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Well, with the retail explosion in MHC, the perpetual turnover and massive retail in Jacksonville, and the ever growing Greenville, I just think New Bern, retail wise, is out of luck. Tee three thriving towns around us, less than an hour in about all directions, all have pretty good stuff and anything in New Bern will be a duplicate, in all likelihood. Don't think many folks will drive from Greenville, more than once, to shop at a store they already have.
I would love for New Bern to get some great stores, shops, etc, but just don't see it. Hope I am wrong, that does happen from time to time.
Well, with the retail explosion in MHC, the perpetual turnover and massive retail in Jacksonville, and the ever growing Greenville, I just think New Bern, retail wise, is out of luck. Tee three thriving towns around us, less than an hour in about all directions, all have pretty good stuff and anything in New Bern will be a duplicate, in all likelihood. Don't think many folks will drive from Greenville, more than once, to shop at a store they already have.
I would love for New Bern to get some great stores, shops, etc, but just don't see it. Hope I am wrong, that does happen from time to time.
People said the same thing about Morehead City back in the day. Back when the area where the retail is was still called Wildwood and was even really considered part of MHC proper. It was said that people could just go to New Bern or Jacksonville for retail.
On a smaller scale, Dollar Tree, did not want to open a store in Havelock because they thought it would cannibalize their stores in MHC and New Bern. They only bit the bullet when Walmart moved in.
I don't think people realize how much money is in that area. Maybe because people there aren't flashy with it. Then you have the thousands of military families in Havelock with guaranteed check every 1st and 15th. The money might be made just with people from Craven County no longer having to drive to Jacksonville, MHC, or New Bern to spend money.
People said the same thing about Morehead City back in the day. Back when the area where the retail is was still called Wildwood and was even really considered part of MHC proper. It was said that people could just go to New Bern or Jacksonville for retail.
On a smaller scale, Dollar Tree, did not want to open a store in Havelock because they thought it would cannibalize their stores in MHC and New Bern. They only bit the bullet when Walmart moved in.
I don't think people realize how much money is in that area. Maybe because people there aren't flashy with it. Then you have the thousands of military families in Havelock with guaranteed check every 1st and 15th. The money might be made just with people from Craven County no longer having to drive to Jacksonville, MHC, or New Bern to spend money.
i hope you are right. I would LOVE not to routinely make the drives.
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"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 15 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by box_of_zip_disks
If Burlington can support an outdoor mall, surely New Bern can. Good for them.
There is a huge difference between Burlington and New Bern. First off, Burlington is twice the size of New Bern. Secondly, Burlington is on an Interstate. Thirdly, Burlington is centrally located between Greensboro, Durham and Raleigh. Fourthly, there are scads of smaller cities and towns that surround Burlington.
What does New Bern have? MHC is about 45 minutes away and Greenville is an hour away. You can almost get from Greenville to Smithfield, which is bigger than the proposed New Bern shopping center, in the same amount of time.
There is a huge difference between Burlington and New Bern. First off, Burlington is twice the size of New Bern. Secondly, Burlington is on an Interstate. Thirdly, Burlington is centrally located between Greensboro, Durham and Raleigh. Fourthly, there are scads of smaller cities and towns that surround Burlington.
A better comparison would be the Tanger outlet on the Outer Banks, which despite being fairly small and starting to show its age is still one of their best-performing sites. Also located in a relatively low-population area (35k in a 50 mile radius) 90 minutes from the nearest alternative. People come to the beach just to shop at that place, and back in the early 90s when it was built, nobody came to the beach to shop. When they opened the K-Mart around the same time, it was a huge event. That's how dire the options were back then.
Also Alamance Crossing doesn't have anything you couldn't find in Greensboro, plus Hanes in Winston Salem. Tanger in Mebane draws from the Triangle, but it's not upscale- that's what Cameron Village is for. Plus the Burlington metro, which Alamance Crossing primarily serves, is about 150-160k whereas the New Bern metro is about 120-130k. It's not that much of a difference.
Quote:
What does New Bern have? MHC is about 45 minutes away and Greenville is an hour away. You can almost get from Greenville to Smithfield, which is bigger than the proposed New Bern shopping center, in the same amount of time.
Depending on what stores Craven Thirty has it may be competing with a different segment than Carolina Premium Outlets. The only really upscale stores they have are Brooks Brothers and maybe Ann Taylor. There's an increasing amount of money down there and few options. I'll agree it'll turn out to be a bust if they wind up with primarily the same stores though.
Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 15 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by box_of_zip_disks
A better comparison would be the Tanger outlet on the Outer Banks, which despite being fairly small and starting to show its age is still one of their best-performing sites. Also located in a relatively low-population area (35k in a 50 mile radius) 90 minutes from the nearest alternative.
That's actually an extremely poor comparison.
In a 2005 study, Dare County had a effective daytime seasonal population in excess of 220,000 people. It can be safely assumed that millions of people visit Dare County every summer.
Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 15 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,104,814 times
Reputation: 1430
They will probably have a hard time getting quality retailers into that market. Most quality retailers require high populations of high income people within a certain radius, usually 5 to 10 miles. New Bern's average household income in 2009 was only $29,806, a very small increase in 9 years from 2000's $29,139. The per capita income is $21,019 or about $10 an hour at a full time job. Brooks Brothers won't be opening a store there.
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