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|  | Vintage 1991 article : How did it happen? | | | |
| This is a good read for those of you that have an attention span beyond 30 seconds. It predicts, in a vague way, what has happened in retail since it was written back in 1991. It also refers to most of the local malls in the area.
One can't help but see Cindy Williams' (at the time, Rolling Acres Marketing Director) logic about Romig Road not being oversaturated with retail. Unfortunately, that was the wrong assumption!
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A HYBRID CHALLENGES THE MALLS ' POWER CENTERS' ARRIVE
Akron Beacon Journal (OH)
February 4, 1991
Author: Yalinda Rhoden, Beacon Journal business writer
When Summit Mall opened in 1965 as the Akron area's first enclosed
shopping center, it was hailed as a futuristic concept allowing consumers to
buy almost anything under one roof.
During the next decade, four other malls were built in the Akron-Canton
area. It wasn't long before observers began to wonder if the malls would kill or substantially depress their much smaller, less glitzy forebears -- the
strip shopping centers like Akron Square and Wooster-Hawkins Plaza.
But what goes around comes around. Now the dominance of the malls appears to be challenged by the newest retail concept, the so-called `power centers,' which combine the well-known anchor stores of malls with the convenience of
strip centers.
Are the mall operators nervous? Is there enough business to go around?
Cindy Williams, manager of Rolling Acres Mall, said the answers are no,
and yes.
`We complement each other,' she said of Rolling Acres and its four
surrounding power centers on Romig Road in Akron. `Unlike some other areas,
we're not oversaturated with stores.'
Consumers, too, seem to appreciate the differences.
At the Plaza at Chapel Hill, a 3-year-old power center on Howe Avenue in
Cuyahoga Falls, Karen Gillmor of Stow admitted she prefers the atmosphere of a mall.
`At malls I don't have to worry about traffic while shopping with my
little kids,' she said. She was shopping at the plaza, though, because `the
prices are cheaper.'
If mall vacancy rates are any indication, Ms. Williams at Rolling Acres
has a solid theory. Each of six area malls -- Summit, Rolling Acres, Chapel
Hill, Canton Centre, Belden Village and Carnation -- had four or fewer
vacancies during 1990, their managers said. Those figures are arbitrary,
however: Mall operators admitted that space can be divided to meet the needs
of individual tenants.
The International Council of Shopping Centers, a 28,000-member trade
organization, said it makes no distinction between malls and power centers,
but plans to begin doing so because of the attention they are receiving.
But some differences are obvious. The trade magazine Shopping Centers Today notes that power centers develop near regional malls and freeways, feature
several anchor stores and contain more than 225,000 square feet.
The Plaza at Chapel Hill, for example, with more than 30 stores, has six
' power anchors' -- T.J. Maxx, Marshall's, Builders Square, Office Max,
Children's Palace and Toys R Us. The Plaza has only one vacancy.
According to retail experts, most malls average two anchors and have small specialty shops that offer such items as books, yarn, hats or hammers. The
average U.S. mall covers about 700,000 square feet; about 400 are a million
square feet or larger, according to the retail trade magazine Monitor.
Also, industry experts say, rentals at malls are higher than at the power
centers to pay for lavish indoor displays and climate-controlled environments. While local mall and power center operators would not disclose their rent
schedules, they acknowledged that they often make deals to attract major
tenants.
There is some disagreement, though minor, on whether the malls and power
centers appeal to different markets. Said Keith Foxe, a spokesman for the
International Council of Shopping Centers: `Strips are more community-
oriented, malls are for the masses.'
Debbie Glosserman, vice president of marketing and advertising for Forest City Enterprises Inc. of Cleveland, operator of Rolling Acres, Chapel Hill and Canton Centre malls, said the strip centers are `destination-oriented.'
That means that `people are drawn to strips for specific purposes. Say they have to go to a hardware store. They pull right up to it, get what they want
and go. Malls are generally more upscale,' she said.
But Carnation Mall in Alliance hardly fits Glosserman's profile of the
upscale, semi-suburban mall. It's surrounded by open land and farm houses. Its major tenants are such deep-discount stores as K Mart, Fashion Bug and D&K.
