Cumberland mall question (Lenox, Buckhead: high income, live, gyms)

[whodean]

That was in response to the post by LarryX, as quoted in the post directly before mine

[fermie125]

Who cares? You are identifying and grouping people based on the color of their skin. What does black people at Cumberland Mall have to do with anything? Who cares how "diverse" the mall is. Just go shop where you like and quit fretting over trivial matters.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by fermie125

Who cares? You are identifying and grouping people based on the color of their skin. What does black people at Cumberland Mall have to do with anything? Who cares how "diverse" the mall is. Just go shop where you like and quit fretting over trivial matters.

I totally agree.

I can't help it, but this thread makes me think of the old Red House commercials.

[skiime]

I think it has a lot to do with the types of stores they have. I certainly don't mean this as a prejudiced comment, but as a white male, there really isn't anything in that mall that I'm interested in (but I guess that could be said for most malls these days). I was literally there earlier today because I had to go to the Apple store, so I guess that's one store (I loathe going to any Apple store), and it seems like there are so many athletic apparel and shoe stores like Foot Locker, and then more trendy urban stores that just aren't my thing. I'll give the Macy's a try every now and then, but their mens department always seems so empty. Like someone else said, I do a lot of my shopping online these days, so maybe Cumberland has become more of a social hangout as well. I do want to vent a little though...I think most malls and stores these days are more geared towards women as a whole. You go to Perimeter or Lenox and 95% of the stores are women's clothing stores, BUT, that's where it comes back to what the demographics are for who is spending the money. So in this case, to the OP's point, it seems that the vendors see Cumberland as more of an Urban door (that's industry talk for black people, just in case you didn't know. )

[gvlscrkeva]

The times I have visited Cumberland Mall, I thought it was a melting pot of cultures and demographics. I do think that Cumberland overall caters to a demographic slightly lower than the demo that you see at Perimeter Mall.

In all, I think the mall holds its own. It is strange to me to see that the mall only has Sears (barely making it in general) and Macy's (which is a nice big clean one) and that's it. Does anyone have a reason as to why Costco was built in the "JCPenney parking lot" versus being tacked onto the mall itself?

I've also been told that Cumberland was a "damn good mall" back in the day but to the natives here, did the mall compete or "complete" the offerings that were at Perimeter?

[demonta4]

Imagine if Southlake, or Stonecrest Mall customers complained about the "White" stores in the mall? The mall caters to the residents of the area, and the residents around Cumberland aren't upper middle class whites who go to high class stores like Bloomingdales. Not everybody shops at the stores you think they should. Just because the stores you like aren't there doesn't make it a bad mall. As long as the stores are making a profit, it's a success.

[Big L]

Originally Posted by gvlscrkeva

The times I have visited Cumberland Mall, I thought it was a melting pot of cultures and demographics. I do think that Cumberland overall caters to a demographic slightly lower than the demo that you see at Perimeter Mall.

In all, I think the mall holds its own. It is strange to me to see that the mall only has Sears (barely making it in general) and Macy's (which is a nice big clean one) and that's it. Does anyone have a reason as to why Costco was built in the "JCPenney parking lot" versus being tacked onto the mall itself?

I've also been told that Cumberland was a "damn good mall" back in the day but to the natives here, did the mall compete or "complete" the offerings that were at Perimeter?

If I recall correctly, there was a Rich's at Cumberland before they were bought out. I thought that it was odd that they tore down JCPenney, but that may have more to do with JCPenney itself than the mall. Unfortunately, I don't think that Penney's is getting the same type of traffic that they used to get when I was growing up. I've been through Penney's several times in the past few years, but I can count on one hand the number of items that I have actually bought from there recently. Placing Costco as a stand-alone in the parking lot actually works better traffic-wise than taking it onto the mall itself. I've seen malls elsewhere that had non-mall stores come in to replace anchor stores and it doesn't always look good or work well. One mall back home has a Walmart where an anchor once stood. Talk about goofy!


