Are malls dying?

5:24 pm September 25, 2012, by Rick Badie

Moderated by Rick Badie
The struggles of some shopping malls here (such as Gwinnett Place in Duluth and Southlake in Morrow) and
across the nation have been well-documented. Shopping centers can struggle financially when demographics
change, anchor stores pack up and move, specialty shops lack appeal or spending patterns reflect a dull
economy. Today, a mall real estate specialist and a local revitalization executive weigh the challenges and the
future facing these retail destinations.
By Michael P. Glimcher
The death of the mall has been proclaimed over and over. Many thought it couldnt weather the recession or
would crumble from online retail. However, to say the mall will die is to underestimate that consumers are
resilient, the mall is adaptable and people love to shop.
Malls remain highly-valued fortress-like assets. Mall real estate investment trusts are able to draw equity from
top institutional investors attracted to stable cash flows from long-term leases that often average more than
seven years.
Regardless of economics, the recession changed how we shop. As consumers tightened belts, we saw the rise
of fast fashion. Retailers, like Forever 21 and Old Navy became household names. The industry also ushered
in the outlet era. Well-known outlet brands increased their stores and full-price retailers re-evaluated strategies.
Today, with so many economic and political uncertainties, we can expect to see the popularity of value retail
continue and to see fast fashion expand into categories like home dcor. We will also see the pace of outlet
growth continue short-term, and outlet and full-price retail exist closer together.
The recession has changed how people enjoy the mall. During the recession, Americans invented the
staycation. Consumers traded in luxurious vacations for frugal experiences closer to home, like shopping,
dining and movies. As a result, malls have seen dramatic increases in the number of restaurants as well as other
entertainment venues like movie theaters, skating rinks or comedy clubs, set up shop.
More experiences are also being added. With the rise of online shopping, retailers are finding new ways to
engage shoppers with brands. For example, lululemon athletica has introduced free yoga classes and Nike
coordinates running clubs. Stores like Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn offer classes that integrate their
products.
At Glimcher Realty Trust, we use the term experience retail to describe anything you can do at the mall but
cant do online. You cant have a salad and a glass of wine online. You cant try on a purse or have your
makeup done. Shopping is a tactile and social experience.
Looking forward at the success of the U.S. shopping mall, some of the basic tenets of commercial real estate
remain. First and foremost, its about location. Highway traffic, accessibility and proximity to dense residential
areas are some of the leading factors in a malls longevity.
Reinvestment is also critical. Because of their size, in many cases more than one million square feet, malls
require tremendous maintenance and upkeep. While renovations and updates can be costly, they are important
to maintain the quality of the center and to attract and retain top national brands coveted by shoppers. Clean
aesthetics with modern amenities add to the allure of the shopping experience.
Finally, with limited non-outlet mall development and retailers well-schooled to survive in this economy, its
safe to say the mall isnt going anywhere. It just might look a little different.
Michael P. Glimcher is chairman and CEO of Glimcher Realty Trust.
By Leo Wiener
On Aug. 28, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners took a bold step and endorsed a vision for the
Greater Gwinnett Place area.
For the past year, the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District (CID) has worked with Gwinnett
County, the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, stakeholders and concerned citizens to craft strategies that can
dramatically transform greater Gwinnett Place into a vibrant mixed-use center.
Launched in partnership with Gwinnett County and the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Gwinnett Livable
Centers Initiative (LCI) is a map that will create a new type of community in Gwinnetts central business
district. Successful implementation of this plan will require a public-private partnership. The LCI process
helped stakeholders understand that doing nothing or maintaining status quo would lead to failure. Gwinnett
Place must continually evolve and remake itself if it is to be competitive again.
To achieve this vision, the plan recommends strategies such as opportunity zones and tax allocation districts.
The plan calls for the revision of local land-use policies and regulations and infrastructure investments aimed
at creating a more walkable development. Central to this strategy is the creation of what has been called the
Great Lawn, a public gathering place that can provide an outdoor venue for gatherings, art, entertainment and
recreation. This would be a central green space or public park that will span both sides of Pleasant Hill Road.
The LCI concept master plan also presents two options for the future redevelopment of Gwinnett Place Mall.
One option envisions the structure remaining intact with a complete redesign of the mall facade, the addition of
parking decks and office buildings and residential developments, similar to improvements made at Perimeter
and Cumberland malls.
The second option calls for the redevelopment of the mall by removing the roof and running a grid of streets
through the malls center. Anchor stores Macys, Belk, Mega Mart, JC Penney and Sears would be converted
to free-standing structures. This long-term option would create a true walkable urban core similar to Atlantic
Station for downtown Atlanta.
It is important to know the rebirth of the area is no longer completely tied to the success or failure of the mall.
Over the last decade, greater Gwinnett Place has begun to evolve while its mall declined. The area has shown
the vibrancy needed to initiate a transformation and rebirth regardless of the mall. This transformation has been
evident over the past few years with the renovation of existing retail centers and investment in new
development. With or without a revitalized mall, the Gwinnett Place area continues to be a vibrant marketplace
of distinct cultures and experiences.
Greater Gwinnett Places strategic location in the heart of the regions most vibrant community has much of
the amenities, infrastructure, and transportation needed to complement the areas rebirth. Even greater
transformation is possible, ahead of any rebirth of the mall.



