Malls are dying!

mrblanche

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Yep, you heard that right. The trend to larger and larger shopping malls, taking up many acres of land, is coming to an end. There are a number of malls in our area that either have already died, or are well into the process. In fact, we just discovered this weekend that one that we used to frequent is gone, replaced by businesses and a distribution warehouse.

This is a mixed blessing. The replacement for the malls is the "open air" shopping area. All the same stores, but not under one roof, and with parking right in front of most of the stores. This feels "more local," but it encourages more driving from store to store.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

Yep, you heard that right. The trend to larger and larger shopping malls, taking up many acres of land, is coming to an end. There are a number of malls in our area that either have already died, or are well into the process. In fact, we just discovered this weekend that one that we used to frequent is gone, replaced by businesses and a distribution warehouse.

This is a mixed blessing. The replacement for the malls is the "open air" shopping area. All the same stores, but not under one roof, and with parking right in front of most of the stores. This feels "more local," but it encourages more driving from store to store.
There was a report on this just a week or so ago here in Canada. We have the same thing happening and they are predicting an end to malls. People just don't visit them as much so they are going the way of the dinosaur.
 

tierre0

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That is certainly true in my hometown. The mall here was built about 30 years ago and for many of those years since was the center of commerce for the area. That ended about 5 years ago when several big box stores moved into the area. Half the stores in the mall are now closed or moved and I can honestly say I haven't been there in a good 3 months. It's kind of sad really an end to a era.
 

sk_pacer

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Not here so much - probably due to winters being so long and brutally cold - one wants to make one stop for stuff and go home. Mind, the mall in the closest city (30 miles away) is not a bustling place, and hasnt been for years but it's more of a management greed thing - they are charging big city rental in a place that cannot support that. Malls in other cities are thriving in the western provinces apparently.
 
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mrblanche

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Many go from relatively healthy to dying in less than a year. Put in a quiet summer between two bad Christmas seasons, have a major anchor store leave (or go bankrupt, as happened to Montgomery Wards), and you end up with a huge overhead and insufficient income.
 

gemlady

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We have the oldest mall in Indiana but it is gearing more and more to health care offices. They built a newer mall and everyone flocked there. (I have no idea how it is doing as I haven't shopped there in eons.) We seem to have a pattern here of building further and further out from the city center and abandoning shopping centers.

I think a mall in a nearby town is now part of a mega church.
 

emrldsky

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I do have to say, however, that the two malls I have consistently visited throughout my life ARE suffering, not because of stores leaving, but because of the increase in the presence of gangs.

My DH thinks I'm silly, but I refuse to go the mall around here when it starts to get dark because of that. The mall I went to growing up, has the same problem but it's more prevalent.

The good news is that this city is cracking down on gang tagging and activity. Crime has gone down, but it's still much higher than it was when I first moved here in 2000.
 

februa

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Sad news, I HATE HATE big box stores/shopping, I find it really inconvenient, as I choose not to have a car. I love shopping malls, and have a great time in them, even if just browsing. West-Ed is still exciting and fun to visit for me, and it certainly is not suffering at all. Any day, any time that place is a madhouse!
 

rubsluts'mommy

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Originally Posted by emrldsky

I do have to say, however, that the two malls I have consistently visited throughout my life ARE suffering, not because of stores leaving, but because of the increase in the presence of gangs.

My DH thinks I'm silly, but I refuse to go the mall around here when it starts to get dark because of that. The mall I went to growing up, has the same problem but it's more prevalent.

The good news is that this city is cracking down on gang tagging and activity. Crime has gone down, but it's still much higher than it was when I first moved here in 2000.
The ones where I grew up have been struggling from that. One of them had a huge gang invasion and they did a total overhaul and closed down portions, revamping it (now the Target has moved in here Wards used to be). The gangs aren't there as much... I haven't seen it in a while, but last time i was down there, the gang activity had moved to the other close-by mall... I don't know how they're doing right now... but I'll be down there in a couple of weeks, so I'll be able to report back.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Many go from relatively healthy to dying in less than a year. Put in a quiet summer between two bad Christmas seasons, have a major anchor store leave (or go bankrupt, as happened to Montgomery Wards), and you end up with a huge overhead and insufficient income.
Bayfair Mall (the one I mentioned above) had expanded, then the gangs moved in, and it started dying... pretty quickly. Wards died, and other stores started to leave. They closed down a chunk of it (largely the older parts), and remodeled... they enticed Target to move in to where Wards used to be... now, they have a clean, active mall.

The BIG mall here, Lloyd Center, I rarely go into. I refuse to go near it around Christmas time. It's insanely active and just not my thing. That said... they have a thriving ice rink, several department stores, Barnes & Noble, medical offices on upper levels, a movie theater... you name it. The biggest advantage? They're a one block walk from a MAX (primary train transit line) station. You walk across a tree-filled park at that. The convention center is a few blocks away, there are hotels, etc... the big one is that, even though there's plenty of parking, the public transit is also easy to access.

Standard suburban malls are struggling, yes. Many aren't as connected to the community as they used to be... pair that with a struggling economy and other issues, it's tough going for big malls....

