Saks Fifth Avenue - Going going gone - downtown ? 2 part question for you ! (Pittsburgh: sales, leasing)

[RockLobster]

There is no doubt downtown retail is just a fraction of what it used to be. And there are a host of possible reasons for this demise. Given Saks announcement that it has ended it's lease agreement downtown do you think the up scale department store will A) Remain downtown after reaching a favorable leasing and or taxing agreement with the city B) Relocate to Ross Park Mall where other up scale retail is centered C) Close and leave the Pittsburgh market.

Do you see downtown Pittsburgh having any sizable retail growth within the next decade ?

And aside...Saks has closed stores in several smaller and medium sized urban areas over the past few years while other stores have gone through a upgrading. Pittsburgh's store has pretty much remained the same through the years. From what I have been told from one inside source about sales over the past year. Overall sales have declined. Although the Pittsburgh store has been strong in cosmetic and fragrance sales. The Bond product line in Pittsburgh has very high sales volume. Women clothing sales have fallen slightly. Men's clothing lackluster outside of the higher quality suits. I would imagine the economic downturn finally hit home.

[Blackbeauty212]

Were did you read they're leaving downtown...I read the piece in the PBT said that there's still 2yrs left in the lease, and that Saks wants to remain downtown...it just wants a better deal for its current prop....

I have no doubt that in this Economy the Prop Owners will come up with a better deal or the City will find another space for Saks....its no secret that Saks wants to be ON FIFTH not behind it. I think Saks is probably eye'ing the Lord/Taylor building that has sat vacant for eon's now...Lord knows its a better location so Saks probably has some leverage to throw at the landlord in its current location to come up with something better or we're moving.

Saks Fifth Avenue balks at Downtown Pittsburgh lease option - Pittsburgh Business Times

I definitely don't see Saks leaving downtown without the city stepping in.....

[robrobrob]

I have an uncle who is retail and when the new Macys and Lord and Taylor opened up he said that there are only a handful of cities that can support more than one department store downtown and Pittsburgh isn't one of them.

[wpipkins]

Quite a few years ago, Saks wanted to expand the store to create a Fifth Avenue entrance. If anyone is familiar with downtown, you would have noticed that the old Revco store that sits between Oliver and Fifth was demolished a week or so ago. the Revco site is adjacent to the rear of the Saks store. This hole in the Fifth Avenue corridor could add a Fifth Avenue entrance to the Saks store.

[Geeo]

No doubt that the overall economy and the opening of Nordstrom have probably affected Saks sales. They have closed stores in San Diego, Portland and Charlseton, SC. Most Saks stores in the country are not in downtown areas (except for NYC, Chicago, Minneapolis, and San Francisco), so it wouldn't be a stretch for them to want to locate in an upscale mall like Ross Park. That being said, I'm thinking that their overall preference would be to remain downtown, with its huge concentration of upscale office workers and central to the rest of the metro area. This might be a ploy to get attention and a bargaining tool. After all, lots of other private enterprises (football, baseball, hockey, retail) have received tax breaks to expand.

[BrianTH]

Personally, I'm highly skeptical about the long-term future of upscale department stores, and I think the future of Downtown retail is going to involve a combination of more budget-oriented places and more boutique places and generally less durable goods and more restaurants, entertainment, and various services. But if I had to bet I would go with this being a negotiation ploy for now--I just hope we don't throw a bunch of public subsidies at them.

Incidentally, I'd love to have them move out of their current building, which in turn I would love to see bulldozed and replaced with something serious.

[Geeo]

Sorry if I'm going down memory lane, but the building Saks is in now used to be a W.T. Grant five and ten cent store until Saks re-did it in 1976. Prior to that, Saks was housed on the sixth floor of Gimbels and there was a special elevator that went to it. (Saks and Gimbels were owned by the same company at the time). Saks has been in Pittsburgh since 1948, I believe.

[Little Mizz Pittsburgh]

Well, if they close, just let me know when the sales begin. Tis all. Thanks!

[Blackbeauty212]

Who wants to bet they wind up in the Lord&Taylor building....I can see the writing on the wall.

[grimacista]

All Saks would have to do to increase its sales downtown would be to sell wigs and candy.