is not in danger of ceding its place atop the retail world. But competitors have begun to chip away at its dominance.

    Over the last year, revenue at Wal-Mart stores open at least a year has fallen by an average 0.75 percent each quarter, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Revenue rose by an average of nearly 1.7 percent at Target, 8 percent at Costco and 5.9 percent at Family Dollar.

    To fight back, Wal-Mart is again emphasizing low prices and adding back thousands of products it had culled in an overzealous bid to clean up stores. It’s also plotting an expansion into cities, even neighborhoods where others dare not go.

    “We are running a better business because our competitors cause us to raise our own game,” Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke told The Associated Press in an interview. Wal-Mart expects to halt the decline in revenue when it reports results from its fourth quarter this month.

    Unlike most stores, Wal-Mart thrived when the Great Recession struck in late 2007. Its core customers – households making less than $70,000 a year – bought more. For many, it became the only place they shopped. Affluent shoppers became price conscious and discovered Wal-Mart’s prices were hard to beat.

    All of Wal-Mart’s $27 billion in revenue growth for the year ending in January 2009 came from greater demand for basic items – food, pharmacy and household goods. Shoppers spent 13 percent more on basics at Wal-Mart that year.

    Shoppers also liked that Wal-Mart’s stores looked neater. The company was finishing a major renovation to address complaints that its stores were messy. Wal-Mart widened aisles, eliminated clutter, improved lighting and lowered shelves.

    Family Dollar and Dollar General posed little threat. Their stores generally were dingy, and their shelves were filled with low-quality clothing and housewares. The groceries weren’t major brands.

    Target, meanwhile, struggled with the perception that its prices were high. And stores filled with non-essential items – think brightly colored, decorative pillows and kitchen accessories – didn’t appeal to shoppers focused on making ends meet.

    GOOD TIMES END

    So Wal-Mart had a competitive edge. It lasted until June 2009, the month that economists would later determine was the end of the Great Recession.

    Around that time, Wal-Mart’s renovation started to backfire. As part of its store overhaul, it had removed thousands of products from its shelves. Gone were top-selling toothbrushes and other things that people counted on Wal-Mart to stock, like handkerchiefs. Wal-Mart got rid of 20 percent of its groceries, about 10,000 items in that area of the store, says Burt Flickinger, who runs the consulting firm Strategy Resource Group.

    Shoppers began complaining that Wal-Mart no longer had items they wanted, even some of their favorite brands. Revenue began to decline.

    “We cleaned the stores up, but we cleaned them up too much,” says Duke, who had become CEO just months before, in February 2009.

    Wal-Mart’s next mistake was pricing. Over the past year, it had strayed from its “everyday low prices” slogan, the bedrock philosophy of founder and namesake Sam Walton. Wal-Mart was less aggressive about being the low-price leader. Instead, the company slashed prices only on select products, and the deals were temporary. The idea was to draw customers into stores for the bargains and hope they would also pick up other, more profitable items.

    Last Memorial Day weekend. Wal-Mart advertised dramatic price cuts on 22 items, including a 40-ounce bottle of Heinz ketchup for $1, less than half price.

    But the strategy failed.

    The economy was still weak. Customers were scrutinizing prices as many had never before. They discovered that Wal-Mart couldn’t be counted on to have the lowest price on some items, if it stocked them at all.

    PAYING FOR MISSTEPS

    Wal-Mart’s mistakes have had a lasting sting.

    Shoppers are no longer confident that they can “take care of their shopping list on one trip and get rock bottom prices,” says Robert Buchanan, an independent retail stock analyst.

    Revenue at Wal-Mart stores open at least a year, a key measurement of any retailer’s health, has fallen for six straight quarters. That is the longest such stretch since at least 1980, when ICSC chief economist Michael Niemira began tracking the figures.

    Wal-Mart executives have acknowledged that fewer people have walked into its stores every quarter for the past year compared with the corresponding period a year earlier.

    While Wal-Mart has lost shoppers, competitors have gained.

    • Dollar stores are winning over customers with convenience. Their parking lots and stores are less than a tenth the size of those at most Wal-Marts. They stock eggs and milk in coolers up front near the registers. Bread is on a nearby shelf. That makes it easier for shoppers to get in and out quickly. They’re carrying more major brands, especially food.

