How does Dillard's rate in your assessment of Huntsville retail?

[KDM256]

I don't dislike Belk but if I had to choose between Belk & Dillards, I would perfer to shop at Dillards when shopping around town.

I rather shop online or other cities than shop in Huntsville due to the lack of options around here. If I had anything to do with the Belk to Bridgestreet decision, I rather kept Belk in its current location and brought Macy's into Bridgestreet.

Now since people are talking about saving Madison Square Mall, I would make Macy's an offer they couldn't refused to be the premier store of Madison Square Mall and that would bring bodies back to that area. IMO, that is probably the only store that could save MSM.

[bmrisko]

Originally Posted by LCTMadison

Nope, she refused to do it and said Dillard's never does price adjustments....and it is on their receipt on the back I discovered, NO price adjustments. The only store I know that will not honor that.

And to clarify, she said they would put the bag in the back until their sale was over that following Sunday, THEN return it to the floor for purchase. I was floored to know that is how they operate.

I may be thinking of Macy's who will match their sale prices.

I guess Dillard's policy does keep people from buying items when they first get a pink markdown sticker and then returning during their end of the month sales w/ additional discounts on clearance items to get the even cheaper price. In a way it does sort of level the playing field...if you want the cheapest price, you better get there when the clearance sale starts. I think their store card holders get access to the clearance pricing one day earlier...

[DvlsAdvc8]

I do most of my clothes shopping at Dillards. They have most of the brands I like and prices are ok if you keep an eye on sales. The staff has been genuinely helpful while not being annoying.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by KDM256

I don't dislike Belk but if I had to choose between Belk & Dillards, I would perfer to shop at Dillards when shopping around town.

I rather shop online or other cities than shop in Huntsville due to the lack of options around here. If I had anything to do with the Belk to Bridgestreet decision, I rather kept Belk in its current location and brought Macy's into Bridgestreet.

Now since people are talking about saving Madison Square Mall, I would make Macy's an offer they couldn't refused to be the premier store of Madison Square Mall and that would bring bodies back to that area. IMO, that is probably the only store that could save MSM.

Macy's should have been at Bridge Street, especially with all the hype they were talking about with the "high end luxury store. Macy's is generally entry-level luxury. It is a step up from Dillards, but not quite a Nordstrom or Saks Fifth Avenue. However, as you know, there are "better" versions and "flagship" versions that give even the highest end stores a run for their money. If Jackson, TN and Bowling Green, KY (no shade) can support a Macy's, Huntsville can support a Macy's, certainly.

[zenjenn]

All in-mall department stores at the Huntsville malls feel very 20th century to me. To me it seems like if a shopper wants to go high-end, our malls are NOT high end, and such shoppers would prefer at least Bridge Street if not just out of town or online.

If someone doesn't want high-end, it seems like Kohl's or Target is a more modern choice - as really what does Belk or Dillard's offer that justifies the higher prices of mall real estate?

But, I'm not much of a shopper and obviously those stores are doing well enough to stay in business. I wonder if they are patroned by mostly older shoppers though? Most people in my demographic aren't shopping in mall department stores in town, but maybe that's just the perspective of my bubble.

[GreggT]

I'll have to swim against the tide and say both my wife and I like Belks at Parkway Place much better than Dillards. To be fair, Dillard's does seem to be some neater but both stores carry almost the same exact merchandise but Belks always puts theirs on sale 1st and does their deep season ending markdowns way ahead of Dillards. We have found the employees of both stores nice and helpful, Belks does a much better job advertising their sales. We are always getting something in the mail from Belks, the only thing we get from Dillards is a "wish book" a couple of times a year full priced stuff.
We can't be the only ones feeling this way, it always seems Belks is far more crowded than Dillards.

[dijkstra]

Originally Posted by raj kapoor

So, my question to all is , how do you feel about Dillard's at PP. Are you glad to have it, is it better to you than Belk. Would you have preferred Dillard's to open a new store at BS instead of Belk? Is its location a drawback. Why does it seem that it does not exist when people talk about dept. stores in Huntsville; it is like there are Belks and then there are the stores that you wish for, but it seems like no one counts Dillard's.

I usually just don't think about Dillard's being there. Realistically, people complain about wanting other chains but for the most part they all carry basically the exact same brands and designs. You go into the mens section and every one of the chains have the exact same Ralph Lauren, Polo, Chaps, etc so what difference does it make which you shop?

I think Dillard's biggest problem in Parkway Place is it is still suffering from being second tier compared to Parisian when it was there. Dillard's just didn't compare to Parisian and was written off. This is what I contribute my neglect Dillard's to.

Originally Posted by zenjenn

All in-mall department stores at the Huntsville malls feel very 20th century to me. To me it seems like if a shopper wants to go high-end, our malls are NOT high end, and such shoppers would prefer at least Bridge Street if not just out of town or online.

If someone doesn't want high-end, it seems like Kohl's or Target is a more modern choice - as really what does Belk or Dillard's offer that justifies the higher prices of mall real estate?

But, I'm not much of a shopper and obviously those stores are doing well enough to stay in business. I wonder if they are patroned by mostly older shoppers though? Most people in my demographic aren't shopping in mall department stores in town, but maybe that's just the perspective of my bubble.

It definitely isn't the location being in Parkway Place. That mall is always busy. Parking on the lower level on the weekends is always tough to find. Even during the week in the middle of the day Parkway Place has a lot of customers. I would be willing to bet that Parkway Place does over 10 times the business Bridgestreet does

[raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by dijkstra

I usually just don't think about Dillard's being there. Realistically, people complain about wanting other chains but for the most part they all carry basically the exact same brands and designs. You go into the mens section and every one of the chains have the exact same Ralph Lauren, Polo, Chaps, etc so what difference does it make which you shop?

I think Dillard's biggest problem in Parkway Place is it is still suffering from being second tier compared to Parisian when it was there. Dillard's just didn't compare to Parisian and was written off. This is what I contribute my neglect Dillard's to.




It definitely isn't the location being in Parkway Place. That mall is always busy. Parking on the lower level on the weekends is always tough to find. Even during the week in the middle of the day Parkway Place has a lot of customers. I would be willing to bet that Parkway Place does over 10 times the business Bridgestreet does

Thank you for the thoughtful response.

The reference to Parisian had not occurred to me, but surly holds some truth, I suspect.

raj