Costco and Walmart going by PV Mall (neighborhood, shop)

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by nolagirl

It's really not even that close to PV, and the wal-mart is far nicer than any of the other groceries we have around here, with the exception of whole foods. It's nicer than Fry's & Albertsons.

Sounds OK in this case. I don't know this mall, but had hard time picturing Wal-Mart in Paradise Valley...

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

Sounds OK in this case. I don't know this mall, but had hard time picturing Wal-Mart in Paradise Valley...

The mall isn't in the Town of Paradise Valley. There is virtually no retail anywhere within PV town limits. It's in northeast Phoenix, in an area that is middle class, as opposed to affluent Paradise Valley.

[fdxboy]

I just wish that I understood the store announcements since most of the time they are in Spanish!!

Show me a Walmart...and I can almost guarentee you that the "hood" is not too far away.

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

Sounds OK in this case. I don't know this mall, but had hard time picturing Wal-Mart in Paradise Valley...

The PV Mall is about 1 mile north of the Town of PV border.

[exit2lef]

Originally Posted by fdxboy

I just wish that I understood the store announcements since most of the time they are in Spanish!!

Show me a Walmart...and I can almost guarentee you that the "hood" is not too far away.

Hmm. Is the "hood" in north Scottsdale? Is the "hood" in Gilbert? I don't think so, but there are Wal-Marts in both places. I'm not a fan of Wal-Mart and seldom shop there, but I hardly see it as a sign of urban decay. For better or worse, Wal-Mart is ubiquitous. The placement of a Wal-Mart near PV mall is nothing more than a confirmation that mid-priced retailing by traditional department stores is being squeezed at both ends. Shoppers of all income levels looking for good prices on commodity items are choosing big box discounters; at the same time, shoppers looking for a high level of service, luxury, and prestige are gravitating toward upscale retailers like Nordstrom. PV Mall occupied a niche between those two extremes, and as that niche diminishes in the American economy, the area has had to change its retail mix.

[joninaz]

I echo Silverbear's assesment. There's been a big reduction in the range of offerings in terms of retail due to mergers and changing shopping habits.

There's also been a good degree of specialization happening. It used to be that one went to a Sears to buy everything from tools to feed to clothes to TVs. Now you might go to a smaller ACE for tools, a Men's Wharehouse for a suit, PetSmat for dog food and Best Buy (or online sites) to buy electronics. In those case, you might be buying one or two items, and that's about it.

But at the same time the big box stores are appealing to those wanting a wide variety of things in one place... places where people want to buy lots of things at a good price.
Volume is almost always the better business model.

There's only a small market willing to pay $300 for jeans at a huge store, so there will be only a few of those stores in any market willing to pay for a big chunk of real estate and limited shoppers. Meanwhile there are lots of people wanting $30 jeans, so there's naturally going to be more of those stores taking up space.

[ivanabacowboy]

I don't see how Costco and Walmart equate to "ghetto" either? I live up by the Costo and Super Walmart in Scottsdale. I can tell you the folks going into Costco are far from "ghetto" or the "hood". I am not a huge fan of Walmart in general, but I will shop there occasionally. And the one here is actually quite nice.

That said, back in Ohio they had the same issue with Parmatown Mall. It's an older mall that was struggling losing folks to the big boxes and a newer nearby mall in Strongsville. They had already tried the remodel angle. Then they lost Dillards. They moved in Walmart. Not "adjacent" or "near" the mall as at Paradise Valley. As one of the 4 ANCHORS to the mall replacing Dillards. I had a hard time with Walmart anchoring a mall literally. But it seems to have done fairly well at least in that area and has helped to some extent get foot traffic back into the rest of the mall.

[ibarrio]

I just wish that I understood the store announcements since most of the time they are in Spanish!!

Show me a Walmart...and I can almost guarentee you that the "hood" is not too far away.

Troll Alert...


Anyways, Having a Costco's or Walmart in your area does not make your area Ghetto...

If you have a Walmart, then welcome to the club...they are the largest and are willing to put a store anywhere they can...

If you have a Costco, then the Costco Execs think you have the population base to support one...

Unless you are one of the super rich or famous you most likely do your own shopping....Does it matter where you get the roll of Toilet Paper?

[ibarrio]

If this mall, which has been the pride of the area for many years, can't get a department store to open and operate successfully and has to rely on a big box store, then it's a sign of what's in store for the neighborhood.

It can mean many things.

1. It could mean that the people in that area are not spending money...maybe they are house rich but not overly rich enough to support high end stores...Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there a lot of older homes in the area? Older consumers can mean tighter consumers...Some people are worth a lot of money on paper...Some people may be rich but are still penny pincher's...

2. It could mean that they work elsewhere and pick up necessities closer to their jobs. Need bread...Hey, there is a Walmart by my work..I will go there during lunch...


In the end, I guarantee that Walmart and Costco will be successful in any area of any city regardless of perceived wealth...

[sierraAZ]

Ha, I totally forgot there is a super Wal-Mart right next to Foothills Mall here, which is located in an upscale area. Guess it didn't have negative impact. The whole Foothills Mall is not particularly fancy, though.