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Hudson Belk turns out the chandeliers


StevenRocks

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As I understand it, the plan is to put in a parking deck extending from Belk to the plaza, while adding a 2nd story of Barnes and Noble. On that deck they will have restaurants. I think I recall that Morton's steakhouse is coming, but don't quote me on it.

They are going to chop Lord & Taylor into smaller stores. I'd love to see them convert that store and some others nearby into Belk, thus opening the Belk space as mall space which can logically flow into the entertainment district. They absolutely shouldn't trap Belk by putting entertainment on the east side of Belk...or better put, they shouldn't chop the mall and entertainment areas with Belk. Have any of you been to Hanes mall? They extended the mall on the distal side of one of the anchors. You have to walk THROUGH the anchor to get to the rest of the mall. Horrible!

Their plan sounds like a very poor-man's version of my plan (which includes tearing down the whole plaza). With my plan all of the stores are immune to flooding and all parking is covered. I'm hoping that the exposure of my plan (through Raleighing) will get other people to push for it, too.

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Has Belk already formally decided to close that store? Or is that just an expectation, based on knowledge of mall death cycles?

Offically, it's open indefinately. But Belk spokespeople have been cagey about answering any direct questions about its future for a while. It's looking pretty shabby these days and part o the upper levle has been closed off. With mint hill opening soon and northlake taking off, let's just say it's not looking good for Belk Eastland.

Have any of you been to Hanes mall? They extended the mall on the distal side of one of the anchors. You have to walk THROUGH the anchor to get to the rest of the mall. Horrible!

I thought it was an awful situation at first, but in my talks with people in charge of Hanes Mall, the situation actually works pretty well for all parties involved. Once people get used to having to walk through JCPenney, they don't complain much. It also does wonders for JCPenney's sales. The store's bread and butter is the impulse purchases people make walking through. The Sears on the other end of the mall would kill for that. :lol:

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Question, Stevenrocks, where did you hear about Nordstrom looking at Crabtree? Personally that would be saturating the market don't you think? Why not lure Neiman Marcus, and maybe some other high-end stores like Armani Exchange and Burberry? Those would be great for Raleigh and the Triangle.

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Question, Stevenrocks, where did you hear about Nordstrom looking at Crabtree? Personally that would be saturating the market don't you think? Why not lure Neiman Marcus, and maybe some other high-end stores like Armani Exchange and Burberry? Those would be great for Raleigh and the Triangle.

Nordstrom looked at Crabtree back in the late '90s, but they were unable to hammer out a deal with Plaza Associates, which owns Crabtree. Nordstrom wanted basically a free store, and Crabtree refused. When Southpoint came knocking, Nordstrom went there.

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What is this Burberry store that I seem to hear so much about in U.P.(especially in the Charlotte retail thread). Don't they sell women's handbags or shoes or something? lol

In my opinion for a mall to be really and truly upscale it shouldn't have a Sears, especially now that Sears and K-Mart are related :-p

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What is this Burberry store that I seem to hear so much about in U.P.(especially in the Charlotte retail thread). Don't they sell women's handbags or shoes or something? lol

In my opinion for a mall to be really and truly upscale it shouldn't have a Sears, especially now that Sears and K-Mart are related :-p

Burberry has a wide variety of merchandise, not just women's bags. They are also known for their trenchcoats, sweaters and colognes. Here's a picture of me in my Burberry shirt from last year, when it was really trendy.

post-1659-1129214638_thumb.jpg

I think Burberry would do well in Raleigh, if they come.

Sears is a toss-up, in may cases they detract from the overall iimage of the mall, but they really don't hurt a mall very much, either. South Coast Plaza and King of Prussia, two of the nicest malls in America, have Sears and don't appear to be forcing them out.

post-1659-1129214638_thumb.jpg

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I went to see how the skybridge came out last night. It's not that well done, but it's not bad either. Curiously, they decided to match up the new entrance doors to the vintage 1972 models below them on the first floor. Why the one concession to the building's past they would make was the least signifigant is beyond me.

Inside, most opf the departments have been updated, but I don't have pictures. I was targeted by Crabtree security last night in their ever-selective enforcement of the "no camera" policy.

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I went to see how the skybridge came out last night. It's not that well done, but it's not bad either. Curiously, they decided to match up the new entrance doors to the vintage 1972 models below them on the first floor. Why the one concession to the building's past they would make was the least signifigant is beyond me.

Inside, most opf the departments have been updated, but I don't have pictures. I was targeted by Crabtree security last night in their ever-selective enforcement of the "no camera" policy.

Even with a camera PHONE!?

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Even with a camera PHONE!?

Yep.

I am now officially happy Hecht's is going out of business. I had a run in last night with security at Crabtree Valley Mall that was prompted by Hecht's. I know I'm not supposed to take pictures inside stores, but I didn't figure a camera-phone picture of the Hecht's escalator well would be a huge deal. Of course I was wrong.

The stupid part is that they didn't even have the decency to tell me themselves. They sent two mall security guards after me to chastise me and they made me to delete my camera contents in front of them. They weren't even really sure why they were supposed to stop me beyond a simple reading of the rules. I left disgusted.

Today, I called Hecht's and they hid behind their policies, as if a having the mall's rent-a-cops do their dirty work and chase a person for photography made any sense. The only sense I got was when I called the mall itself, which I had no pictures of, I might add, and the mall manager apologized on behalf of all involved.

My problem isn't as much with the policy as it is with the enforcement. I know I was targeted and I told them so.

I have decided to not spend a single dime in Hecht's at Crabtree Valley until they change over to Macy's (and fire all those nutjobs) as a protest against customer harassment.

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The stupid part is that they didn't even have the decency to tell me themselves. They sent two mall security guards after me to chastise me and they made me to delete my camera contents in front of them. They weren't even really sure why they were supposed to stop me beyond a simple reading of the rules. I left disgusted.

That part really pisses me off... I'm so surprised they couldn't be mature about it and just said "sir we have a no camera policy" or something instead of coming after you and MAKING you delete your contents in front of them.

The only sense I got was when I called the mall itself, which I had no pictures of, I might add, and the mall manager apologized on behalf of all involved.

i'm glad the Mall Manager apologized.

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The people working there would need to *have* a soul for you to be able to steal it from them!

The only thing I buy (will now be bought/past tense) there is the occasional pair of pants going out of stock and/or season. I never get any help when I'm obviously looking for my size, and then when I want to make a purchase, I just about have to hold money in my hand yelling "who wants the comission on this sale" while doing jumping jacks down the second floor aisle on the suits/shoes side.

I hope the Macys change gives them a chance to restaff, but I'm not holding my breath.

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I've always contended, even way before this, that at any given time Hecht's has a grand total of six employees in the store, and five of them are doing security.

They wonder why people go to other stores, but yet they don't help you when you need it, and watch your every move otherwise.

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I really don't like Hechts either, but I admit I did buy something fairly pricey from them last winter. They were having an awesome discount deal on down coats and since I was in need of a new one... heh, I sold my soul. It was $20 less than a comparable one at REI... and I'm cheap, generally speaking. :)

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I am now officially happy Hecht's is going out of business.

Just to clarify this: Hecht's is not going out of business. The May Co. is changing all of the store names to "Macy's".

I got run off by a man in the chocolate place below Godiva. I was taking a picture of light fixtures that I want in my dental office. If anything, I'd be against their product. But with that attitude, I'm against everything they stand for. I'm disappointed to hear of such activities in other stores and a "mall-wide policy". You'd think that with 2 of the nations 5 new malls in 2003 coming online within 25 mi of Crabtree, they'd be a little friendlier abou this kind of thing.

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