    Shoppers spend about the same as they did a year ago at Family Dollar – about $10 a trip on average – but they’re coming in more often, the company says.

    Combined, Family Dollar and Dollar General took in about $20 billion in the last fiscal year, just 5 percent of Wal-Mart’s $408 billion in revenue. But together they have thousands more stores than Wal-Mart, and their revenue is growing at an enviable rate.

    “The number of openings of dollar stores, and just the sheer density and convenience has been a (competitive) factor” for Wal-Mart, Duke says. “There’s no doubt the customer wants value, but they also want convenience.”

    Family Dollar’s strategy is to blanket a region with stores, clustering them sometimes less than a mile apart and along bus routes. Dollar General has more than 9,000 stores and says it sees 12,000 more in its future, including plans for 625 this year.

    In Saddle Brook, Cindy Collins, 50, and her mother, Winnie, 71, could go to Wal-Mart for everything they need. But they favor the nearby Dollar General, which opened a year ago, for their weekly shopping.

    “We can get cereal, paper products, cat food or whatever we need here. It’s also easy to get in and out,” says Cindy, who lives in nearby Elmwood Park.

    • Target scored a win against Wal-Mart with its 5 percent discount for purchases paid with a Target credit or debit card. The incentive, launched in October, applies to everything sold in its stores, from toys to fast-selling iPads.

    Wal-Mart won’t match the discount, even though it’s losing customers like Tomacinia Carter. She lives closer to the Wal-Mart in Saddle Brook, but chose to shop a Target in Paramus because of the discount. She saved $4.60 on a recent trip. “It does add up over time,” she says.

    “That is hammering Wal-Mart,” says Craig Johnson, who runs the consulting firm Customer Growth Partners.

    Duke says loyalty and credit card programs are expensive to run and Wal-Mart wants to give low prices to all shoppers.

    Target is Wal-Mart’s largest rival, though its revenue of $65 billion for its last fiscal year was only one-sixth of Wal-Mart’s. Target has maintained its reputation for stylish clothes at low prices. It’s also added fresh fruits and vegetables to an expanded grocery section.

    • Wholesale clubs, particularly Costco, weathered the recession and are picking up Wal-Mart customers, too. Shoppers are drawn by things like premium beef at competitive prices and well-known brands, such as coats from designer Michael Kors that are offered at steep discounts and in limited quantities. Wall Street Strategies analyst Brian Sozzi describes shopping at Costco as a “treasure hunt.”

    Costco’s membership, which includes small businesses, grew by 2 million to 58 million last fiscal year. Customers shopped its warehouses more often and spent about 2.5 percent more on each visit than they did in 2009, the company says.

    THE COMEBACK PLAN

    Wal-Mart hopes the holiday season marked the end of the declining revenue. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Wal-Mart to report a 0.9 percent increase in revenue for the November through January quarter. Wal-Mart will release its quarterly and year-end results Feb. 22.

    It’s a start.

    Wal-Mart expects other changes to fuel growth. They include:

    • Going beyond the return to “everyday low prices.” Wal-Mart upped the ante in the fall by pledging to match competitors’ prices. The company is also pressing its suppliers to give it the lowest prices on goods including clothes, food and cosmetics, says Cameron Smith, a recruiter for Wal-Mart vendors.

    • Restocking thousands of grocery items. It plans to finish adding back products to all its departments by spring.

    • Revamping its clothing department to focus on basics like socks, underwear and no-frills jeans, which are selling better than other clothes.

    • Collaborating with suppliers to offer products in smaller sizes, most for under a dollar.

    • Opening more smaller stores. Some will be less than 30,000 square feet, about a sixth of the size of the average Wal-Mart store. These will be in towns the company figures can’t support a big-box store, in an effort to go head-to-head with dollar stores.

    The company is also looking to follow the success of Home Depot and Target by moving into urban areas.

    It’s already moving into Chicago, and is looking at sites in Washington. Duke says Wal-Mart has its eye on New York, too, where Wal-Mart calculates that city dwellers using credit cards spent $165 million at Wal-Marts in the suburbs last year.

    And Wal-Mart plans to tap markets where no one else goes. Duke calls them “food deserts,” city neighborhoods where the few places to shop have limited products, few healthy options and high prices.