I never saw Cumberland as a bad or even subpar mall, but Perimeter was always a notch or two higher before the restaurants were added to Cumberland. I lived in Cobb back then and you had to go over to Perimeter for The Cheesecake Factory and Maggiano's. It was a short drive, but having those spots right down the street definitely made a difference. As far as demographics, both malls have pretty much the same types of people during the work day or even on some weeknights. The difference is moreso on the weekend, but as I said in another post the crowds are still about what-and-what these days.


Overall, I think that indoor mall shopping is steadily declining nationwide. We still go to malls, but nine times out of ten it is really just to walk around (killing both time and calories) before or after doing something else. For example, this past Saturday we walked around the Mall of Georgia to burn off some of what we just ate across the street at Olive Garden.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by demonta4

Imagine if Southlake, or Stonecrest Mall customers complained about the "White" stores in the mall? The mall caters to the residents of the area, and the residents around Cumberland aren't upper middle class whites who go to high class stores like Bloomingdales. Not everybody shops at the stores you think they should. Just because the stores you like aren't there doesn't make it a bad mall. As long as the stores are making a profit, it's a success.

Agree with you in large part, but your statement in bold is incorrect. Cumberland is the most convenient mall for those living in an area more-or-less west of Northside Drive, north of somewhere between West Wesley and West Paces Ferry, south of the middle of the city of Marietta and east of the Cobb County/Paulding County line. That's a huge swath that includes much of the very wealthiest part of Buckhead, the Paces neighborhood, all of Vinings and Smyrna, most of Mableton, the Marietta Square, and much of East and West Cobb. Cumberland Mall should be able to support much higher end retailers than it currently has, and I think retailers are starting to realize that, starting with Apple, who really does their homework and pretty much exclusively locates their stores in areas with high concentrations of disposable income. I suspect that the retailers that come into The Battery will be along the same lines: not the ridiculous stuff that's at Buckhead Atlanta, but similar to some of the higher end firms found at Perimeter Mall.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by demonta4

Imagine if Southlake, or Stonecrest Mall customers complained about the "White" stores in the mall? The mall caters to the residents of the area, and the residents around Cumberland aren't upper middle class whites who go to high class stores like Bloomingdales. Not everybody shops at the stores you think they should. Just because the stores you like aren't there doesn't make it a bad mall. As long as the stores are making a profit, it's a success.

??? I thought Vinnings, Smynnings, etc. are upper middle class?

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by Big L

If I recall correctly, there was a Rich's at Cumberland before they were bought out. I thought that it was odd that they tore down JCPenney, but that may have more to do with JCPenney itself than the mall. Unfortunately, I don't think that Penney's is getting the same type of traffic that they used to get when I was growing up. I've been through Penney's several times in the past few years, but I can count on one hand the number of items that I have actually bought from there recently. Placing Costco as a stand-alone in the parking lot actually works better traffic-wise than taking it onto the mall itself. I've seen malls elsewhere that had non-mall stores come in to replace anchor stores and it doesn't always look good or work well. One mall back home has a Walmart where an anchor once stood. Talk about goofy!


I never saw Cumberland as a bad or even subpar mall, but Perimeter was always a notch or two higher before the restaurants were added to Cumberland. I lived in Cobb back then and you had to go over to Perimeter for The Cheesecake Factory and Maggiano's. It was a short drive, but having those spots right down the street definitely made a difference. As far as demographics, both malls have pretty much the same types of people during the work day or even on some weeknights. The difference is moreso on the weekend, but as I said in another post the crowds are still about what-and-what these days.


Overall, I think that indoor mall shopping is steadily declining nationwide. We still go to malls, but nine times out of ten it is really just to walk around (killing both time and calories) before or after doing something else. For example, this past Saturday we walked around the Mall of Georgia to burn off some of what we just ate across the street at Olive Garden.

The most suburban statement ever made on CD.