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I read an article that one reason the downtown department stores are dying is that people with money left downtowns and moved to the burbs and so new enclosed malls and town center malls and outlet malls are born.
I read that the boutique stores are doing good because of tourists and it can run on smaller populations. All though, I read that downtowns like San Francisco and Chicago and Seattle still have some downtown department stores. Also, a small city near me, Santa Barbara has downtown department stores. We can also see in Sacramento where their downtown department store died off, but Santana Row with it's department store in downtown San Jose is doing much better.
I read another big problem was downtown department stores were just too big. I read that Macy's recently built a smaller department store in Chicago at 100,000 sq. ft. in Hyde Park. However, it's still in a downtown that has more demographics that will support it.
Also, I heard about new and upcoming anchors. More stores like H&M and Forever 21 are opening up flagship like stores.
In a college town near me, one developer sold two mixed-use centers he developed downtown in order to get the cash to complete a project of building another huge mixed-use center downtown. Whose to say he won't do it again and sell this project to only develop another?
The newest mixed-use center is huge which is a 200,000sq. ft. project with a 5 story high-end boutique hotel, 50,000 sq. ft. retail and restaurants, and residential and office units. I have heard the developer doesn't have enough cash to get the hotel started, so the retail part is supposed to generate the cash to get the revenue needed to develop the hotel portion. I suspect he will only include national retailers as this is a premium retail location because they generate the most tax revenue.
The first center he built includes a 7-screen movie theater, Barnes N Nobles, California Pizza Kitchen, Gap, Express, Papyrus, Apple, Sunglass Hut, and some other restaurants at 90,000 sq. ft.
The second center he built includes White House Black Market, Abercrombie, Banana Republic, Chico's, Pottery Barn, and others at 56,000 sq. ft.
Followed by this we have two other mixed-use centers under construction adding about another 20,000 sq. ft. of high-end retail.
It just seems that these type of developments are so pricey and demand alot of population or a high concentration of high-income consumers and high amounts of tourism.
It's sad for me because the college town used to be a much more affordable place to live, but the city keeps building more higher-end developments. These boutique stores draw in the tourists, but also pushes out local businesses who can't compete.
The old downtown department stores were absolutely enormous. Macy's flagship is 2.2 million square feet -- bigger than most suburban malls. Strawbridges in Philadelphia was 621,000 square feet. And many cities had a multiplicity of such stores -- Hechts, Wanamakers, Gimbels, Lord & Taylor, etc.
The old downtown department stores were absolutely enormous. Macy's flagship is 2.2 million square feet -- bigger than most suburban malls. Strawbridges in Philadelphia was 621,000 square feet. And many cities had a multiplicity of such stores -- Hechts, Wanamakers, Gimbels, Lord & Taylor, etc.
If size was the case for closure, then why not scale down all buildings?
Not quite grasping what the OP is getting at in his post... but I think department stores like Macy's, Sears, and JCP aren't doing so well everywhere (urban, suburban, or not), at least from my anecdotal observation.
People with money prefer boutique stores because they usually offer better customer service, higher quality products and a “uniqueness” that huge chains like Macy’s can’t deliver.
People without money shop at discount stores like Target and Walmart.
Middle market department stores don’t have much of a niche left—especially in large cities.
I was just thinking of an example. I think downtown Missoula, MT would have had a successful downtown Macy's if it didn't have a mall.
Historically, downtown department stores worked, but died out when the mall came. So a town without a mall could in theory have a downtown department store if the demographics supported it?
The fall of department stores is pretty American; in London and the UK, Harrods and Selfridges, as well as numerous department stores across the country (House of Fraser, Debenhams et al) do just fine and haven't seen the same fall in revenues or patronage. I wouldn't say it has to do much with suburban malls either since anchor department stores have had the same issues...it's most likely to do with customer service and offerings than anything else.
People with money prefer boutique stores because they usually offer better customer service, higher quality products and a “uniqueness” that huge chains like Macy’s can’t deliver.
People without money shop at discount stores like Target and Walmart.
Middle market department stores don’t have much of a niche left—especially in large cities.
Or for that matter, in regional malls. Though the malls have a few boutiques.
I read an article that one reason the downtown department stores are dying is that people with money left downtowns and moved to the burbs and so new enclosed malls and town center malls and outlet malls are born.
I read that the boutique stores are doing good because of tourists and it can run on smaller populations. All though, I read that downtowns like San Francisco and Chicago and Seattle still have some downtown department stores. Also, a small city near me, Santa Barbara has downtown department stores. We can also see in Sacramento where their downtown department store died off, but Santana Row with it's department store in downtown San Jose is doing much better.
I read another big problem was downtown department stores were just too big. I read that Macy's recently built a smaller department store in Chicago at 100,000 sq. ft. in Hyde Park. However, it's still in a downtown that has more demographics that will support it.
Also, I heard about new and upcoming anchors. More stores like H&M and Forever 21 are opening up flagship like stores.
In a college town near me, one developer sold two mixed-use centers he developed downtown in order to get the cash to complete a project of building another huge mixed-use center downtown. Whose to say he won't do it again and sell this project to only develop another?
The newest mixed-use center is huge which is a 200,000sq. ft. project with a 5 story high-end boutique hotel, 50,000 sq. ft. retail and restaurants, and residential and office units. I have heard the developer doesn't have enough cash to get the hotel started, so the retail part is supposed to generate the cash to get the revenue needed to develop the hotel portion. I suspect he will only include national retailers as this is a premium retail location because they generate the most tax revenue.
The first center he built includes a 7-screen movie theater, Barnes N Nobles, California Pizza Kitchen, Gap, Express, Papyrus, Apple, Sunglass Hut, and some other restaurants at 90,000 sq. ft.
The second center he built includes White House Black Market, Abercrombie, Banana Republic, Chico's, Pottery Barn, and others at 56,000 sq. ft.
Followed by this we have two other mixed-use centers under construction adding about another 20,000 sq. ft. of high-end retail.
It just seems that these type of developments are so pricey and demand alot of population or a high concentration of high-income consumers and high amounts of tourism.
It's sad for me because the college town used to be a much more affordable place to live, but the city keeps building more higher-end developments. These boutique stores draw in the tourists, but also pushes out local businesses who can't compete.
The margins are probably better as boutiques have fewer sales and do not discount as department stores do. Retail is cut throat and it is not a sentimental business. I prefer discount stores myself.
A lot of cities still have department stores enclosed in indoor shopping malls downtown.
With the disappearance of the middle class, you're either shopping at a dollar store or Barney's. The middle has been absorbed by Macy's, but the honest truth is that the stores Federated bought and turned into Macy's were struggling and on the verge of closing.
Tourists are looking to spend their money, residents aren't going to spend as much money. That is the short answer.
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