7 Creative Uses For Dead Shopping Mall


Picture: YouTube/MariachiMexicanisimo
If the American-style shopping mall is dying, we could easily be left with an awfully big pile
of useless real estate. What should become of these empty retail shells?In fact, some
innovative ideas are already emerging. Across the country, malls are being retrofitted into
doctors offices, office space, and call centres. But some developers are taking a more
creative approach.

Here is a collection of some of the most interesting ideas weve heard for what comes next
for the shopping mall.

1. The mall as Main Street.
The bad rap on malls used to be that they made Main Streets obsolete. But with store fronts
emptying out and visitors dwindling, some malls are planning redesigns that place
walkability, public space, and outdoor hang outs at a premium.
Take a look at this Seattle mall. This is what the mall looked like in 2007 (courtesy of the
Sledghammer, which chronicled its decline and has a whole photo essay of empty flagship
stores and bleak hallways).
But mall owners are planning a redesign (complete with a new name, 'Marketplace at
Factoria') that more closely mimics a main street. Here are some mock-ups for the plan:



2. The mall as a high-end condo.
Similar to the mall-as-main-street concept, but with an emphasis on luxury living--think
walkable development, anchored in the shell of a mall rather than proximity to transit. This
type of mall redesign was tried by the Natick Mall, a 40-year-old shopping centre outside of
Boston, in 2007.
The 500,000-square-foot expansion brought more high-end retailers (like Gucci, Louis
Vuitton, and Michael Kors), and restaurants to the struggling space. But the flagship
addition was a collection of luxury condos known as Nouvelle at Natick. Planners imagined
a 'new era of suburban living' - one that 'married shopping and luxury - without the hassles
and high prices of the city.'
In the first year, only 37 condos sold (though some people paid a whopping $1.6 million);
the developer auctioned off 42 more in 2009 (for a notably-less-whopping $160,000).
Ironically, the condos were auctioned off because mall-builder General Growth Properties,
which owned the condos, needed quick cash (it was in the middle of a $27.3 billion
bankruptcy case).
In 2011, several condo owners sued the property developer; demanding their money back.















3. The mall as City Hall.
Talk about the intersection between business and politics. The former Echelon Mall in
Voorhees, New Jersey, began losing retailers in 2000. By 2005, only a quarter of its spaces
were occupied. Right around the same time, the Voorhees government was looking for a
new home. Plans to build a new town hall had been rejected in the late 1990s, and voters
dubbed the proposal a 'Taj Mahal.'
In 2007, a development group demolished some department store space at the mall and re-
purposed other parts. The re-opened Voorhees Town centre includes some new stores
(including a Macy's); a tree-lined boulevard, condos, and the Voorhees Town Hall, 'now
conveniently located right next door to your daily shopping excursions,' according to the
mall website.
Though the idea was initially met with scepticism, by now it's pretty well received. As New
Jersey Municipalities wrote in 2011:


4. The mall as a park.
When it was first built, the Columbus City centre was central Ohio's largest mall. But by
2009, the mall was largely vacant, a downtown eye sore that was, in the words of
theColumbus Dispatch, 'hurting efforts to redevelop the area south of Capitol Square and
harming property values.'
So the city invested $20 million to turn the dead space into a nine-acre park, hoping that it
would draw residents from the suburbs. In addition to green spaces, fountains and trees,
the mall has a carousel, a performance space for summer concerts, something called an
'outdoor reading room,' plus bocce courts and a life-sized chess set.
Its parking lot also got a bit of a re-use--it's now used by the city's downtown employees as
a garage.