    “We have an opportunity here to grow our business, to serve more customers, to open stores, and that is something we are positive about,” Duke says.

    Wal-Mart still faces obstacles. Rising gas prices and high unemployment hurt Wal-Mart’s working-class customers. Soaring prices for commodities may make groceries more expensive for the retailer.

    But the company has righted itself before. Underestimating Wal-Mart would be a mistake, warns Joe Feldman, a managing director at Telsey Advisory Group, a research company.

    “The company always figures it out.”

  2. Armed robbers held up Ann Taylor Loft at The Shoppes of College Hills on Jan 29. Suspects had been caught. Not sure if they were connected to the armed robbery of JCPenney at Eastland Mall at the end of 2010

  3. JCPenney at Bel Air Mall in Mobile, AL is getting ready to open a MNG by Mango vendor shop in its women’s comtemporary section. Fellow fashion anchor Dillards is expanding and upgrading its handbag department.

  4. And in other news…

    Shopko is experimenting with a new format, caled Shopko Hometown aimed at small towns with populations ranging from 3,000 8,000, where the only competition is Family Dollar or Dollar General. The two pilot stores for this new format opened in Oconto, Wisconsin and Kewaunee, Wisconsin, both inside two former Pamida locations. A third Shopko Hometown location is being planned for Seymour, Wisconsin.

  5. Ultimate Electronics has signs up in their Salem NH location saying “going out of business.” They just opened 4-5 months ago and already going out of business..

    Not sure if it is just that store or if it is the entire New England stores but 4-5 months seems awfully quick to call it quits,unless they have lost a boatload of money to bail this quick..

    I guess they didn’t do a feasibility study.

  6. @CE, THANKS! It seems really odd they would be in financial difficulties, and yet make such a move to a completely new market, only to hang around 4-6 months depending on the location.

    I know Best Buy is tough competition, but seems like poor business to enter an entirely new market when there are already money issues within the company.

  7. Around here there’s one in Danvers but not that much people didn’t go there after black friday because of Best Buy across the street.

  8. Along with the FYE that recently closed in the Citadel Mall in Charleston SC, the mall also lost lost a Hollister store, along with a number of smaller seasonal and local retailers, including a really bad used book store located next to an in-mall Target.

  9. J.C. Penney could move to former Boscov’s at Monroeville Mall

    J.C. Penney might move from its location at Monroeville Mall to the former Boscov’s department store there. Monroeville Mayor Gregory Erosenko said Friday he heard from mall officials that Penney’s could move into two of the vacant store’s three stories, and mall owner CBL & Associates Properties Inc. could turn the current Penney’s into a multi-screen movie theater. “That is something that we are looking into,” Penney’s spokeswoman Ann Marie Bishop said, declining further comment. CBL could acquire the vacant Boscov’s to make the changes, Erosenko said. CBL declined comment. A sheriff’s sale on the building, attached to the mall, had been scheduled for Monday but was postponed until March 7.

    Read more: Penney’s could move to former Boscov’s – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_722580.html#ixzz1Dy2X86J7

  10. But what about the Dawn of the Dead fans? That Penney’s is kinda sacred…

  11. @Pseudo3D, it’s hard to believe how much the mall has changed in the years after the movie was filmed there. I wish they wouldn’t have removed the ice rink as it was unique for its time and set the mall apart from any other in the area. Maybe CBL has bigger plans in store which they haven’t announced yet, I always look forward to that rink returning someday even if it means shuffling anchors around to maximize foot traffic through the mall.

  12. Eastern Shore Centre, a 500,000 square foot lifestyle center in suburban Mobile, AL (Spanish Fort), recently lost Hollister Co., Cache, a Brookstone pop-up store and a several regional and local stores. Unlike the smaller Legacy Village in Mobile’s affluent Spring Hill neighborhood, ESC has struggled to maintain its upscale market segment. The Gulf oil spill crisis has also detrimentally affected greater Baldwin County’s tourism-driven income over the past year.

  13. @SEAN, It looks like Walmart finally found its Achilles’ heel.

  14. @Justin Hill, Who knew the little dollar store could pose a challenge to the mity Wal-mart.

