Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Tennessee > Kingsport - Johnson City - Bristol
 [Register]
Kingsport - Johnson City - Bristol The Tri-Cities area
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 01-11-2015, 09:06 AM
 
Location: Kingsport, TN
1,697 posts, read 6,778,298 times
Reputation: 1793

Advertisements

Bristol Mall manager Heather Hill may be publicly optimistic about the mall's survival prospects, but it'll be interesting to see if it can weather the loss of 2 of its 3 anchor stores plus the ramping up of The Pinnacle and later The Falls.

Four merchants closed Bristol Mall locations in recent weeks and another national retailer announced Friday it is preparing to shut its doors.

Deb Shop, a Philadelphia-based women’s fashion retailer that operates on the mall’s upper level, has started closing all 287 stores this month, the company announced Friday. Deb Shop filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month.

...Belk is in the final weeks of winding down operations at its mall stores before opening a new store in The Pinnacle development at Exit 74 of Interstate 81 in Bristol, Tennessee.

But it isn’t just national retailers who are leaving. Bristol Mall lost four merchants, including three local firms since last fall. The most recent was Bristol Dining and Banquets, which shut its doors last Sunday after operating eight months in the former Piccadilly Cafeteria.

Retailer announces closing, joining others at struggling Bristol Mall - TriCities.com: News
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-11-2015, 12:04 PM
 
Location: Brooklyn, NY
9,874 posts, read 14,209,544 times
Reputation: 10918
Quote:
Originally Posted by kamoshika View Post
Bristol Mall manager Heather Hill may be publicly optimistic about the mall's survival prospects, but it'll be interesting to see if it can weather the loss of 2 of its 3 anchor stores plus the ramping up of The Pinnacle and later The Falls.

Four merchants closed Bristol Mall locations in recent weeks and another national retailer announced Friday it is preparing to shut its doors.

Deb Shop, a Philadelphia-based women’s fashion retailer that operates on the mall’s upper level, has started closing all 287 stores this month, the company announced Friday. Deb Shop filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month.

...Belk is in the final weeks of winding down operations at its mall stores before opening a new store in The Pinnacle development at Exit 74 of Interstate 81 in Bristol, Tennessee.

But it isn’t just national retailers who are leaving. Bristol Mall lost four merchants, including three local firms since last fall. The most recent was Bristol Dining and Banquets, which shut its doors last Sunday after operating eight months in the former Piccadilly Cafeteria.

Retailer announces closing, joining others at struggling Bristol Mall - TriCities.com: News
I'd be interested to see what caused this mall to collapse much faster than Kingsport or Johnson City's malls. Perhaps the area residents in Bristol travelled to JC or Kingsport's malls historically, leading to this one's potential collapse?

Looking at the JCPenny and Sears websites, no store closings appear to be planned for either Kport or JC malls. They must be weathering the storm for now.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-11-2015, 04:49 PM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,834 posts, read 30,905,811 times
Reputation: 47123
Quote:
Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc View Post
I'd be interested to see what caused this mall to collapse much faster than Kingsport or Johnson City's malls. Perhaps the area residents in Bristol travelled to JC or Kingsport's malls historically, leading to this one's potential collapse?

Looking at the JCPenny and Sears websites, no store closings appear to be planned for either Kport or JC malls. They must be weathering the storm for now.
I think the Bristol Mall was a victim of its location. Look around it. There is a restaurant out front that's been vacant as long as I can remember. The dairy across the street is out of business, as are most of the businesses in those strip plazas on the left side of the road. That whole side of Bristol from the old Walmart down to exit 74 up to the mall has been in decline for years.

Development shifted up to exit 7, now to downtown and the new 74 complex. The mall was in the wrong location. That hasn't happened in JC and Kingsport to a lesser extent.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-11-2015, 09:10 PM
 
Location: Johnson City, TN
677 posts, read 1,064,422 times
Reputation: 463
I think the decline in manufacturing hit Bristol the hardest out of the three cities. Kingsport held onto Eastman while JC never really heavily relied on manufacturing to begin with. This didn't help Bristol Mall's chances. Bristol's economy is much more tourism-based now, more so than the other cities, as the two NASCAR races bring in huge crowds. I have to believe this tourism factor is partially what led to the Pinnacle development. Similar to what is seen in Sevierville/Pigeon Forge where you have loads of retail, including some higher-end outlets, in a relatively poor area.