5. The mall as a water park.
Down an anchor retailer or two? Why not replace them with a slide and wave pool! That's
the premise behind the company Flowrider, which sells wave pools to property
management companies. This trend gave birth to one of the best sentences to ever appear
in The New York TImes:
Where once people shopped for three-packs of underwear or sheet sets, they are now
turning up in flip-flops and shorts to surf an artificial patch of ocean.
According to the Times, a retail chain called Adrenalina began selling malls on wave pools
and slides in 2007. The recession and online shopping had put a serious dent in mall
shoppers, and owners were willing to try anything to get people back into stores. According
to the Times, some malls paid the $2 million installation fee themselves, just to get foot
traffic going again.


6. The mall as a performing arts venue.
In 2009, St. Louis's Crestwood Malls decided to turn over its empty space to artists. One
theatre company moved from a church basement to its own rehearsal space, all for $100 a
month plus utilities. Other dance studios, galleries and artists also moved in with the same
rent deal. Some 60 groups signed on.
One artist took over an old hair salon, using the sinks to wash paint brushes. At the time,
Leisa Son, creator of the project and marketing manager at Crestwood Court, told St. Louis
Today: ''We've been able to redefine retail space usage with this project,' she says. 'Despite
the economy, we've created a sense of rejuvenation and excitement. Suddenly, this mall is
a destination once again.''
When it opened, it was the largest community of its kind in the U.S.
Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. The mall owner ended ArtSpace in 2011.

7. Malls as...malls. But malls that appeal to a whole different type of consumer.
Some malls aren't experiencing a rebirth as much as a make-over. See, for example, 'La
Gran Plaza de Fort Worth, Texas.'
This mall's management group decided to completely reimagine its target audience with a
focus on Hispanic immigrants.
In addition to the name change, the website is in both English and Spanish. And check out
the mall's central performance space:
In addition to some awesome mariachi, the mall boasts a Spanish-language movie theatre,
Quinceaera fashion shows, and a food court with eateries like El China, Dona Carmen
Pupuseria, and Mexico de Mis Amores.
Similar, ethnically-focused malls have been springing up in California as well--targeted at
Asian shoppers as well as Hispanics. As Joel Kotkin writes:
Throughout the country, ethnic-based businesses continue to expand, even as mainstream
centres suffer or go out of business. The key difference, notes Houston real estate investor
Andrew Segal, lies in the immigrants' greater reliance on cash. 'When cash is king,'
observers Segal, president of Boxer Properties, 'immigrants rule.'



8.Strip malls like you have never seen them before
Here are a few other design submissions, with short notes on each:


STRIPscape
Dora Baker, Pablo Batista, Natalie Badenduck
The designers submitted six proposals for malls around Winnipeg, Manitoba. The above site is
called Hillscape, which sports a rooftop park and a toboggan slide (!). Residents could also use the
slopes to ski or snowboard during the winter, or to eat a nice free-range bison sandwich on during
the summer.


Shipping Container Mall
Larry Kwok, Jim Morrow
Edmonton, Alberta, would be a lot more intense if this retrofitted mall with shipping containers
jammed through it gets built. The designers note that the containers are not expensive and take well
to custom alterations, allowing different retailers to move in and out of the boxes quickly. Thus the
mall would be an ever-changing entity, with one month's Hot Topic morphing into an Auntie Annes
Pretzels the next.


Strip:Weave
Teal Architects
You can almost hear Enya singing in the background when you look at this plan for a mall in
Halifax, Nova Scotia. The roof has become a garden with insulated skylights, edible flowers and low
bush blueberries. Modular units stand in the place of stores, and everything in this "convival
community" runs on wind, solar and geothermal energy.


Park Aid
Ziola Newstudio
This design faces the fact that not everybody wants to give up the car to embrace "walkability." So
this dead Edmonton outlet becomes the car park to end all car parks. The garage is fully automated,
so no driving up ramps and through aisles is necessary. Just pull up underneath that giant hook-
thingie and run fast, I guess? The designers of this project envision it as a neighborhood hub, as
people must visit it repeatedly to retrieve their rides. For that reason there would be retail stores
throughout the garage, although after a year or two they'd probably all turn into AutoZones and
Advanced Auto Parts.