    Once they moved into higher dencity suburbs & urban neighborhoods, Wal-mart discovered the playingfield was different & they were not able to reright the rules to there liking. This included buying votes of polititions & silencing community groups who might stand in there way such as Chicago’s city council & community groups around New York who are hell bent on to keep Wal-Mart out of the boroughs.

  15. @SEAN, one reason why dollar stores have posed a challenge to the “mity” Walmart is because Walmart’s generic offerings have gone to total foreign crap in the last ten years or so…just like dollar stores!

  16. Recently Brookstone and Hat Shack closed there store at Square One Mall in Saugus, MA. Now i’m hearing rumors that Brookstone is moving to a new location.

  17. @Pseudo3D, No arguement on that point. Cheep crap from China is still crap reguardless wich retailer sells it.

  18. Target is moving into the former Carson Pirie Scott on State St. in Chicago.

  19. http://www.secondavenuesagas.com

    Report: Apple definitely coming to Grand Central
    By Benjamin Kabak .The world’s largest Apple Store is definitely coming to Grand Central Terminal, Leander Kahney of Cult of Mac reported this morning. Just a week after we first heard rumors of Apple’s interest surface, Kahney says the store will likely open in “early September,” and it is supposedly set to be “Apple’s largest retail space in the world.” The MTA and Apple, however, are still not confirming this report, and where in the terminal any potential store will go is anyone’s guess.

    As Kahney notes, 2011 is the tenth anniversary of Apple’s first retail store, and the computer giant wants to “make a big splash.” To do so, it’s looking to develop over 16,000 square feet of Grand Central, but two questions remain: Where? And how? The largest retail store in the terminal is a Rite Aid tucked into the walkway near the Shuttle, and it’s only 10,000 square feet. Initial reports in The Observer said that Apple would build “right in the terminal,” and Kahney’s source said Apple “may be taking walls down” in the landmarked building.

    Despite the sure tone of these reports, neither the MTA nor Apple is commenting, and I’m intrigued but still somewhat skeptical. Landing Apple would be a huge get for Grand Central, and Apple would certainly draw headlines if they can find over 16,000 square feet in the terminal. I’ll keep my eye on this story over the next few months.

  20. @chris whittaker,

    In addition, a Pac Sun store closed in this mall.

  21. @chris whittaker, can you tell me what is happening to the Citadel Mall? From doing a store listing to inline unit/kiosk ratio, the mall currently stands at a 79% occupancy rate.

  22. Action sports retailer Zumiez to open stores in Pittsburgh area

    Zumiez Inc., a mall-based specialty retailer of action sports related apparel, footwear, equipment and accessories, will open its first Pittsburgh area store in early July at the Mall at Robinson.

    Zumiez, based in Everett, Wash., will occupy 2,300 square feet in a upper level storeroom, near Macy’s, now occupied by American Country Collections, said Beth Edwards, mall manager.

    The store will have 10 to 15 employees, said Trevor S. Lang, Zumiez chief financial officer. A second store is scheduled to open at the Prime Outlet at Grove City, Lang said.

    Zumiez operates 400 stores in 37 states. It caters to young men and women, between ages 12 to 24, who have a lifestyle centered on activities such as skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, and motocross.

    Read more: Action sports retailer Zumiez to open stores – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_723292.html#ixzz1EI63IAxv

  23. I’m surprised nobody has yet to discuss the fact that A&P is closing another round of stores. Below is a list of the 32 stores that are closing, sorted by banner and state:

    A&P in NJ: Barnegat, Flanders, & Manville

    A&P in NY: Carmel, Greenburgh, New Rochelle (exact location in town not specified) , & Portchester

    Food Basics in CT: Bridgeport

    Pathmark in DE: Glasgow

    Pathmark in NJ: Deptford, Gillette, Hillsborough, Livingston, Middletown, North Hackensack, South Plainfield, & Whippany

    Pathmark in NY: Brooklyn (the location on Nostrand Avenue), Comack, & Hartsdale

    Pathmark in PA: Bethlehem

    Super Fresh in MD: Ocean City (exact location in town not specified)

    Super Fresh in NJ: Cape May Courthouse, Hamilton, Hammonton, Hightstown, & Lumberton/Mount Holly

    Super Fresh in PA: Lionville & Yardley

    Waldbaum’s in NY: Farmingdale, Smithtown, & Valley Stream

    The only good news (in any of this) is that none of the classic A&P stores are on this list.

