STORES Magazine - January 2009 - (Page 30)

EXECUTIVE SUITE / COVER STORY each regional mall,” she says. “Now, so many chains have reached a national presence that as many as 75 to 80 percent of the same stores can be found from one mall to the next” – and we’re beginning to see the same restaurants there, too. Shopping mall developers have seen the research and heard the criticism: Not surprisingly, they bristle at the suggestion that they’re not doing enough to connect with shoppers and become more destination-oriented. “We continue to believe that shopping malls provide the best delivery system for goods and services,” says Les Morris, manager of corporate public relations for Simon Property Group. “They’re sales powerhouses.” The nation’s largest shopping center developer doesn’t track mall traffic, but Morris notes that at the end of the third quarter Simon’s regional mall portfolio had revenues of $493 per square foot and an occupancy rate of just over 92 percent. Simon has invested plenty of energy in reinventing the mall experience over the past few years, Morris says. Faced with vacancies created by industry consolidation, “we’re taking space that’s come back to us and we’re adding an outdoor element.” He cites two malls in Indianapolis where the Federated/May Co. merger resulted in vacant anchor space. “We demolished those stores and built adjacent outdoor centers,” Morris explains. In one instance, Simon added Borders, H&M and AMC theaters; at the other mall, a Cheesecake Fac- tory, Barnes & Noble and specialty apparel retailers debuted. Adding an outdoor component “creates a draw for shoppers and it gives them a reason to spend more leisure time at the mall,” says Erin Hershkowitz, a spokeswoman for the International Council of Shopping Centers. “People like having the option of shopping indoors or outdoors. When a center takes space that was once occupied by a department store and turns it into an outdoor lifestyle center component, it gives the developer a chance to add new stores and restaurants that might not have fit neatly into the enclosed mall. In addition, the developer can get more rent for that same space.” Time to re-tool orris acknowledges that the recessionary economy could result in the need for more re-tooling, particularly if negative holiday results force another batch of retailers to shutter stores. “Should that occur, it provides an opportunity to re-tenant the mall in a way that’s more attractive to the changing shopper base,” he says. In the meantime, he says, Simon is making every effort to maintain mall traffic by emphasizing value and entertainment. The Shop Smarter campaign took center stage during the holiday season, with marketing materials emphasizing that the mall is the place for bargains. Simon partnered with many of its largest and best-known tenants by posting their offers on Simon.com, and flyers with those offers are available to Mall Traffic is Down shoppers at the guest services Consumers indicating they are shopping less at enclosed mall booth in each mall. and more at free-standing stores Simon malls also have turned up the spotlight on fun and enter20% tainment. During the holiday season, rejuvenation stations were 17.5 16.1 15.3 set up at each property to provide 15.6 15.6 14.9 14.2 14.1 15 13.8 13.8 shoppers a chance to relax and 13.4 13.1 13.0 12.8 unwind. In addition, Ticketmas12.5 ter has begun selling tickets for local events at the guest services 10 Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. booth at select Simon malls. ’07 ’08 M Source: BIGresearch StORES WWW.STORES.ORG 30 STORES / JANUARY 2009 http://www.Simon.com http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - January 2009

STORES Magazine - Jauary 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Mechanical Marvel P&G Invests in Ocado Now I Remember What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Breaking the Monotony Multi-Channel Concept2Watch E-Commerce Analytics Category Management IT Systems In-Store Technology IT Systems Communications Website Strategy Communications SOA Energy Video Surveillance Employee Theft Online Fraud Industry Perspective Loeb Retail Letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword End Cap

STORES Magazine - January 2009

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