Ferndale Gardens
Paul Samulak
Wouldn't this 1940s Detroit mall look much nicer as a farm? This designer sure thinks so, adding
neat rows of crops in a designated growing space and a marketplace and restaurant that serves fresh
produce. Trains running on light rail could deliver excess veggies to stores up and down the avenue.
Rainwater flows down the sloped roof into a cistern for irrigation purposes, and the whole farm
would be fertilized with compost made onsite.
Keywords: Buffalo, Detroit, Edmonton, Malls, Strip Malls, Shop







What Teens Want: A Fascinating
Music And Recession Study

These kids are buying music, even in a recession.
If you liked the Amazing Media Habits of 8-18 Year Olds, which offered a glimpse inside a
new generation's interaction with a new media world, you're going to like this fascinating
look at teens and the music business.
Tina Wells, the CEO of Buzz Marketing Group, created this presentation based on Buzz's
survey of about a 1,000 boys and girls aged 13-19 years old in March. The marketing firm
dug up some fascinating facts about how teens discover, buy, and share music these days.
Some fascinating take-aways:
When a new song debuts, most kids download the song on iTunes or listen to it on
MySpace or Pandora.
74% of female teens say they don't download music illegally.
When asked 'Would you buy an iPad?" 64% of teens said no.
Boys prefer blogs (63%), while girls prefer magazines (55%).
13 year olds still hear new music first on the radio, not on the Internet or from TV
videos.
Since 2008, popularity in hip-hop and R&B music has declined, while rock is getting a
boost.
85% of teens said they cut down spending during the recession, but clothing and dining
out were among the top cuts. Buying music is 6th on the list of spending cuts.


Reasons for recession in malls :
1. They have not paid the city rents since 7years in a row.
2. Window dressing
3. The malls tower over street corners, often thickening the already heavy traffic with their
visitors, primarily the still small chunk of cities considered middle class.

Now, though, it looks like many of them may have outgrown the shopper. Even when
crowded, the malls' stores often struggle to bring in enough sales.
4. This is only in favor of the rich
5. the size of the market being very little
6. availability of things through online shopping
Why go to a mall anymore? I can get whatever I want cheaper on
the Internet and it comes to my door.
MALL CULTURE IN INDIA DURING
RECESSION:
Mall culture is a new phenomenon in the India market scenario. Growing Westernization and the entry
of multi-nationals has brought in the concept of consumerism. The IT industry has provided young
people with fantastic pay packages, which they would like to spend on purchasing goods. Where else
they would go, but to the malls.
In the United States malls dominate the shopping scenario. Customers spend hours browsing through
them and purchasing goods. In fact, many spend their past time in these malls. Lonely people also find
them a nice place to spend time.
The US is a consumer society and India is also fast becoming one. Spending money lavishly is the
culture now. But what with the recession on? Can the regular visitor now spend as he or she pleases.
Lay-offs and reduction in salaries have become the common feature now. Naturally, incomes have
come down and these mall-goers have less money to spend. How does one perceive the mall culture
scenario during recession?
Recession a set back to Mall Culture in India
The malls look deserted now. Earlier, in normal times they would be bubbling with people. Of
course, the extremist activities have also created this atmosphere.
Goods are being sold at half per cent rate. Naturally with less takers, the sellers are forced to
sell theirproducts at a cheaper rate.
Construction activities in these malls are also slower. Many of the popular malls took time to
be built.Construction costs have gone up.
The set back in IT industry had a tremendous impact on the mall culture. Many IT
professionals were thrown out of their jobs and had to settle for lower levels of purchases.
Deflation has caused a set back to those selling their products. The purchasing power having
come down, there are less buyers in the market. Prices had to be brought down, and that in
turn affects production. In the long run this would result in inflation.
Of course, the mall culture is to stay. Once the IT industry picks up again, the malls will be brimming
with people again. No doubt, now perhaps, customers would be bit more cautious about spending.

MALLS - HOW TO OVERCOME RECESSION??
Im scrappy. Corporate America was the best training ground, Livingston says. I call our approach
the whack-a-mole approach; if somethings not working, you just keep whacking at it and something
will work eventually.
With that in mind, she offers four pieces of advice to new entrepreneurs.
First and foremost, use the Small Business Administration and your local workforce center. Take
every single class they offer. Understand all the resources available to you. As taxpayers, were
paying for it. We might as well use it.
Really understand your finances. I actually tripled what I thought I needed, and it still wasnt
enough. I hate to be negative, but plan for the worst-case scenario. Plan your exit strategy; what you
will do if it goes to hell in a hand-basket.
Spend a great deal of time on choosing the right personnel. In a small business, you dont have
time for a revolving door. The people I have are hard workers and they believe in my mission and my
vision.
Become part of the local business chambers. Im a member of the West Chamber of Commerce,
the Black Chamber, the Womens Chamber. You learn things and find clients. Get active.