    In my opinion, the finest retail prototype ever designed is the A&P Centennial. (Centennial stores were built from the late 50′s to very early 70’s.) Unfortunately, very few of these lovely brick buildings are still operated by the company today. I am so lucky, however, that there is an A&P Centennial still open in Morristown, NJ (which is close to where I reside). Some other Centennials still in operation can be found in Pluckemin, NJ; Goldens Bridge, NY; and Katonah, NY. Thankfully, all of these other Centennials are also still open.

    The Acme Style webmaster wrote an excellent article on the Morristown A&P that I think you’ll enjoy. It is found at the following link: http://acmestyleblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/morristown-nj.html

  24. A lot of Picture People studios are closing all throughout the country, I found some locations that are closing or have since closed via its Facebook page, I’m sure this listing is not exhaustive.

    Chico, CA
    Montebello, CA
    Cedar Rapids, IA
    Des Moines, IA
    Merrillville, IN
    Mishawaka, IN
    Lexington, KY
    Hagerstown, MD
    Camp Hill, PA
    Greensburg, PA
    Scranton, PA
    Madison, WI

  25. @Max, The A & P on Shore Road on New Rochele’s south end is closing while the one on Quaker Ridge Road on the cities north end remains.

    As for the Hartsdale NY Pathmark, Shoprite has recently opened a pare of stores on Main Street White Plains & Central Park Avenue Scarsdale @ Midway SC, 2-miles south of that Pathmark location.

    A &P has several locations along Central Park avenue including Pathmark’s @ 1757 & 2540 in Yonkers & 668 C P AVE Scarsdale wich is a smallish store.

    The funny thing is that the Pathmark at 2540 is 5-minutes walking distence down Central Avenue from the new Shoprite at Midway SC, I wonder how long it will be until it closes do to compitition. I also wonder why that one was spared & not Hartsdale in the first place.

  26. Lamenting The Demise Of The Regional Department Store
    Department stores used to be a regional aspect of the industry. Where did they all go?
    Greg Kerfoot

    It was not that long ago when most markets had their own traditional department store companies. If you know of Maas Brothers, O’Neil’s, Thalhimer’s or Weinstock’s, it probably means you lived in Tampa, Florida, Akron, Ohio, Richmond, Virginia, or Sacramento, California — or it means you are an experienced (i.e., older) shopping center industry professional. Traditional department store consolidation has generated buying, advertising and management efficiencies. However, extraordinary customer service, unique merchandise and the local awareness associated with regional department stores seem to be things of the past.

    Two Stores Are Better Than One

    Larger markets typically had two or more traditional department stores. Phoenix could select between Diamond’s and Goldwater’s, Indianapolis had LS Ayres and Block’s, and shoppers got to choose between Strawbridge and Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia. This competition caused the stores to strive to be special, and it made shopping more exciting and more appealing for the customers. While the stores shared many vendors, a significant percentage of resources were unique to only one company per market. This allowed for subtle but important differences in how the stores were perceived.

    In multi-store markets, one company typically emerged as having a broader appeal while the other focused on more upscale customers and special occasions — the ‘carriage’ trade. There was clearly cross-shopping for many merchandise categories, but differences were important enough to justify store-specific shopping trips for special items. Residents of St. Louis would go to Famous-Barr for back-to-school clothes, yet Stix, Baer & Fuller was the choice for a prom dress. Shillito’s was a great place to go for a winter coat in Cincinnati, but that special holiday gift was likely to come from H&S Pogue. This was not the most convenient way to shop, but it did make the process more exciting.

    Passion or Chore?

    It is safe to say shopping is still a passion for some people (thank goodness); however, shopping has become a chore for too many others. Minneapolis shoppers use to passionately debate the strengths, weaknesses, promotions and selection of Dayton’s versus Donaldson’s versus Power’s with the same vigor and enthusiasm as football fans analyzing the latest Vikings trade. This made shopping fun for many, and it was good for the shopping center industry. However, while the Vikings are still around, Dayton’s, Donaldson’s and Power’s are not, and the number of shopping fans is declining.