Carnation's manager, Kim Mick, said the mall benefits from its unusual
store mix and location `out here in the middle of nowhere.' The nearest
shopping center is about a mile away; its closest neighbor is an abandoned,
ramshackle barn on the other side of State Street.
Mick said Carnation promotes what it doesn't have.
`We don't have traffic jams, congestion, crowds. But we do give our
community what it wants and what it can afford.'
Whatever the focus at Carnation Mall, it's just fine with Darlene Faulkner of Beloit. `I like the idea of parking in one place and going to a lot of
stores. Sometimes I don't buy a thing. I just like to get out and walk.'
Apparently, Faulkner isn't the only one just walking through the malls.
Retail studies say that consumers now only shop at about two stores in a mall or plaza per visit, compared with four stores per visit 10 years ago. In
response, mall managers are stepping up marketing and advertising strategies
to bring in more consumers and to keep them shopping longer.
It's not uncommon anymore to hear upbeat music in stores; if customers are in a good mood, they may spend more. Mallwide sales with flyers and coupons
are another relatively new strategy. But all the fanfare may not be enough,
retail observers say.
Mark London, president and chief executive officer of Equity Properties
& Development Co. in Chicago, said that the 1990s consumer mostly wants to
save time.
`Shopping has gone from a leisure-time activity to something like work,' said London, who owns and manages 45 retail properties.
`The power centers meet (shoppers') needs because they offer good
destination-specific reasons to go. ... About 15 years ago there weren't
lampshade stores. Just about everyone went to Sears or J.C. Penney. Now they
go to the place that has what they want.'
The growth of power centers not only benefits the consumer, but sometimes
gives the retailer a cheaper place to open shop. With heavy debt resulting
from retail consolidation and bankruptcies, that edge has become more
critical.
`Some big retailers who used to pay the higher leases are dying,' London
said.
In Akron and Canton, 1990's retail casualties include Jewel Mart and some
Ames and Hills stores.
The closing of the Jewel Mart chain, whose parent company is in bankruptcy
proceedings, created major vacancies at Summit Mall and at the new Jewel Mart Plaza on Howe Avenue. No prospective tenants have been announced for either
location, though a deal for Howe Avenue is reported to be near.
And, at least one defection from mall to power center will occur today.
Workbench, a contemporary furniture store, is moving from Summit Mall to West Market Plaza in Montrose, where it will reopen Friday.
`The mall just isn't seeing the kind of traffic it used to,' said Workbench manager Stephanie Paige. Also, the rent at West Market Plaza is about half as much, and the new location will be visible from the street, she said.
`After four years in this spot, I still have people walking in saying to
me, `Gee, I didn't know you were here.' That bothered me.'
If anything, the whole industry is in the throes of schizophrenia. At
Chapel Hill Mall, for example, a proposed 90,000-square-foot expansion for a
Higbee's store has been delayed, but mall manager Bob Dunn declined to discuss the reasons.
At the same time, the Edward J. DeBartolo Co. of Youngstown, developer of
Summit Mall, is proceeding with plans to build in Kent, but has scrapped plans in Wooster.
Meanwhile, Belden Village manager Mark Peterson isn't fazed by the retail
sprawl in Jackson Township. `We're a strong retail area,' he said. `Anything you think you want is around here.'
Canton Centre's manager, Robert Keller, agreed. `People go where they know they have choices,' he said. njs
PHOTO: (4) 1- Canton Centre is the former Mellett Mall / Beacon
Journal photo by Ted Walls, 2- Vacancies are low at Chapel Hill Mall.
3-Rolling Acres Mall opened in 1975 off Akron's Romig Road, 4- Summit
Mall was area's first enclosed shopping center / Beacon Journal photos by
Jocelyn Williams
Memo: SPOTLIGHT *** A color graphic accompanies the story below on the same page and is headlined, Area Malls
Edition: 1 STAR
Section: BUSINESS
Page: D1
Index Terms: SHOPPING CENTER / RETAIL BUSINESS / HISTORY
Copyright (c) 1991 Akron Beacon JournalPosted by Rolling Acres on Monday 13 November 2006 - 00:41:10 |Comments are turned off for this item |   | |
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Random Rolling Acres Store |
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