Almost every decade has its development of choice. This decade it's the lifestyle center. |
An open store is a (financial) liability. They still have to pay taxes on it. |
Consumers like this format. It tends to become a destination-oriented trip for people. |
Department stores will always have a place in enclosed malls. You won't have 40 or 50 vying to be in that space, but they are out there and they are looking. |
Easter is the third-biggest seasonal driver for retailers in malls. The Christmas season — November and December — accounted for 25 percent of their sales last year. The beginning of summer — May and June — accounted for 15. 4 percent of total sales last year. Then came March and April, accounting for 12 percent of sales. |
It certainly provides them a simple opportunity to draw customers that do not typically go to the mall in January. It helps build that traffic. It is a great tie-in. They also are celebrating that Detroit has it. You all are going to be the highlight. |
It really allows a great opportunity to renovate, expand or reconvert. |
It shows there's consumer demand out there. |
It's a leader (in the industry). It's a strong center. |
Malls are trying to be something to everybody. |
Overall, the industry still has a lot of strength behind it. I don't think we're in trouble. When you have a calendar shift, you see changes in consumer spending patterns, which is what we saw in March. |
Restaurants and theaters are part of the mall-mix gathering steam since the late 1990s, allowing malls to open up to a whole new set of consumers. |
The gym has the potential to increase the number of people who go to the shopping center. It will enhance the tenant mix. |
The numbers are slightly down, but are nothing to be concerned about. |
These stores want to make sure they have a core of customers available in a city before they open. The stores look at median household incomes. If the median income is $80,000 or more, they will probably locate there. If it is $30,000 or less, then it gets tough. |