[jjbradleynyc]

I thought this was an interesting read, regarding worst-performing and top-performing malls in the US.

Looks like 4 of the top 10 best-performing malls in the country, are in the NYC area--2 on Long Island and 2in NJ. See link below:

America's Most Profitable Malls - Rick Newman (usnews.com)

I wonder where Stamford Town Center, Danbury Fair Mall, and the Westfield Mall in Trumbull would compare? Anyone know where to find those stats?

[JayCT]

I am not sure those stats are available to the public but West Farms Mall in West Hartford and Farmington is one of the most successful in the state. Stamford may not be as successful because it has a lot of competition from New York City and White Plains. Jay

[jjbradleynyc]

I'd say, out of the three malls, Stamford may be poised as the healthiest. I could be wrong, but it is located in the center of downtown, several blocks from the Metro North train station and surrounded by high rise upper middle class/well off residents.
It has a Saks, Macy's and the new wing of Barnes and Noble and H&M--along with several outdoor plaza restaurant chains. I see new stores opening consistently, although there are several more vacancies this year than last of course.
I know Filene's in Danbury's mall has been closed for a couple years--which is a red flag for a lot of malls. Haven't ever been there though.
Target opened somewhat recently (within a few months) at the Westfield Mall in Trumbull, but there were a few increased vacant stores last time I was there in late 08.

I think malls overall are a dying breed. I think retailers will return to "main street" style shopping to replace a lot of malls in the future.

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

I know Filene's in Danbury's mall has been closed for a couple years--which is a red flag for a lot of malls.

The mall is nice enough (though it has pretty much the same stuff all malls have) but their failure to land an anchor store for this long cannot be a good sign.

[Lincolnian]

I read a similar article this morning on Yahoo about malls struggling. Thankfully, non of the cited malls were in New England. In my recent trips to West Farms, Meriden Mall, and the Mall of New Hampshire I would be highly surprised if we see struggling malls here in this region.

We are quite fortunate in New England, in general, to have escaped the worst wrath of this dismal economy. As the economy took off many looked to areas in the south and cited them as areas to emulate for future job growth. Now, many of these areas are experiencing some of the worst job losses.

New England's reputation of the land of steady habits has many positives.

[JViello]

The Buckland area of Manchester seems busy as ever. Some point to some "closed stores" and there are a few, but it has nothing to do with a particular store being busy or not, it has to do with the company tanking nationally. (I.E. Circuit City)

[JayCT]

Believe it or not, overall Connecticut is considered to be "under-retailed", meaning that it has less stores than other parts of the country. The problems with the malls noted in the distressed mall article is that there is significant competition in those areas and the weaker malls are failing. In Connecticut however, multiple malls were not built in major metropolitan areas. A metropolitan area like Hartford would normally have more than just two malls. Even more unusual is that New Haven only has one. Jay

[MetsNY]

Stamford Town Center will only get better as the years go on. The mall is geared to the wealthy residents of the Stamford area and while I agree with someone that the mall is dying, upscale malls will still excell. As for the Trumbull Mall, I can't even walk into that place anymore, it's turning into a disgrace. The crime that occurs there, fighting, shouting, numerous thefts, etc. is sickening. There is a reason for the police sub-station there, and that is no environment I want to be around when shopping. The only thing that boggles my mind is the fact that the Trumbull area deserves a more upscale shopping center. The residents of Trumbull, Easton, Shelton, Monroe, Newtown, Fairfield have to go far to get any sort of decent shopping. There are some nice stores in the Trumbull Mall, but for the most part it does not compare. Look at the West Farms Mall in Farmington/West Hartford, you have J.Crew, Williams and Sonoma, Nordstrom's, etc. etc, even a Louis Vuitton for crying out loud. In Trumbull any decent store seems to be moving out and replaced with some cheaply retailer that changes every other month. I think the Trumbull Mall is an area where you can have a great, great retail shopping center but for some reason that has not, or is not occuring. I guess it just takes the right investors.

[renovating]

Originally Posted by MetsNY

The residents of Trumbull, Easton, Shelton, Monroe, Newtown, Fairfield have to go far to get any sort of decent shopping.

Fairfield residents have to go far for decent shopping? No, not really. Fairfield and neighboring Westport offer many upscale stores. Not to mention Milford, that has every store imaginable, is just up the street.

I guess decent shopping is in the eyes of the beholder.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by MetsNY

Stamford Town Center will only get better as the years go on. The mall is geared to the wealthy residents of the Stamford area and while I agree with someone that the mall is dying, upscale malls will still excell. As for the Trumbull Mall, I can't even walk into that place anymore, it's turning into a disgrace. The crime that occurs there, fighting, shouting, numerous thefts, etc. is sickening. There is a reason for the police sub-station there, and that is no environment I want to be around when shopping. The only thing that boggles my mind is the fact that the Trumbull area deserves a more upscale shopping center. The residents of Trumbull, Easton, Shelton, Monroe, Newtown, Fairfield have to go far to get any sort of decent shopping. There are some nice stores in the Trumbull Mall, but for the most part it does not compare. Look at the West Farms Mall in Farmington/West Hartford, you have J.Crew, Williams and Sonoma, Nordstrom's, etc. etc, even a Louis Vuitton for crying out loud. In Trumbull any decent store seems to be moving out and replaced with some cheaply retailer that changes every other month. I think the Trumbull Mall is an area where you can have a great, great retail shopping center but for some reason that has not, or is not occuring. I guess it just takes the right investors.

The degradation of Trumbull Shopping Park (it will always be that to me, no matter what the owners say) is due to the owners, Westfield. They operate their malls to serve the lowest common denominator of clientel. They simply want to fill space with anything and everything and do nothing to make the shopping experience exciting or interesting. It is sad because it could be and has been much nicer and upscale. I think most people now avoid the place unless they have to.

In general malls are now experiencing what downtown areas experienced in the 1960's and 70's. The quality of stores is going down which pushes shoppers to other more inviting places like lifestyle centers or older downtown areas that are being revitalized. Malls really need to refind their shopper and make the experience better or they will suffer the same fate as downtowns did. Jay