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Lenox Square/Phipps Plaza


Temeteron

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How much square feet is it? Barneys usually has rather small department stores (opening under 100,000). Main reason they chose not to open at the dead Robinsons-May in Scottsdale and are instead opting to open a freestanding, smaller store.

No, I dont think there is anything Orlando has that Atlanta doesnt. In fact, most of the stores in Orlando dont have as wide a collection as the ones in Atlanta, but Atlanta stores arent as stocked as Miami, where most Florida retail goes. Atlanta is Georgia's hub so it would only be natural that it has more retail than Orland. Though Atlanta has many things Orlando doesn't have, Florida in general has much more than Georgia.

It shouldn't affect Phipps too much. Granted, Ala Moana Center is a much bigger hub for luxury retail (every store there has the brand's entire line). But seeing Phipps already has a collection of boutiques, thats all that it really needs now.

Surprisingly, Orlando's stores seem to be larger and more well stocked than those in Tampa. Back in the 80's I was a men's buyer for Robinson's Florida and then Maison Blanche here in Orlando. We were able to sell merchandise that was too fashion foward for New Orleans (Maison Blanche) Our Dior store here is larger than the Tampa location. I believe someone said also that Atlanta does not have Zara, we have quite a large store here. I read press release from Neiman Marcus that the Tampa store was surprisingly the top performing store in Florida and the one year later when Orlando opened it became Florida's top performing Neiman's. The Orlando retail market is pretty similar to Miami's now. With the huge growth in Orlando, these are the top places people moving to Orlando come from:

1. New York

2. California

3. Puerto Rico

4. South Florida

5. New Jersey

The difference in Tampa/ St. Pete is:

1. Ohio

2. Michigan

3. Illinois

4. Indiana

5. South Florida

I'm not saying the Orlando retail market is comparable to Atlanta, it is just a lot younger and is developing its own identity. The Orlando metro added 142,000 new residents between 2005-06 and majority of them came from those top 5 places. Tampa Bay metro added 92,000 new residents, the majority coming from those conservative midwestern top 5 places. So give us a chance, we are becoming slightly cosmopolitan more rapidly than most cities in the south with high growth rates!! :shok:

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Surprisingly, Orlando's stores seem to be larger and more well stocked than those in Tampa. Back in the 80's I was a men's buyer for Robinson's Florida and then Maison Blanche here in Orlando. We were able to sell merchandise that was too fashion foward for New Orleans (Maison Blanche) Our Dior store here is larger than the Tampa location. I believe someone said also that Atlanta does not have Zara, we have quite a large store here. I read press release from Neiman Marcus that the Tampa store was surprisingly the top performing store in Florida and the one year later when Orlando opened it became Florida's top performing Neiman's. The Orlando retail market is pretty similar to Miami's now. With the huge growth in Orlando, these are the top places people moving to Orlando come from:

1. New York

2. California

3. Puerto Rico

4. South Florida

5. New Jersey

The difference in Tampa/ St. Pete is:

1. Ohio

2. Michigan

3. Illinois

4. Indiana

5. South Florida

I'm not saying the Orlando retail market is comparable to Atlanta, it is just a lot younger and is developing its own identity. The Orlando metro added 142,000 new residents between 2005-06 and majority of them came from those top 5 places. Tampa Bay metro added 92,000 new residents, the majority coming from those conservative midwestern top 5 places. So give us a chance, we are becoming slightly cosmopolitan more rapidly than most cities in the south with high growth rates!! :shok:

Where are these statistics coming from?

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Where are these statistics coming from?

The stats are from the Orlando Sentinel, they often print this type of information. I have the article saved in my favorites, for some reason I can't link it to here unless I've had it saved for too long. I tried to open it by the link and I got "page has expired". There is a "Growth" section of the online edition of the Sentinel but it's an archived item that you have to pay $$ for......but believe me it's there and they are always printing this and similar information, the Sentinel is obsessed with Orlando's growth....

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  • 3 weeks later...

Those of us who've been around long enough to remember Lenox before it even had a roof on it, can appreciate the incredible changes this shopping center has been through over the decades. Even after they enclosed the mall there was a large section in the rear (where the food court is now) that was an open air plaza. Delta Airlines had their round glass ticketing pavilion out there for many years. Then all the expansions started.

Frankly, with all the confusion that goes on there now there are many times I yearn for the days when it was a one story open air mall.