Hopefully Bristol, VA can redevelop the mall site. That city's footprint is pretty small and they cannon annex any additional land so the eventual closing of the mall could end up being a positive for the city in the end.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-11-2015, 09:24 PM
 
Location: A Yankee in northeast TN
15,966 posts, read 20,927,996 times
Reputation: 43202
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emigrations View Post
The mall was in the wrong location. That hasn't happened in JC and Kingsport to a lesser extent.
I have to agree with that. When I first moved here I went looking for the mall and drove past it without realizing it was there. It sets back from the road, hard to see, poorly signed and advertised. There is also not really anything else around it to attract people who are looking to make a 'trip', have a bite, do some shopping, maybe catch a movie.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-11-2015, 09:48 PM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,834 posts, read 30,905,811 times
Reputation: 47123
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rangerred View Post
I think the decline in manufacturing hit Bristol the hardest out of the three cities. Kingsport held onto Eastman while JC never really heavily relied on manufacturing to begin with. This didn't help Bristol Mall's chances. Bristol's economy is much more tourism-based now, more so than the other cities, as the two NASCAR races bring in huge crowds. I have to believe this tourism factor is partially what led to the Pinnacle development. Similar to what is seen in Sevierville/Pigeon Forge where you have loads of retail, including some higher-end outlets, in a relatively poor area.

Hopefully Bristol, VA can redevelop the mall site. That city's footprint is pretty small and they cannon annex any additional land so the eventual closing of the mall could end up being a positive for the city in the end.
I remember Bristol once had Valleydale (meat industry), GlaxoSmithKline, King Pharmaceuticals, Bristol Compressors. Those businesses are either gone or have substantially contracted. I know I've heard Dad talk of other local employers I've long since forgotten. Bottom line, I think the manufacturing decline and tourism increase has helped shaped the trend, but Kingsport is also a town in decline and its mall has held on. Kingsport has nothing like exit 7 or Pinnacle though.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-13-2015, 12:59 PM
 
Location: Seattle
7,503 posts, read 17,113,817 times
Reputation: 4762
The Tri-Cities is over-retailed. As our economy changes, some of these types of closures will happen. Exit 7 and the newer developments are also short-sighted and will be (relatively) short-lived. Check back in 30 years.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-13-2015, 02:20 PM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,834 posts, read 30,905,811 times
Reputation: 47123
Quote:
Originally Posted by jabogitlu View Post
The Tri-Cities is over-retailed. As our economy changes, some of these types of closures will happen. Exit 7 and the newer developments are also short-sighted and will be (relatively) short-lived. Check back in 30 years.
I am not sure it is necessarily overretailed. Overdone in duplicate and redundant retail, definitely.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-15-2015, 05:38 PM
 
Location: Seattle
7,503 posts, read 17,113,817 times
Reputation: 4762
Good catch. You're right, the market basically dictates how much retail survives. Rampant land and building specs, though, have left the metro (and most others) oversaturated.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-16-2015, 09:14 AM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,834 posts, read 30,905,811 times
Reputation: 47123
Quote:
Originally Posted by jabogitlu View Post
Good catch. You're right, the market basically dictates how much retail survives. Rampant land and building specs, though, have left the metro (and most others) oversaturated.
I think something as simple as Aldi is very important to diversifying the local grocery market. Other than a few dumpy Krogers, a couple of Ingles on the edges of towns, and some downmarket grocers like Priceless, all the area really has is Food City and Walmart. I think Aldi will give Food City some MUCH needed competition and hopefully if another store or two come in, the grocery market can diversify a bit and prices can come down to a level more commensurate with what would be expected in the area.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Tennessee > Kingsport - Johnson City - Bristol

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top