Kinda bitter sign outside a closing Borders Store

[Lemurion]

I wonder if this is the right place to say that my perfect mall would not contain any clothing stores.

[Worldwalker]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

...and thereby driving low-margin sellers out.

And that's a problem they're just not seeing, because people don't to to malls only for the highest-margin stores. For instance, when the mall closest to where I used to live lost its bookstore, its Discovery Channel store, its kite store, the DVD store that had action figures, and a couple of others, I pretty much stopped going there. So the clothing stores didn't even have a chance to sell me anything -- you can't sell to a customer who's shopping elsewhere. One of the reasons malls have been successful has been their mix of stores: you can go to a mall and do all your buying (or all your browsing, if you're so inclined) in one place. If you can't -- if you can only buy clothes there, which is what it's coming to -- you're less likely to go to that mall as often, or even at all.

So by driving down the business diversity in malls, to the point in some cases of nearly nothing but nationwide teen clothing chains, the management is slowly destroying the very source of a mall's intrinsic appeal. This is really not a good thing to do in a recession.

If I ran the zoo ... I would want a law regulating the distance between stores of the same type. We joke about Starbucks on every corner of an intersection, but there are cases where it really is almost that bad. Companies build stores so close together they can't help but cannibalize their own business, not because they want to, but because their competitors are doing it, and if they don't match them -- if there isn't a CVS across from every Walgreen's -- they'll lose out. Having a law that applies to all of them would level the playing field. It would reduce the expenses incurred by stores who are knowingly over-saturating a market but doing it because the alternative is worse, possibly keeping some of them in business instead of exhausting their resources in an unwinnable real-estate arms race. It would reduce the level of sprawl centered on those stores, and we already have too much sprawl. It would reduce real-estate prices overall (admittedly to the detriment of commercial landlords) by lowering demand, returning them to a level within reach of people starting new businesses. It would free up space for local businesses who are otherwise driven out by the high rents possible to stores benefiting (at least until they go broke trying) from the economies of scale from having one on every corner. While it has some down sides, they are fewer, and the benefits to buyers and even business owners are greater, than the system we have now. Of course, I don't run the zoo, so they'll continue running themselves into the ground because we have a system set up that doesn't allow them to do anything else ... but it would be nice if I did.

[Lemurion]

I agree with Worldwalker on the the death of diversity in malls. It's become ridiculous.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

I agree as well. The preponderance of clothing stores and boutiques in my local mall, in addition to their catering to mostly the local population (which is apparently shorter, thinner, stockier or much younger than I) means I can't buy clothing in any store... and therefore have virtually no reason to go to that mall. Where I used to shop there weekly, I now go in there once every 1-3 months to pick up one specific thing and leave... or to escort my wife there while she shops, buys maybe 1 thing, and I get a frapp at Starbucks while I wait.

And storefront owners wonder why they have a hard time competing with online sales.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I wonder if this is the right place to say that my perfect mall would not contain any clothing stores.

My ideal mall:
Bookstore
Shoe store
Children's clothing store
Kohl's (or something like it)
Target (this is non-negotiable)
Yarn store
Microcenter
Cinema
Arcade (DDR is a must)
Hot Topic
Game store (video games, board games, card games, you name it)

And the food court is required to have Mall Chinese, like a Panda Express. And a Taco Bell.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Major retail bookstores, of course, have gotten used to big buildings and big displays over the years... but they haven't taken advantage of the digital market to do the one thing that would've kept them on-site: Downsizing. Fewer, more clever displays, combined with the sales of digital products that take up no space, would allow the stores to shrink with the financial times but not go away. A borders could fit into a small- to medium-sized storefront, not take up a block.

And still have room for bathrooms.

As a customer, though, I want the big store, because I want the big selection for impulse buys.

[garrybuck]

If Borders can figure out a way to stay open, will they let me shop naked? If not, I'm staying with Amazon.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by khalleron

I think you're describing The Shoe Event Horizon.

Nice! I am re-reading that "trilogy" now.

[Worldwalker]

Originally Posted by queentess

My ideal mall:

Bookstore - could we have two?
Shoe store - how many pairs of sneakers do I need?
Children's clothing store
Kohl's (or something like it)
Target (this is non-negotiable)
Yarn store - general craft store
Microcenter
Cinema
Arcade (DDR is a must)
Hot Topic - not gonna go there, and I don't mean to the store
Game store (video games, board games, card games, you name it) - kites too

electronic gadget store (non-Apple)
The Nature Company - RIP; I want it back
Radio Shack
music/DVD/action figure store
good pet store (I know, keep dreaming)
Harbor Freight (across the street would be okay)

And I would like a place that could sell me a decent pair of jeans for a reasonable price. "Decent" in this context meaning "not made for an anorexic 16-year-old".

And the food court is required to have Mall Chinese, like a Panda Express. And a Taco Bell.

Good Mall Chinese; the bad kind is disgusting. Also a Dairy Queen or the functional equivalent. And a decent local pizza place.

By the way, years ago I used to run an arcade in a mall -- part of a regional chain. It got priced out of the mall: they raised the rent one time too many and the company pulled out (after my time).

[khalleron]

My ideal shopping mall would be like a Parisian neighborhood, with a nice cozy cafe and food and crafts sold on carts on the street.

Well, since we're dreaming here.

[wvcherrybomb]

Toys ‘R’ Us
Hobby Lobby
Kohl’s
Target
Bass Pro Shops
Harbor Freight
Mircrocenter
Game Stop
B & N
Ollie's
Indoor Flea Market
Year round Christmas store
Food Court
Cinema
Arcade

Permanent ban on any teen clothing store chains in my mall!

This was fun! I would shop here everyday.

[kindlekitten]

what's a microcenter?

I avoid chain restaurants like the plague

[Anthem]

Completly ignoring all of the "They deserve it...", "Oh, my bathroom at home is primo-great" comments I just have to say:

That sign is awesome.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Catlady

As a customer, though, I want the big store, because I want the big selection for impulse buys.

Sorry, but I guess you'll have to limit your impulsive nature a bit... or find another way to be impulsive!

[ApK]

I think the sign would have been far more understandable if it said:
"WE HAVE RESTROOMS!
Try that at Amazon."

As it is, they seem to just be re-enforcing that they are NOT offering a service over Amazon.

p.s. I agree about the clothing stores in malls. I never forgave American Eagle or Abercrombie and Fitch for turning themselves from actual outfitters into Yet Another Limited/Gap clone.