    Regional mall development has all but come to a standstill, and the economy, saturation levels and competitive alternatives are clearly important factors in this dilemma. Nevertheless, the lack of regional department stores has had an impact as well. Department store consolidation has hurt many centers, and most markets don’t need another M-P-S mall (Macy’s, Penney, Sears). It was possible to have a greater number of successful centers in markets when each center had its own individual character, driven to a large extent by the strength and emphasis of its department stores. Today’s national department stores do a nice job of merchandising to the country. Unfortunately, the regional department stores of the past did a better job of merchandising to communities.

    Guess Your Age

    At the end of this article is a partial list of regional department store names that used to generate excitement, conversation and shopping interest in markets across the United States. For each nameplate in the chart below, list its home market. For example, Abraham & Straus was based in Brooklyn, New York.

    Now add up the number of regional department store names you have been able to link to a primary market.

    • If you identified 20 or less, you are likely under the age of 35.

    • The linking of 21 to 40 names means you are 35 to 44 years of age.

    • If you got 41 to 60 right, then you must be in the 45 to 54 year age cohort.

    • The identification of 61 or more unfortunately makes you 55 years of age or older.

    If you got them all correct, you are probably retired and could have been the author’s first supervisor. And if you are not familiar with any of them, you probably have an MBA and could be the author’s current supervisor. Ah, how things change.

    Greg Kerfoot is a principal of Location Strategies, LLC, a research-driven retail real estate consulting firm, based in metropolitan Chicago. He can be reached via e-mail at greg@locationstrategiesllc.com.

    SELECT FORMER DEPARTMENT STORE COMPANIES

    Abraham & Straus

    B. Altman

    Bamberger’s

    Block’s

    Bon

    Broadway

    Buffum’s

    Bullock’s

    Burdine’s

    Cain-Sloan

    City of Paris

    Cohen’s

    Crowley’s

    Daniels & Fischer

    Davidson’s

    Dayton’s

    Denver Dry Goods

    DH Holmes

    Diamond’s

    Donaldson’s

    Famous-Barr

    Filenes

    Foley’s

    Frederick & Nelson

    Frost Brothers

    G. Fox

    Garfinckel’s

    Gayfer’s

    Gimbel’s

    Goldblatt’s

    Goldsmith’s

    Goldwater’s

    Gottschalks

    H&S Pogue

    Hahne’s

    Halle Brothers

    HC Prange

    Hechts

    Higbee’s

    Hudson’s

    Hutzler’s

    Jacobson’s

    JB Ivey

    JL Brandeis

    John A. Brown

    Jones

    Jordan Marsh

    Joske’s

    Kaufmann’s

    Lazarus

    LS Ayers

    Marshall Fields

    Maas Brothers

    May Company

    McAlpin’s

    Meier & Frank

    Miller & Rhoads

    Montgomery Ward

    O’Neil’s

    Pizitz

    Pomeroy’s

    Power’s

    Rich’s

    Robinson’s

    Sage-Allen

    Sakowitz

    Sanger-Harris

    Shillitos’s

    Sibley’s

    Stern’s

    Stewart Dry Goods

    Stix, Baer & Fuller

    Strawbridge

    Strouss

    Thalhimer’s

    Wanamaker’s

    Weinstock’s

    Wieboldt’s

    Woodward & Lorthrop

    ZCMI

  27. @SEAN, I see that Sean if it wasnt for Macys and Federated being so greedy we would have still fifteen of those former stores, especially the ones from may co. I am at the point that i am sick of macys and wished we could have gotten Belks because they remind me so much of Filenes and Sterns. I think every mall has a Macys, it makes shopping boring nothing new and exciting anymore.

  28. @rob, Most malls have Macy’s, but a handful dont. The westchester White Plains NY, Village @ Merrick Park Miami FL & Beachwood Place Cleveland OH come to mind. If only symbolic, keeping the local nameplate would prevent the sameness that you describe from happening even if Macy’s is the perrent. Locals would still take pride in there department store because it’s in there hometown.

  29. @SEAN, YOU know what it is Sean I lost my liking to Macys when they took away many other stores and options for shopping. I also find the quality of their merchandise going down. Macys was good years ago when they were their own company before federated bought them when they were nearing bankruptcy THAT is why I speak highly of Belk they are a private own company and the quality of their merchandise is much nicer,and does not think they are the tops over any other reatiler like Macys does.

