130 replies to this topic

[StevenRocks]

I've seen that pic on Atlanta Time Machine. That area has totally changed, with no trace of the old Belk-Gallant.

Edited by StevenRocks, 21 December 2005 - 03:57 PM.

[Andrea]

StevenRocks, on Dec 21 2005, 04:55 PM, said:

I've seen that pic on Atlanta Time Machine. That area has totally changed, with no trace of the old Belk-Gallant.

Steven, I think the Belk store is actually the only building that is gone. The other buildings in that area of the East Village are still there and are basically the same as they've always been.

Atlanta Time Machine: East Paces at Bolling Way

Edited by Andrea, 21 December 2005 - 09:58 PM.

[StevenRocks]

Andrea, on Dec 21 2005, 08:21 PM, said:

Steven, I think the Belk store is actually the only building that is gone. The other buildings in that area of the East Village are still there and are basically the same as they've always been.

Atlanta Time Machine: East Paces at Bolling Way

You're right Andrea. It's been a little while since I looked at that site

[StevenRocks]

Apparently the Lawrenceville Belk will close and (presumably) its employees will move to Mall Of Georgia:

Belk says it will close local store

[upstate29650]

Lady Celeste, on Dec 15 2005, 03:44 PM, said:

The income in the immediate area is extremely high....

Since when to malls only focus on the "immediate area"?

[Lady Celeste]

upstate29650, on Dec 30 2005, 06:57 AM, said:

Since when to malls only focus on the "immediate area"?

When they are in Atlanta which is home to over 18 different malls. The Mall of Georgia butts right up to the zone for NorthPoint and Gwinnett Place Mall. You aren't going to get people to drive past a mall to go to another if their home mall has the same merchandise.....but then I can only speak for the Atlanta area....which I am familiar with.

[upstate29650]

Lady Celeste, on Dec 30 2005, 10:16 AM, said:

When they are in Atlanta which is home to over 18 different malls. The Mall of Georgia butts right up to the zone for NorthPoint and Gwinnett Place Mall. You aren't going to get people to drive past a mall to go to another if their home mall has the same merchandise.....but then I can only speak for the Atlanta area....which I am familiar with.

The Mall of Georgia, Lenox & Phipps are what I'd characterize as "destination malls" because of their size &/or reputation. People on the Southside will drive by Southlake to go shop at Lenox. I bet people in Buford would drive by Gwinnett Place to visit the Mall of Georgia. In short, there are a large number of malls in the metro, but I still believe some malls do focus on a larger area than a few zip codes.

[DigitalSky]

StevenRocks, on Dec 30 2005, 04:59 AM, said:

Apparently the Lawrenceville Belk will close and (presumably) its employees will move to Mall Of Georgia:

Belk says it will close local store

I guess that makes sense.

[Lady Celeste]

upstate29650, on Dec 30 2005, 04:12 PM, said:

The Mall of Georgia, Lenox & Phipps are what I'd characterize as "destination malls" because of their size &/or reputation. People on the Southside will drive by Southlake to go shop at Lenox. I bet people in Buford would drive by Gwinnett Place to visit the Mall of Georgia. In short, there are a large number of malls in the metro, but I still believe some malls do focus on a larger area than a few zip codes.

I live here and I can tell you that the Mall of Georgia is NOT a destination mall. I live maybe 15 miles from the Mall of Georgia and I can tell you first hand that most people in my neighborhood and the neighboring one have been there maybe 5 times max since it opened. Perimeter Mall and Lenox/Phipps may be destination malls but the Mall of Georgia is not. I am only speaking from direct knowledge. Take a poll here of the Georgia forumers and I have probably been to the Mall of Georgia the most.

StevenRocks probably knows more about this than me but destination malls usually have a misture of stores that are not readily found anywhere. I can tell you....that the Mall of Georgia does not have. Perimeter and Lenox/Phipps both have Atlanta's only Bloomingdales. Lenox has the only Neiman Marcus and Phipps the only Saks Fifth Avenue. Why in the world, if I live in Alpharetta, I will drive past Northpoint....which has Macy's, Parisian, Dillards, Sears and JCPenny to go to the Mall of Georgia to go to Macy's, Nordstrom, Dillards, JCPenny and soon to close Lord and Taylor. For Nordstrom you may ask....think again because it's easier for me to jump on GA400 and go to Perimeter Mall than cut cross to Gwinnett county.

If I didn't live here and shop as much as I do, I would think the same way you do. It's like you hear about the Mall of Georgia, you go once and you say...okay, I have been now back to my regualr stomping grounds.

BTW, people in Buford would not drive by Gwinnett Place Mall to visit the Mall of Georgia as the MOG is in Buford.

[DigitalSky]

My friends consider it a destination mall.. whenever they go to Atlanta that's where they go, but I guess now that I think of it, one of my friend's uncle does live on the lake in Buford.

[StevenRocks]

Lady Celeste, on Dec 30 2005, 10:21 PM, said:

StevenRocks probably knows more about this than me but destination malls usually have a misture of stores that are not readily found anywhere. I can tell you....that the Mall of Georgia does not have. Perimeter and Lenox/Phipps both have Atlanta's only Bloomingdales. Lenox has the only Neiman Marcus and Phipps the only Saks Fifth Avenue. Why in the world, if I live in Alpharetta, I will drive past Northpoint....which has Macy's, Parisian, Dillards, Sears and JCPenny to go to the Mall of Georgia to go to Macy's, Nordstrom, Dillards, JCPenny and soon to close Lord and Taylor. For Nordstrom you may ask....think again because it's easier for me to jump on GA400 and go to Perimeter Mall than cut cross to Gwinnett county.