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It looks like The Sharper Image is coming to phipps plaza some time in the future. I was wondering has anyone visited phipps recently, because i was wondering how much space is left in the mall for expansion. I know it can't be much. Does anyone think that Emporio Armani would work at phipps with the two armani stores also being located in the mall?

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Those of us who've been around long enough to remember Lenox before it even had a roof on it, can appreciate the incredible changes this shopping center has been through over the decades. Even after they enclosed the mall there was a large section in the rear (where the food court is now) that was an open air plaza. Delta Airlines had their round glass ticketing pavilion out there for many years. Then all the expansions started.

Frankly, with all the confusion that goes on there now there are many times I yearn for the days when it was a one story open air mall.

I find your comment interesting. I have made a number of visits to Lenox Square since 1990; I even visited the exhibit in 2003 that went back on the mall's history. I specifically remember seeing pictures of the Delta Airlines ticket pavilion in the open air plaza.

I was wondering if you could verify some features at the Lenox Square in the early days that I have heard about. Do you perhaps remember a fountain inside Davison's surrounding the escalators that changed colors? I've seen pictures of escalators by Davison's that went from the open air mall level to the plaza level; I'm surprised they even had escalators back then in an outdoor setting. Do you remember an auditorium/community center? If so, was it located on the plaza level near those escalators? I believe I saw an old pictures that had an "auditorium" sign by those escalators. Did those escalators still exist after the enclosure of the mall level around 1972 or 1973 until the roofing of the plaza completed in 1980?

I remember from 1990 and 1994 that the mall still had dark brick planters with areas of white marble for flooring. I assume that was first placed down when the mall was enclosed and existed until the addition of the new level around 1995.

The old Davison's/Macy's building (now Bloomingdale's) looked quite different when it wasn't surrounded by parking decks. Also, I can tell that Rich's (now Macy's) has added onto its store in the front with the men's store. I believe it was originally a two-level expansion and the top level of the men's store along with the glass front was added in recent years.

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I find your comment interesting. I have made a number of visits to Lenox Square since 1990; I even visited the exhibit in 2003 that went back on the mall's history. I specifically remember seeing pictures of the Delta Airlines ticket pavilion in the open air plaza.

I was wondering if you could verify some features at the Lenox Square in the early days that I have heard about. Do you perhaps remember a fountain inside Davison's surrounding the escalators that changed colors? I've seen pictures of escalators by Davison's that went from the open air mall level to the plaza level; I'm surprised they even had escalators back then in an outdoor setting. Do you remember an auditorium/community center? If so, was it located on the plaza level near those escalators? I believe I saw an old pictures that had an "auditorium" sign by those escalators. Did those escalators still exist after the enclosure of the mall level around 1972 or 1973 until the roofing of the plaza completed in 1980?

I remember from 1990 and 1994 that the mall still had dark brick planters with areas of white marble for flooring. I assume that was first placed down when the mall was enclosed and existed until the addition of the new level around 1995.

The old Davison's/Macy's building (now Bloomingdale's) looked quite different when it wasn't surrounded by parking decks. Also, I can tell that Rich's (now Macy's) has added onto its store in the front with the men's store. I believe it was originally a two-level expansion and the top level of the men's store along with the glass front was added in recent years.

To be honest, it's been so long I don't remember a lot of the specifics such as the fountain you speak of or the Davidson's escalator. My mother rarely shopped at Lenox back in those days because she did all her shopping at the downtown Rich's and Davidson's and my father always hated malls as he much preferred shopping at independent stores owned by people he grew up with or knew personally. All our appliances were always purchased at the old Sears standalone store in Buckhead at the corner of Peachtree and W. Paces Ferry Rd. (I sure do miss that store) or the big Sears on Ponce. Most of our visits to Lenox back in those days was to pick up my sister from the hair salon or purchasing airline tickets for family vacations. I don't think my mother ever once even considered grocery shopping at the Colonial grocery store there.

I used to shop at Lenox frequently but in the last 15 years I don't think I've been there more than 4 times. I guess my father's ways influenced me as I usually stay clear of malls altogether. I've rarely seen anything in a mall store that I couldn't find considerably cheaper somehwere else.

Edited by Simple Simon
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The stats are from the Orlando Sentinel, they often print this type of information. I have the article saved in my favorites, for some reason I can't link it to here unless I've had it saved for too long. I tried to open it by the link and I got "page has expired". There is a "Growth" section of the online edition of the Sentinel but it's an archived item that you have to pay $$ for......but believe me it's there and they are always printing this and similar information, the Sentinel is obsessed with Orlando's growth....

