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Roanoke Stores and Retail

soloextreme

By soloextreme
in Roanoke

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BGW Whistle-Stop

BGW

Posted
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Whole Foods is coming soon I think.

They've been "scouting locations" for quite some time now. Fresh Market (which recently opened in Roanoke) is opening in the old Saxon Shoes next month-ish. And Trader Joe's is definitely not coming anytime soon. :(

Also, I have no idea what kind of hours the krop will keep in Roanoke. Might be later than the Richmond stores, but I bet a lot they'll be closed at night at some point. Don't forget sundays too!

I wouldn't be surprised if they have to change some of their standard practices to do well in Roanoke. If I'm not mistaken, it was in the Williamsburg store that they first changed their No Credit Cards policy. I'm not saying they'll be selling beer on Sundays by Autumn, but what plays in Richmond may not be as well received in Roanoke.

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urbanvb City

urbanvb

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They've been "scouting locations" for quite some time now. Fresh Market (which recently opened in Roanoke) is opening in the old Saxon Shoes next month-ish. And Trader Joe's is definitely not coming anytime soon. :(

I wouldn't be surprised if they have to change some of their standard practices to do well in Roanoke. If I'm not mistaken, it was in the Williamsburg store that they first changed their No Credit Cards policy. I'm not saying they'll be selling beer on Sundays by Autumn, but what plays in Richmond may not be as well received in Roanoke.

I am hoping we are getting a Traders and/or a Whole Foods here in VB. I think Whole Foods is supposed to build somewhere in the Pembroke area, that per the Va Pilot. I posted some info on this and more retail coming over in the VA Beach Towncenter thread.

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BGW Whistle-Stop

BGW

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What kinds practices do you think should be changed in Roanoke? Besides Sunday's and no alcohol (which won't change:)), I'm not aware of any other policies that wouldn't blend in with Roanoke? Longer hours is the only one I can think of...

Well, like I said before, when I first moved to Richmond in 1998, Ukrops did not accept credit cards; in fact, I recall a couple of strong statements from Ukrops officials suggesting they'd never accept them. Then they opened stores outside their Richmond bubble that weren't quite as all-conquering as perhaps they'd expected. One of the concessions they made was accepting credit cards; shortly thereafter, the whole chain was doing so.

Roanoke's going to be a tougher nut to crack. Though the immediate neighborhood is changing, I don't think their location is the best in town for the products/services they provide. And, as we've discussed previous, Roanoke shoppers are a fickle bunch. I think they'll turn out in droves at first, but once the novelty wears off, they'll go right back to Kroger. They'll complain about high prices, inconvenient hours and/or lack of beer/wine sales. Here in Richmond, Ukrops is fine with that, because they're the big fish in the little pond; their core audience is strong & loyal enough to withstand all of those things. In Roanoke, they're going to be the small, slightly exotic fish in the pond. I'm not saying they're going to change any of these core policies, but I'll guarantee they'll hear about all of these from Roanoke shoppers.

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

Posted
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The old T.J. Maxx space wasn't too great (funky layout), but I'm very underwhelmed that they're going that route. The supposed new tenants that are coming better be more interesting, otherwise Tanglewood is toast.

Does this mall have any high end retailers to speak of? Perhaps the new tenants will be something along that line.

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StevenRocks City

StevenRocks

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I don't know too terribly much about Roanoke but is it a growing area? Do they have enough affluent population there to start to attract higher-end retail?
There is potential for nicer retail, and there is a decent amount of it locally (especially in Tanglewood's neighborhood), but there's not a lot of job growth that would support an explosion of high-end stores.
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wrldcoupe4 Metropolitan Area

wrldcoupe4

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Well, like I said before, when I first moved to Richmond in 1998, Ukrops did not accept credit cards; in fact, I recall a couple of strong statements from Ukrops officials suggesting they'd never accept them. Then they opened stores outside their Richmond bubble that weren't quite as all-conquering as perhaps they'd expected. One of the concessions they made was accepting credit cards; shortly thereafter, the whole chain was doing so.