You're quite right, Lady Celeste. Mall of Georgia is a beautiful mall overall, but there's not enough retail "meat" to it that makes people come back again and again. I still haven't made it there and don't plan to unless I just haappen to be nearby, because it's not that interesting to me beyond my basic interest in malls and its aesthetics.

[teshadoh]

For northeastern GA - Mall of Georgia is a destination mall. Or even for some in upstate SC, as my aunt who lives in Spartanburg has visited the mall occassionaly. Perhaps for it's first year of existence it might have been a destination mall for Atlanta. But since then Mall of GA is just another mall in the metro area.

But I would assume for those living in Gainesville, Toccoa & various other northeastern GA towns, it is a destination mall. But for that matter, any regional mall on the peripherary of a metro area is a destination mall for the adjacent rural environs. In the 70's / 80's, South Park mall in Charlotte was a destination mall for much of north central SC, particularly Rock Hill.

But otherwise - I would agree the concept of a 'destination mall' is that it is so unique & it's merchandise one of a kind that it warrents a visit. In Atlanta, I can only think of Lenox & Phipps as destination malls. Arguably Atlantic Station due to it's architectual design would also be considered one.

Edited by teshadoh, 03 January 2006 - 11:13 AM.

[romania]

Hi ....new here but been reading a while! Want to throw in my 2cents about Belk ....grew up in SC so Belk is a household name. I agree, nothing upscale about them particularly (at least most stores) but they are stable and have a decent customer base. It could be the fate of MOG to get Dave and Barry's Sport Shop in the place of the Saks like happened in Chicago. Anyway, at least they got a real department store because Dick's was already there. I'd like to have seen Bloomingdale's or Saks or Neiman's ...that would have kept well in the "destination" category that was mentioned.

[teshadoh]

Howdy romania from another ex-SC resident in Atlanta.

[Andrea]

teshadoh, on Jan 3 2006, 12:11 PM, said:

For northeastern GA - Mall of Georgia is a destination mall. Or even for some in upstate SC, as my aunt who lives in Spartanburg has visited the mall occassionaly. Perhaps for it's first year of existence it might have been a destination mall for Atlanta. But since then Mall of GA is just another mall in the metro area.

But I would assume for those living in Gainesville, Toccoa & various other northeastern GA towns, it is a destination mall. But for that matter, any regional mall on the peripherary of a metro area is a destination mall for the adjacent rural environs. In the 70's / 80's, South Park mall in Charlotte was a destination mall for much of north central SC, particularly Rock Hill.

It's interesting, I was chatting with some friend the other day who live in Stone Mountain, and they said Mall of Georgia had become "their" mall.

[Buckley]

Lady Celeste, on Dec 8 2005, 01:35 PM, said:

Honestly I would much rather have the Lord and Taylor as opposed to a Belk. As many have said, Belk hasn't had much of a presence here in the Atlanta market. The stores that are here tend to be as Teshadoh said in suburbs that are sort of far out and in strip malls. This in my mind cheapened Belk's image...and I'm only speaking of my own feeling. When I went to UGA, I was surprised when I saw that their mall (Georgia Square Mall) had a Belk as an anchor. I almost never stepped foot in the mall because I thought that any mall that had a Belk had to be of a lower grade than what I was used to in the Atlanta market. My parents are both northerners so travel around the south was not something that I did....other than Florida. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with the Belk at the Georgia Square Mall but once I came home, the only Belks I could find reminded me of TJ Maxx or Marshalls....better yet Kohls or Ross.

I tend to agree with your sentiment about Belk's stores. Regarding Athens, before GA Square Mall opened in the early 80's, there were 3 traditional multi-story department stores in downtown Athens: Davison's (later became Macys then Rich's and now Macy's again), JC Penny, and Belk's. All three moved to the mall when it opened leaving downtown in a lurch for several years. Prior to moving, Davisons and Belks, in particular, were traditional full service department stores. Growing up in Athens and not having visited another Belk's store elsewhere, I always thought of Belk's as a mid-level department store. Not until traveling in the Carolinas later on, did I realize some Belk's stores were strip mall or mini mall type stores.

I guess my point is that, for some communities as others have pointed out above, Belk's filled a more traditional department store niche, rather than a glorified Marshall's or Khols that some Belk's seem to resemble.

Edited by Buckley, 11 February 2006 - 12:14 PM.

[Buckley]

I am not a mall person, but my wife is. Regarding the concept of regional malls in ATL, when traveling to ATL to shop, I find Lenox and Phipps to be true destination malls. Perimeter Mall is reasonable as well. Any other mall I'd only visit if it were geographically convenient.

[DigitalSky]

I think Belk runs the gamut here. Some stores are more upscale than others, but overall as mentioned it's a mid-market department store that's starting to be seen outside malls in strip centers.

[Lady Celeste]

A Neiman Marcus would have been great for the Mall of Georgia.

[StevenRocks]

Lady Celeste, on Feb 14 2006, 05:10 PM, said:

A Neiman Marcus would have been great for the Mall of Georgia.

I wasn't aware that Mall of Georgia was pulling a demographic that affluent.