Amanda
 

bob'smom

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You could fool me by the mall across the street from the office. I go over there to the food court 2-3 times a week to get lunch and there are always cars circling the lot to park in front of Sears or Nordstroms. There are some malls trying to counter the gang issue by going upscale, although that's probably not really working in this economy. About 20 miles west of Boston is Natick Collection (it used to be the Natick Mall). They built a new wing for Nordstroms, Neimin-Marcus and other high end stores as well as condos. The condos (some listed for $1 million or more) aren't moving and crime is up in the stores since the items are more tempting. The only times I go over there is if my car needs to go to Sears Automotive or my mother wants to go to JC Penneys.
 

carolpetunia

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Originally Posted by gemlady

We have the oldest mall in Indiana but it is gearing more and more to health care offices...
Now that sounds like a good idea! The reason I dread going to a mall is that I'm just not willing to park in the boondocks and walk a half-mile in the infernal Texas heat to visit the one or two stores I'm interested in.

But if a mall were like a little town square, with a post office, a few doctors and dentists, a couple of drugstores, and at least one supermarket (in addition to the usual mix of stores, restaurants, and hair salons), that would be worth a visit at least once a week.

Two issues I can think of, though: (1) they'd have to provide plenty of places to sit down for a bit, and (2) there'd have to be some kind of cart available for people who accumulate more than they can hand-carry. (Maybe they could use the same system they have at airports, where anyone who brings a cart back gets a dollar back from the machine that controls them.)

Hey, let's pool our money and build our own mall! I've got a buck-fifty ain't doin' nothin'...
 

catlover19

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Our mall here is horrible. I work in a store in the mall and we are scared every month that we are going to get closed down. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they closed our whole mall down because its so dead. They are in the process of putting medical offices in the mall though, so hopefully it will pick up once it opens.
 

strange_wings

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OKC has a few malls, two are doing ok but Crossroads won't be around for much longer. The info in the link pretty much tells it all, though I can't recall ever seeing any gangs.
With most of the stores closing since the 90s, I don't know why anyone would want to hang out at such a boring place.

Personally I don't really like malls. While it takes a bit more driving, I'd rather go to individual stores that have their own space. They're likely to have more items that way. Malls also tend to be louder.
 

essayons89

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Malls in the area of Cincinnati I live in have been struggling for many years. A few years Bass Pro Shops moved into one of the malls and the mall went through sort of a revivial. New stores opened after the arrival of BPS, and things seemed to be going good there. Anymore, Bass Pro Shops is the only constant out there, and they are the only ones who continue to do a lot of business, but they also draw in customers from more states than just Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

I remember growing up in the '80s when you could spend all day in the mall with friends hanging out in the food courts, record stores, other cool little shops, and arcades.
 

binkyhoo

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The open air malls I have seen growing more than the big malls. I think they are called strip malls. My idea is that people just want to get in and get out. The big indoor malls are good for entertainment if you are looking for time to kill, I dont mind wandering about a mall if I dont have something better to do.

I agree that the big department stores are in trouble. I dont go into Sears or JCPenny or the like any more. Not that I dont like them but there is a bit of logistics going on. I only have so much energy (3 hr shopping) I am not going to spend it all in one or 2 big places when I have all those little stores to explore. much more fun.
 
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mrblanche

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

OKC has a few malls, two are doing ok but Crossroads won't be around for much longer. The info in the link pretty much tells it all, though I can't recall ever seeing any gangs.
With most of the stores closing since the 90s, I don't know why anyone would want to hang out at such a boring place.
Oddly enough, I go there on a regular basis. Well, more accurately, to the Toys R Us store across the street from them. But it is showing its age, and once the economy picks back up, I expect it to be replaced.

I see that Cinderella City, the huge underground mall in Englewood, Colorado, was demolished ten years ago. At one time, it was the largest shopping center west of the Mississippi.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

Oddly enough, I go there on a regular basis. Well, more accurately, to the Toys R Us store across the street from them. But it is showing its age, and once the economy picks back up, I expect it to be replaced.
I figured you did since you mentioned having a breakdown on the way to a store in the Belle Isle area - if I'm not mistaken, that's the only Babies'R'Us I know of.
One thing you've probably noticed is that the parking lot is almost always deserted. It looks like that around Christmas even and has since the '90s. I can't imagine anyone would consider the area with hopes of a very successful business in mind.
It's simply an inconvenient area to get to and traffic doesn't make it any easier. North May, Penn, Meridian, Western Ave, and Northwest Expressway all have great shopping - including Penn Square Mall which stays pretty packed. But even Penn and Quail Springs are losing businesses, and have been for the last 10 years.

In the case of OKC, the city is just so huge that strip malls and separate stores work better.

O/T how far west have you driven out from OKC? If you've driven I-44 out this way you've probably been passed the town I live in before. A boring town that's only boast is it's on the historic Route 66.
 

essayons89

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Working for the USPS, the internet has put a royal beating on first class mail. I have to wonder how much of an impact the convenience of being able to shop over the internt has had on the decline of malls. I'm sure it plays a part in it, you can order just about anything online and have it delivered to your doorstep.
 

pookie-poo

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Originally Posted by Essayons89

Working for the USPS, the internet has put a royal beating on first class mail. I have to wonder how much of an impact the convenience of being able to shop over the internt has had on the decline of malls. I'm sure it plays a part in it, you can order just about anything online and have it delivered to your doorstep.
I had the same thought too! I have increased my internet shopping dramatically (part of the lure of online shopping is exactly that...shipping to my door, as well as the convenience of shopping any time of the day or night.) Once in a while I will feel the need to actually look at an item in person (that I've found on-line) to check colors or measurements, but I'd usually rather purchase it online! The only time I really ever shop the mall is when I've gone to a restaurant or movie, and have time before or after to kill.
 
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