Roanoke's going to be a tougher nut to crack. Though the immediate neighborhood is changing, I don't think their location is the best in town for the products/services they provide. And, as we've discussed previous, Roanoke shoppers are a fickle bunch. I think they'll turn out in droves at first, but once the novelty wears off, they'll go right back to Kroger. They'll complain about high prices, inconvenient hours and/or lack of beer/wine sales. Here in Richmond, Ukrops is fine with that, because they're the big fish in the little pond; their core audience is strong & loyal enough to withstand all of those things. In Roanoke, they're going to be the small, slightly exotic fish in the pond. I'm not saying they're going to change any of these core policies, but I'll guarantee they'll hear about all of these from Roanoke shoppers.

I think when they expanded into Fredericksburg, it wasn't what they expected. However, that store has improved year after year.

I was under the impression that they had no trouble with Williamsburg (I think Richmond and Williamsburg have a lot in common). The Williamsburg store was one of the the better performing stores in the company. Their second location there should help reinforce their presence. They've also been very active in the Williamsburg community, which is something they'll definitely do in Roanoke. It's one of the perks of having them around... 20% of their pretax profits go to their employees. Atleast another 10% goes back to the community. They also have made the golden gift program year round. Not to mention all the events they sponsor.

I'll agree though, Richmond is loyal as hell to those guys. Many people in other places just don't get it (especially considering they are closed on sundays and don't sell alcohol). Hopefully, Roanoke will support them well.

I wish they'd expand their Joe's Market concept.... it would be a cool store to have in downtown Roanoke.

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mclawsdrive Hamlet

mclawsdrive

Posted
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This was discussed a while ago but I thought I'd address something..

Do you guys see Roanoke metro exceeding the 1 million mark? If it does I think you will see more of the retail that you guys desire.

Right now, Roanoke's metro area is about 250,000. I think its a bit rediculous that all of Bedford county is in Lynchburg's metro area. I guess historically Bedford's Forest areas suburbs near Lynchburg developed first. But the western third is clearly much more tied to Roanoke, and the middle third is more of a draw. In any case, I think that it could be possible in the next 10-15 years that Roanoke, Lynchburg and the NRV will be combined into 1 metro area. Combined with modest population growth, that could approach but not reach 1 million in population.

Even if these areas aren't officially combined by the census bureau's statistics. Smart retailers will recognize that roanoke is the central service center for an area that stretches almost to Bristol to the west. Check out the website www.commoncensus.org to check out a cool map based entirely on peoples opinions on what city they feel most connected to. You can also participate in the map making process.

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burt Megalopolis

burt

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Roanoke has a problem with having enough desirable retail space more than it has population or perception problems. There aren't a lot of good retail sites around town that aren't already occupied.

Steve, can you post your Thursday newspaper column? Or do I have to access it from the link you gave further up this thread? (I think it's in this thread).

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StevenRocks City

StevenRocks

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Steve, can you post your Thursday newspaper column? Or do I have to access it from the link you gave further up this thread? (I think it's in this thread).
The cureent week's article can usually be found at io.roanoke.com, but if you click on steve's blog, you can find a scanned, printable copy of most of the articles I've written for Retail Therapy. I post them within a day or so after they're printed, so they're not always on the Thursday entries.

The best way to find them on steve's blog after the first week they're published is to do an internal search.

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weill Hamlet

weill

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Opening of Ukrop's is delayed until fall

Ukrops.jpg

Natalie Waters {sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}} Roanoke Times

Construction continues at the future site

of the Ivy Market and Ukrop's Super Market

at Wonju Street and Franklin Road.

"The opening of a Ukrop's Super Market in Roanoke has been delayed for the second time, raising questions about whether it can be finished by the deadline to qualify for economic incentives awarded to help lure the project.

The Richmond-based family grocery chain is now scheduled to open next fall at Ivy Market, a proposed retail center, rather than this spring, said Whitney Painter, a spokeswoman for Bland Painter III, who is heading up the project.

In an e-mail, Whitney Painter said Ukrop's and Walgreens, which also is planned for the 10-acre center, will open before mid-November. Nov. 18 is the cutoff point for the developer, IMD Investment Group, to get $9 million in incentives promised by Roanoke city officials for future site work.

The city's contract with IMD states that both stores must be open by Nov. 18 for IMD to receive the city incentives. Ivy Market is located in an area at the corner of Wonju Street and Franklin Road, which runs alongside U.S. 220."

To read full story, click on this Link

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