  30. @rob, Ah hah! So that’s why Tim thinks you went Ali Larter over Belk on the Nanuet Mall thred.

    As for Macy’s, some how I knew a merger with Federated was a bad idea even back in 1994.

    The impact didn’t hit the NYC area right a way, but did hit Los Angeles & san Francisco almost instently withthe the loss of Bullocks & Imporioum nameplates. A & S as well as Stern’s were retired a few years later & the retirement of all other regional nameplates around 2003 or 4.

  31. @SEAN, Im glad you agree with me look at Chicago, people were very upset of losing Marshall Fields, because of Macys, AS much i felt of losing Filenes. I stopped shopping at Macys before they bought may co, because I found filenes to have better selection and value.Many in the New York area liked Abraham and Straus and Sterns more so than Macys.

  32. @rob, The one I do miss is A&S. It was a great store with a great design/layout. The A&S in Manhattan was a beautiful building and since its closing, it’s kind of depressing to see what’s become of Manhattan Mall, the former A&S Plaza.

  33. @mallguy, Its been redone over. J.C Penney is in Manhattan Mlall. So that place came back but nomore food court. Thats why Vornado owns it just like they did to bergen mall in paramus when they bought it from simon property. Vornado brings dying malls back to life I just wish they would buy Nanuet Mall from simon property because they are the worst mall owner, that mall is dead only sears and macys are there.

  34. @rob, Vornado & Pyramid are a million times worse than Simon. Have you eve ever sene The Westchester, Newport, Roosevelt Field or Menlo Park? each one is a success in there own right.

    Every REIT has duds, but do to unique issues Rockland County ended up with a pear of them.

  35. @SEAN, I wouldnt knock vornado that much because they arent keeping up with the rennovations on monmouth mall. At least vornado turned a an old mall that simon was running into the ground back to life Bergen Town Center and added J. C Penney to the Manhattan Mall.I am not sticking up for pyramid especially what they are doing to palisades but as I can see the Poughkeepsie Galleria where i used to live is keeping thaT MALL going. Simon only wants to concentrate on their jewel malls the westchester , Roosevelt Fieild, thats why they sold Bergen Mall To vORNADO AND THATS WHY THEY SHOULD SELL nANUET mALL TO EVEN Westfield These malls werent money makers for simon its all greed. I have been to all except Menlo, RF HAS been the crown jewel mall on Long Island for many years going back when Gimbels AND ALEXANDERS WERE THERE.

  36. @rob, Vornado also owns Green Acres a crappy mall as well as Kings plaza a property that could be so more than what it is, but like Monmouth it sits there losing market share to it’s compitition Fulton Street.

    Bergen TC is OK. Bobby’s Burger Pallace, Target & Whole Foods are whats keeping that property alive. The Target near my work can run bullseyes around the Paramus location. The ones in Brooklyn & Queens are just incredible stores.

  37. @SEAN, Bergen Town Center has more than those stores holding it up Century 21, Nordstrom Rack, Bloomingdales Outlet, Saks Off Fifth, Neimans Last Call, and every time I go to that mall its always crowded so Vornado did something right, if Simon still owned that mall Sterns and value city would be still sitting empty and looking like what Nanuet Mall looks like now.

  38. @SEAN, I just went on Green Acres Mall web, it dosent look that bad and they have regular mall shops Macys, AppleBees, IN comparison to Nanuet Mall, its te times better. It has to compete with Queens Center and many malls on Long Island. It wouldnt have survived if simon owned it and again its been there since Alexanders was there,

  39. @rob, I didn’t mean vacancies when I said Green Acres was crappy. It’s in line with the Galleria in WP in terms of store selection, but when I’ve gone there something semed not quite right with the mall or the neighborhood around it & I cant put my finger on it. I just get a creepy vibe there.

    Bear in mind I’ve been to malls like Poughkeepsie Galleria wich in recent years has atracted a gang element & doesn’t give me that bad vibe that Green Acres does. As much as I rail on how ugly Palisades is, it to doesn’t make me all that uncomfortable. I just cant stand the estetics of that concrete elephant any more& I know you & mallguy cant stand it either.

    If it wasn’t for Bobby’s, I wouldn’t go to Bergen TC at all & I must say that parking garage gives me the CREEPS!

    To be fair Whole Foods is an enjoyable store, but I’m parcial to Zabar’s & Trader Joes.

