Macy's at Landmark closing; death knell for Landmark Mall? (Alexandria: income, shop)

[ZeroiaSD]

Springfield's busiest area seems to be the strip of restaurants on the outside edge, I notice. Though as more of the interior fills up (in their favor the number of stores is still increasing and the empty areas shrinking) hopefully more people will be lured in.

Personally I really like the density of stores the indoor malls have. Pentagon and Tysons allows one to look at a lot more, closer together than the outdoor shopping areas.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by kevinm

it encourages actual "shopping" and not just "loitering" by packs of teens.

You have no idea how many menchildren and teens in Mosaic I literally and repeatedly tripped over during the Pokemon craze

Plenty of bored and annoying FCHS and LJMS kids hanging out in Mosaic.

[tylerSC]

A few thoughts here. As a former resident of Alexandria, Va in the early 90's, I always found Landmark Center to be a functional, small mall that served the immediate Landmark area. Small footprint, an upper level food court, and strong anchor stores. Which at the time were Hecht's, Woodward and Lothrop, and Sears. And back then Hecht's was a good store with a nice selection, and it seemed to remain so after Macy's took over.

But in recent years, following mutiregional consolidations, some of the macy's became poorly managed with limited assortments. And the loss of prominent nameplates such as Hecht's, Kauffman's, Rich's, Lazarus, Strawbridges, Marshall Field, and Burdine's began to diminish shopper loyalty. As well as the growth of Amazon and online shopping.

But original Macy's such as Tyson's II Galleria and Pentagon City were nice, large stores with very good selections from the flagship NYC division. But some of the converted stores from Hecht's may not have been as well managed, and apparently business at Landmark has suffered.

The Macy's at Tyson's I in the old Hecht's location seems to be a strong performer, while the original Macy's at Tyson's II across the street may be declining. As for now Macy's will continue to lease that space and operate that store, but I would speculate it may eventually be closed. And perhaps one of the two Macy's at Fair Oaks may also eventually close as they continue to downsize. I think the former Hecht's at Fair Oaks may be the stronger location there.

But still sorry to see Macy's at Landmark close, and possibly Sears may indeed be next. But perhaps a newcomer such as Dillard's or Belk could takeover some of the closed Macy's locations.

[tylerSC]

Belk already has a presence in Fredericksburg and some small stores in Maryland. And Dillard's is in Richmond. But not sure if Landmark will see more traditional dept. stores, as they may be seeking alternatives in redevelopment as a lifestyle center.

[tylerSC]

It would also be nice to see a Roy Rogers restaurant return to the Landmark area as part of the redevelopment. It was my favorite fast food in Northern Virginia and Maryland. The Hardee's conversion was a big blunder, and there are enough McDonald's already. Roy's is now slowly expanding again but with good success. And I also enjoyed Bob's Big Boy and Friendly's back in the day. I remember the old Roy Rogers on Duke Street and the Friendly's on Van Dorn. And there was a Bob's Big Boy in Springfield and Arlington.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by tylerSC

But original Macy's such as Tyson's II Galleria and Pentagon City were nice, large stores with very good selections from the flagship NYC division. But some of the converted stores from Hecht's may not have been as well managed, and apparently business at Landmark has suffered.

The Macy's at Tyson's I in the old Hecht's location seems to be a strong performer, while the original Macy's at Tyson's II across the street may be declining. As for now Macy's will continue to lease that space and operate that store, but I would speculate it may eventually be closed. And perhaps one of the two Macy's at Fair Oaks may also eventually close as they continue to downsize. I think the former Hecht's at Fair Oaks may be the stronger location there..................... But perhaps a newcomer such as Dillard's or Belk could takeover some of the closed Macy's locations.

I agree about Macys Tysons vs Galleria Macys does not own the TysonsCorner locale right? Is the entire Tysons Corner owned by the Lerners?

I ADORE Dillards Lived 6 years in Kansas and its a goto store for sure

Our family drives down to Richmond to hit the Short Pump locale 2x a year for clothes

I would LOVE to see Dilliards in one of the 2 Macys in Fair Oaks

However expanding any Dept Stores at this point seems like bad business decision. Maybe that will change when Trump strips and rebuilds the business tax code.

I read that 60% of dept sales at Christmas this year were online and for those onlineshoppers who picked up their online purchase instore proceeded to buy something additional in the store at pick up time

[tylerSC]

Personally I do not prefer to by clothes or apparel online. The colors depicted in the picture are not always accurate, and it is difficult to determine the actual shape and fit, depending upon the brand. With some shirts or sweaters I may wear large size, whereas others I may need extra large. And some pants I wear waist 32, whereas others I may need 33 or possibly 34 depending upon the style. I just prefer to see the look and fit of clothing in person in the store.

Although I will at times purchase from Macy's online as it is easy to return to the store. And the selection of their house brand labels such as INC, Tasso Elba, and Alfani may vary from store to store, from size to color. You can order online and they will send you a grey sweater when your local store may have only had the red or blue. They will ship from another store or their warehouse.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by tylerSC

Personally I do not prefer to by clothes or apparel online. The colors depicted in the picture are not always accurate, and it is difficult to determine the actual shape and fit, depending upon the brand. With some shirts or sweaters I may wear large size, whereas others I may need extra large. And some pants I wear waist 32, whereas others I may need 33 or possibly 34 depending upon the style. I just prefer to see the look and fit of clothing in person in the store.

Although I will at times purchase from Macy's online as it is easy to return to the store. And the selection of their house brand labels such as INC, Tasso Elba, and Alfani may vary from store to store, from size to color. You can order online and they will send you a grey sweater when your local store may have only had the red or blue. They will ship from another store or their warehouse.

Your clothing buying habits are like mine. I buy a fair amount of women's clothing. Mostly dresses and skirts. There is just no way to tell what the fabric is like, fit is like, etc for those types of items where fit is *really* important.

Once I have figured out a brand, it is only then that I will do some online ordering. I often order online from Macy's because I know how some of their brands fit now, plus they have a great online return service that matches Nordstrom (fast and free). Ann Taylor is another store when I am finding I'm a solid fit in ONE of their sizes so I may start ordering from them, but I find there website photos don't nearly do justice to the fabrics and prints. I certainly hope brick and mortar stores stay in booming business until I retire!

[leighland]

Originally Posted by leighland

I read that 60% of dept sales at ****Christmas**** this year were online and for those onlineshoppers who picked up their online purchase instore proceeded to buy something additional in the store at pick up time

I wonder how much online ordering drops after Christmas? I would have assumes practically zero but you 2 make it sound like dept stores like Macys have a brisk online business (at least for clothes) year round.

[ZeroiaSD]

Originally Posted by leighland

I wonder how much online ordering drops after Christmas? I would have assumes practically zero but you 2 make it sound like dept stores like Macys have a brisk online business (at least for clothes) year round.

Right after X-mas you've got people using gift cards.

There's also people who don't tailor their buying to holidays, people of different or no religion, etc..