Forever 21 in SLO to bounce out after 2 yrs? Macy's in? (Fresno: fit in, to buy)

[Shawn_Estrada]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

No, not really. Tenant improvements are often subsidized by city/county incentives. Do not speak of what you do not know of.

Subsidized? How so? Check yourself there at the door buddy. Although depending on what the heck you need to do (specifically if a building needs a significant upgrade for ADA compliance) TI's still aren't cheap.

I am still trying to figure out "why Macy's". What's the obsession with this one store? I am not young, but not old either and quite frankly I can find most of my fashion needs provided by the existing stores in San Luis, especially at BR when things go on-sale (to which they always do). Need a suite? Men's Warehouse. Need some household appliances? Target's, Kohl's, PotterBarn, Forden's, Sear's, etc. Need woman's clothes, San Luis gots that covered.

So Again, why does San Luis need a Macy's when it seems the target demographic and market is covered by other retail shops and this thing called the interwebs? There is a reason a company doesn't wish to locate here. If it can't make daily/monthly sales, than obviously it won't risk throwing money down a toilet.

[jifie]

I'm curious too, what the obsession with macys is? Back home we had a sears, macys, lord and taylor, and jc penny all in one mall...they are all the same store with different prices. I dont get why macys is so special.

Also, as a side note(Shawn, you seem a bit knowledgeable on the subject), why dont malls work on the central coast?? The only decent mall in the area that I can think of is down in Ventura. Back east the mall is a big thing, almost a focal point of the area, why not so much here? I was absolutely shocked when I saw what the SM mall was all about.

[ferretkona]

The coast is just to widely dispersed. After Ventura and Santa Barbra cities are small till you get to San Francisco.

On Tenant improvement. Often a mall or town will give low interest rate building loans, free utilities and cash if they want that business to move to their town. On the whole, they weigh remodels as a sample on the market, if the store does well they will build new. The sales really reflect well on new stores over remodels.
I work on new and remodel Nordstrom's Stores all thru CA.

[Shawn_Estrada]

Originally Posted by jifie

I
Also, as a side note(Shawn, you seem a bit knowledgeable on the subject), why dont malls work on the central coast?? The only decent mall in the area that I can think of is down in Ventura.

Honestly this area just bucks national trends. The reality (i think) is the strength of the Downtown's. Case in point-Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo have very strong Downtown's that are essentially "placemakers" i.e. they already draw a large amount of people whether it be tourists or residents to them due to many factors like charm/design/walkability/local attractions, etc. I haven't been to Ventura in a while, but I am assuming based on documents I have read, that Ventura is similar.

Businesses want to locate where the people are. In addition, land development since the mid/early 80's have been virtually impossible along the Central Coast due to skyrocketing land value, NIMBY's etc. Developing a mall is a big thing when land costs a lot of money. Providing infrastructure, especially traffic mitigation. Planners have constantly beat the drum and focused on revitalizing downtown's thus pouring grant monies, relaxing standards to parking and traffic, thus making downtown's winners in developer's eyes.

If you look at town's where malls are the focal point up and down the coast (Santa Maria, Salinas, etc) their downtowns or other core commercial areas are just downright sad, hence the "placemaking" factor tilts to the mall. The OP doesn't quite understand this concept.

[the city]

If Sear's failed I would have guessed because of bad management or people prefer another store.

I just want Macy's here. And just that. I didnt care about Target or anything else.

Santa Barbara has two malls by the way, and in total 5 department stores. One mall is in downtown.

San Luis Obispo's two malls were remodeled in the 90s, and is why you see department stores in strip malls.

If Macy's can't get an old building, then I heard there is room for retail in the Dalidio land for as much as 200,000 sq. ft. of retail. As the city general plan calls for mostly agriculture and some retail.

And I would imagine there is some land near Los Osos Valley Road that could be developed too.

[the city]

Also, Lompoc and Monterey are getting smaller sized Forever 21 stores. Lompoc's will be about 40,000 sq. ft. for a population of 60,000 population.

And Monterey's at about 65,000 sq. ft. for a population around 110,000 population

SLO's store is the second biggest in the chain at 105,000 sq. ft. Gottschalks store was one of the most profitable in the chain. I talked to an economist in SLO once and he guessed that Forever 21 would not be able to sustain a store of that size for very long. Since if not enough people shop there they would not earn enough to pay the rent. That store anticipates high schoolers, college guys and girls, and also some older people shop there.

And NewTimes, The Tribune, a city survey, and CalCoast News revealed many people wanted Macy's.

And also Forever 21 isn't a regional draw. I won't drive to SLO to shop at Forever 21. If it was Macy's, that has a wider variety and better quality clothing then I would shop at Macy's. Gottschalks offered skater, surfer, and other types of clothing. Where Forever 21 is just trendy clothing.

Forever 21 should have outbid Kohl's for Mervyn's location.

[blueyes2]

Recently visited a large, two floor Forever 21 store in an LA area mall. The store was virtually deserted. Can't see how even a college town the size of SLO can sustain a Forever 21 at that rate.

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by the city

SLO's store is the second biggest in the chain at 105,000 sq. ft.

When it opened it was 2nd largest but no longer. They have opened some larger now.

Forever 21's new Fresno store is at 150,000 sq ft. Then Modesto also saw a new 150,000 sq ft store open. There is Vegas at 126,000 sq ft. There are probably others larger than SLO that I cannot think of right now.

[the city]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

When it opened it was 2nd largest but no longer. They have opened some larger now.

Forever 21's new Fresno store is at 150,000 sq ft. Then Modesto also saw a new 150,000 sq ft store open. There is Vegas at 126,000 sq ft. There are probably others larger than SLO that I cannot think of right now.

And those towns are way larger than San Luis Obispo. Sure we have more of the type of shoppers who would shop there, but really do we have enough? I know some high schoolers who don't like that store because they dress more conservatively.

I still believe Forever 21 might not last. If it does, there is the Dalidio land. But the Dalidio's property could take a long time to get developed. The project has to be in the city first of all.

SLO could support a Forever 21 around the size of Chico, Davis, Merced, or Monterey's Forever 21. I bet Forever 21 could probably even find a good spot in downtown SLO near the other college aged clothing places.

[the city]

Originally Posted by blueyes2

Recently visited a large, two floor Forever 21 store in an LA area mall. The store was virtually deserted. Can't see how even a college town the size of SLO can sustain a Forever 21 at that rate.

Cuesta's population is at 7,000 students. Cal Poly at 18,000 students. With a total of 25,000 college students. About 23,000 students live in SLO. Cuesta is getting rid of out of area students, so the population of SLO is going to more families.

One can only wonder, did Macy's not outbid Forever 21 because they knew Forever 21 wouldn't last? Did Forever 21 plan on making SLO's store a prototype, or did they think it would last?

This town is already saturated with many college aged stores.

Urban Outfitters, Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Abercrombie and Fitch, Sunglass Hut, Coalition, Uptown Jean Co, and several other local owned stores. All which are in downtown and close to Cal Poly SLO. Well except Old Navy, but Old Navy gets a mixed of college aged, high school, and older people shopping there.

I don't shop downtown at all. I don't live near it, so I dont go there for anything. If I lived near downtown I would only go there for coffee, Barnes N Nobles and Phoenix Books, walk around the creek, or to see a play.

When I go shopping with my parents once a month in SLO we hit up one of the shopping centers off Los Osos Valley Road and Madonna Road.