I would also suggest that a big reason for the larger stores could have something to do with a lot of European vistors coming to Orlando and doing some shopping while they're here. Prices are usually less expensive here than they are in Europe.

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I would also suggest that a big reason for the larger stores could have something to do with a lot of European vistors coming to Orlando and doing some shopping while they're here. Prices are usually less expensive here than they are in Europe.

You are probably right. Isn't a portion of retail in most cities sold to "tourists." People travel from all over the south to shopping weekends in Atlanta. NYC the same. Chicago and Detroit in the Midwest. I believe that since Central Florida's population is near the 7,000,000 point from Tampa Bay to Daytona to Melbourne and with Jacksonville just a couple of hours away they upscale retailers chose Orlando as a central location for the entire region. When you visit the Mall at Millenia, you don't see many people in tourist garb, it's like any other fashionable mall in a large city, lots of trendy looking people. Tourist still seem to prefer the outlet malls and The Florida Mall, the state's largest. Orlando has a large "hidden" wealthy population of Arabs, Europeans, Celebrities, and sport stars who live in the area mainly for the fantastic golf. In my part of town (Metrowest, Windermere, Dr. Phillips, and Bay Hill) when you go in to the local Publix and you will see several women in traditional Arab garb and Indian Saris. My subdivision alone is 45% Indian, the president of the homeowners association is Indian and they all own lots of the International Drive tourist shops or rental homes. I lost track of my point...sorry....I guess my point was within a 100 mile radius of nearly 7,000,000 there is plenty of local wealth also.....

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I went to Phipps today to say farewell to my old favorite, Parisian. I didn't see if the Dior store was there but there are a few under-utilized spaces in the mall, such as the nail salon, I think a cell phone store, the pet boutique and a GAP.

That Parisian wasn't as fancy as I would have expected; it seemed like a standard Parisian, maybe a little better than the ones in Charleston and Columbia and the former one in Greenville, SC, only in that a higher percentage of its selling space consisted of Parisian's standard "designer" brands (e.g., Alex Cannon, Joseph Abboud, Tommy Bahama, Polo Ralph Lauren, Lucky Brand, Seven for All Humanity, Cole-Haan, Allen-Edmunds (sic), Kenneth Cole, etc.) compared to its store brands (e.g., Preswick & Moore). The highest-end things there didn't seem any fancier than in a typical Parisian, and the lowest-end things (Preswick & Moore and Cutter & Buck and Savane pants) didn't seem any lower than the lowest-end things I've seen in a Parisian. At least the chain is consistent.

Still, as I've always stated, the chain doesn't sell garbage (e.g., $9.99 track suits), even if the highest-end things there aren't ultra-fancy. It will be missed.

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LMAO. Are you talking about that weird intersection north of Tower Place above 400? Talk about a deathwish, I got nervous the first time I drove that stretch. Buckhead doesn't seem too scary for walking especially around the village area and I've always noticed people walking from Lenox Mall to other places so it can't be that bad. I dare any of you to try to cross Barrett Parkway in front Town Center Mall by foot and live to tell it. I can't remember any sidewalks in the area.

I have done so...and am alive and well. :)

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I'm not arguing about this. You're entitled to your views. Let's move on.

Well, the circulars are tailored to different markets. I can assure you the circulars in our paper that Parisian puts out in no way resemble the circulars that Belk puts out. More like the difference between Goody's & Macy's if you ask me.

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Well, the circulars are tailored to different markets. I can assure you the circulars in our paper that Parisian puts out in no way resemble the circulars that Belk puts out. More like the difference between Goody's & Macy's if you ask me.

I agree with you- I think Parisian is almost exactly the same, in terms of designers carried, as Lord & Taylor, and it's better than Belk (generally), which in turn is fancier than Hecht's (which is like a big-city Proffitt's, in my view). I'm not going to argue about this anymore, though.

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It still amazes me that we are missing quite a few of the upper crust boutiques here in Atlanta. As wealthy and diverse as our retail market is, I don't know what the missing retailers are thinking! Of course, these products are sold in Nieman Marcus, Saks, and Nordstorm - but these retailers have their own stores in other cities...why not here??

Dior

Chanel

Prada

Sony Style

Bvlgari

Swatch

Emporio Armani

Rugby

Ermengildo Zegna

Dolce & Gabbana

Diesel

Ben Sherman

DKNY

Pucci

Fendi

Oscar de la Renta

Valentino

I read in Atlanta Business Chronical that we will be getting an H&M, which is good. Why the others have shunned us, I don't know.

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