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It would be nice if we as Southerners could get over comparing cities by looking at the store selections each of our premiere malls offer. Do you see people from New York and Philadelphia comparing 5th Avenue to King of Prussia? Do people in Portland and Seattle compare stores? How about Beverly Hills and Scottsdale? No.
Charlotte has a nice rail system, is more progressive than the Atlanta area, and it has a nicer downtown area. This is all coming from an Atlanta native. My family and I always enjoy Charlotte because it is slower paced, feels more down home, and has a newer, more hip vibe in many neighborhoods compared with Atlanta.
With that said, Atlanta malls are simply better than any offerings in the Charlotte area. Atlanta just has the upscale stores and the clientele and more general offerings than Charlotte. I have been to SouthPark multiple times. It always just seems so small and lowkey compared to what I'm used to in Atlanta. SouthPark is the mall that caters to the upper middle class housewife in Matthews or the soccer mom in Ballantyne. Going to Phipps or Lenox in Atlanta is always an experience because of not only the shopping, but the people watching as well. You see many local celebrities and people who seem to believe that everyone should know them. In Charlotte you just don't have that same atmosphere. SouthPark is really just your basic semi-upscale mall in a somewhat major urban area.
Charlotte has several things on Atlanta. This just isn't it.
And the Lenox Macy's is one of the bigger, better full line Macy's outside of the NYC flagship store. It has more of an energized, exciting feel and full selection of the latest trends and designs.
But the Charlotte Macy's have indeed improved since they were Hecht's, which were a bit bland in comparison. Northlake added Polo, as well as the better Macy's brands such as INC, Tasso, and Alfani. And now Europa. The old Hecht's label John Ashford is now the lower end Macy's brand.
And the Lenox Macy's is one of the bigger, better full line Macy's outside of the NYC flagship store. It has more of an energized, exciting feel and full selection of the latest trends and designs.
Most of the Macy's that weren't built as Macy's aren't very nice. The Lenox store is definitely an exception.
As you said, the Charlotte stores are pretty nice, though. It's nothing special, but nothing to laugh at either.
It would be nice if we as Southerners could get over comparing cities by looking at the store selections each of our premiere malls offer. Do you see people from New York and Philadelphia comparing 5th Avenue to King of Prussia? Do people in Portland and Seattle compare stores? How about Beverly Hills and Scottsdale? No.
Charlotte has a nice rail system, is more progressive than the Atlanta area, and it has a nicer downtown area. This is all coming from an Atlanta native. My family and I always enjoy Charlotte because it is slower paced, feels more down home, and has a newer, more hip vibe in many neighborhoods compared with Atlanta.
With that said, Atlanta malls are simply better than any offerings in the Charlotte area. Atlanta just has the upscale stores and the clientele and more general offerings than Charlotte. I have been to SouthPark multiple times. It always just seems so small and lowkey compared to what I'm used to in Atlanta. SouthPark is the mall that caters to the upper middle class housewife in Matthews or the soccer mom in Ballantyne. Going to Phipps or Lenox in Atlanta is always an experience because of not only the shopping, but the people watching as well. You see many local celebrities and people who seem to believe that everyone should know them. In Charlotte you just don't have that same atmosphere. SouthPark is really just your basic semi-upscale mall in a somewhat major urban area.
Charlotte has several things on Atlanta. This just isn't it.
I agree with a lot of the things you said, but I wouldn't exactly call SouthPark 'low-key' or small. SouthPark is actually larger than Lenox, but that's because it has more department stores.
Also, I wouldn't consider SouthPark to be just a 'basic semi-upscale' mall. It has definitely passed descriptions of 'basic' and 'semi-upscale'. A mall like that would be Perimeter. When I think of semi-upscale stores I think along the likes of Pottery Barn, Michael Kors, Coach, Anthropologie, etc which is mostly what Perimeter is. When I think of an upscale mall, I think of Lenox/Phipps or SouthPark, with stores like Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Tory Burch, etc. Lenox does have stores SouthPark doesn't, but I can get anything I need in Charlotte, so unless I am going to Atlanta for something there's no reason for me to go shopping there. Most of the boutiques in Atlanta seem to have a presence at SouthPark via Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus or their own boutique.
I think I would put rate them like this:
Upscale
Phipps Plaza
Lenox Square
SouthPark
Semi-Upscale
Perimeter Mall
Mall of Georgia
North Point/Northlake (NC) (tied)
Regular Malls
Town Center at Cobb
Carolina Place
Arbor Place
Gwinnett Place
Any I'm forgetting?
Really, it all just comes down to which stores and brands you like. Some people may be able to get everything in Charlotte, and some may rather go to the stores in Atlanta if they like H&M, Prada, etc. H&M is okay, but I like Prada sunglasses, but that's about it. I think I can get those at NM and I know I can order online. Besides, I don't really go for trendy stuff as much and it seems like Atlanta is bigger on that than Charlotte is. An Emporio Armani, Omega, and maybe like a Gucci or something else for men would be good, but I'm pretty content with what is already here. I definitely enjoy Atlanta shopping, but I wouldn't drive from Asheville to there like I would with Charlotte, since it is over an hour closer to me.
It would be nice if we as Southerners ... Do you see people from New York and Philadelphia comparing 5th Avenue to King of Prussia...
This is because Southerners are proud of their hometowns and have pride in the places they live. It's natural to want to do some bragging. It's harmless as long as it's friendly,... a very Southern thing.
Most of the Macy's that weren't built as Macy's aren't very nice. The Lenox store is definitely an exception.
As you said, the Charlotte stores are pretty nice, though. It's nothing special, but nothing to laugh at either.
Yea, down in Orlando, a lot of those former Burdines stores aren't that nice. But the Millenia store which was an original Macy's is very nice. In Charlotte, the Northlake and SouthPark Macy's are nice because Hecht's had recently built/renovated them. And the Lenox Macy's was the Rich's flagship store.
From my location in GVL SC, I like to visit Mall of Georgia. It is a nice big mall with a large selection of major stores. Macy's, Belk, Dillard's, Nordstrom, JCPenney. Large food court and movie theatres. And it is an easy 90 min drive right down 85 with easy access right off the exit. SouthPark is harder to get to because of no direct interstate access. And there is also a Brandsmart on that exit, and I like to go in there and browse. Better prices than Best Buy on electronics, computers, etc.
Living in Atlanta, I drive uptown to Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza several times a year mostly to visit Macy's, Lenox Square (not nearly as good as the WONDERFUL Rich's flagship it replaced which was my favorite store on the planet) but is the nicest Macy's around and the much derided Belk at Phipps Plaza (which isn't as nice as the Parisian it replaced) but is still the best we have like the Macy's across the street. As far as the remaining stores, not in my price range. By the way, no one, has ever been overly nice to me at any Nordstrom's (Nordstrom). When I have occasion to go to Charlotte, I go to South Park, it is nice too, but to my eyes, is nice in a Perimeter Mall type of way. That said, South Park's Flagship Belk is one of the more wonderful stores in the southeast in my opinion. In my perfect mall in my mind's eye it would have Belk flagship at South Park, the OLD Rich's flagship at Lenox Square, and Lord and Taylor from Fifth Avenue in New York. Lord and Taylor is the chain I miss most from Metro Atlanta after Rich's!
Every employee of every store at Lenox will complain about the quality of the shoppers there.
If you try to compliment how nice the mall is, they'll say, "But...."
It is unlike any other mall in any major US city I've ever seen.
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