  40. @SEAN, If parking garages give you the creeps park by Century 21 lot off route4. All malls have gang problems in Raleigh Nc Triangle Town CENTER and Crabtree Valley Mall two years ago had gangs and set up curfews. I know this because have family down there.So far my sister said it has stopped. I know Poughkeepsie Galleria years ago had a gang problem and i thought they still had their curfew. THE gALLERIA IN White Plains gives me the creeps.

  41. @rob, Parking garages don’t creep me out, just that one. What do you think of the Whole Foods store there.

    I enjoy GSP with it’s great restaurants & store roster, there’s always something interesting going on there. One of the most interesting retailers is The Love Sac, a home furnishings store that sells extremely comfortable overstuffed beanbag like chairs & accesseries. You could sleep in them if you wanted. http://www.lovesac.com

  42. @rob, I would also nominate the parking deck at Monmouth Mall as one that gives me the creeps. Since Boscov’s has closed, that deck (only attached to the Boscov’s building) is blocked off.

  43. @rob, I take it they don’t use all 9 levels anymore at Manhattan Mall?

    If you look in NJ, I would disagree on Simon being the worst REIT. Even Brunswick Square, which isn’t exactly Menlo Park, gets the job done for covering the basics, has very few vacancies and a popular movie theatre and B&N. Simon just completed renovations/expansions at Rockaway Townsquare, Newport Centre and Livingston Mall. Vornado needs to be doing a lot more with Monmouth Mall.

  44. @mallguy, Well being that Vornado just rennovated these other malls and just completed Bergen town cemter I think they will finish Monmouth to begin with the mall isnt that bad looking and has three good major anchors and shops, come see Nanuet Mall in Nanuet N.Y,ITS CRUMBLING parking lots macys is so old and the mall is so dead two floors of empty store fronts. So Monmouth Mall is ten times better. Go on utube to Nanuet Mall it will show ghosttown. It wll make you feel better about Monmouth Mall.

  45. It’s a been a long time since there was a mall post. I refuse to believe Labelscar is content-bankrupt, I just think that the rest of the malls “in storage” are too boring or too vague for a good full article. Why not make a grand-slam “More Malls of [State]”, covering several in one article?

  46. @mallguy, Manhattan Mall has I think4-levels now. The busyest being the basement where the food court, PATH & Subway stations are located.

    One center that has recieved no atention despite it’s failing status is Atlas Park. Located in the Glendale section of Queens, Atlas Park was NYC’s first lifestyle center. Anchored by Borders, Regal Cinemas & a health club, the goal was to atract shoppers who would otherwise travel to Long Island or Queens Boulevard to spend their money.

    Someone forgot to check the demos in & around Glendale, because the shoppers didn’t come in great numbers. Ecconomicly speeking Glendale isn’t the south bronx, but nore is it Bayside or Forest Hills either. If something isn’t done soon, you will have one of the youngest dead malls ever excluding the mall in the Medowlands.

    Check the NY Times.

  47. @SEAN, J.C Penney has the two basement levels of Manhattan Mall. There is no food court anymore. It is 4 levels some regular mall shops aeropostale , charlotte russe, express, etc. I was there at christmas time.At least they brought back a dept store to that mall. I told mallguy to see the condition of Nanuet Mall on utube so they wont be so upset about Monmouth Mall which is tens times better.

  48. @rob, When did the food court close & what’s there now? The upper floors were turned into offices.

  49. @SEAN, When they remodled the manhattan mall to put j.c penney in sterns had the basement and some upper floors back in 2000. THERE are only 3-4 floors of retail.

  50. @rob, Verticle malls like Manhattan Mall tend to struggle do to the requirement of shoppers to constently travel up & down in crowded conditions to get to the shops they need. San Francisco Centre is a noted exception, but I wonder is that do to the number of tourests that visit it or are there plenty of San Franciscans who also frequent the center.

  51. @SEAN, Well Manhattan Mall is in the haert of herald square near macys so it is getting good foot traffic and having a dept store there helps. I said to mall guy that I think Monmouth Mall is ten times better than Nnauet mall so its one anchor less at least there three other good anchors in that mall and what i see on utube its a nice mall.J. C Penney will do well in mid town Manhattan.

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