Crabtree Valley Mall

[JeffC]

Any reports on the two new big box restaurants that have opened in that new area where Mccormick & Schmidt is located? Can't recall their names...

[Gard]

FYI Crabtree is about to sign a deal that will bring the state's first H&M to the mall:

http://www.newsobserver.com/business/local...ory/142078.html

This store is expected to draw people from all over the state, and probably neighboring states

Edited October 15, 2009 by Gard

[RaleighRob]

^A shame the old rumor of them looking downtown has proven untrue. Oh well...still glad to have them.

The article is kinda confusing...they're talking like it's a boutique for teen girls, instead of a department store with mens, womens and kids sections. That, at least, is what every H&M I've seen was. Has the writer of the article ever been in one?

Edited October 15, 2009 by RaleighRob

[DigitalSky]

Fantastic news for NC and the Triangle, I know I will be driving (how green of me, right) to shop there

[uptownliving]

^A shame the old rumor of them looking downtown has proven untrue. Oh well...still glad to have them.

The article is kinda confusing...they're talking like it's a boutique for teen girls, instead of a department store with mens, womens and kids sections. That, at least, is what every H&M I've seen was. Has the writer of the article ever been in one?

Some H&M have female only clothing...like the one in Richmond. Hopefully that is not the case for the Raleigh store...but from the newspaper article that is the way they are talking....:-(

[RaleighRob]

Some H&M have female only clothing...like the one in Richmond. Hopefully that is not the case for the Raleigh store...but from the newspaper article that is the way they are talking....:-(

Oh gee....I will send them some very mean nasty phone calls and letters if that's the case.

[DigitalSky]

A lot of people will be pissed if they only have female clothing.

[Jones_]

The article did say the Downtown Raleigh Alliance was trying to get them to come downtown. I have only been to like 3 or 4 of the Manhattens H&M's and they are certainly not girly tween stores. Matter of fact..there was almost nothing for that demographic. It was more like 25-40 urbanesque in its draw. Almost too urban for Raleigh...Raleigh does seem to be an Abercrombie/American Eagle place throughout north raleigh and Cary....if we get a manhatten style H&M my money will definitely be spent there from time to time.

Edited October 16, 2009 by Jones133

[StevenRocks]

A 21,000-square-foot H&M would carry their full line (or close to it). They'll have a full assortment of family apparel.

[RaleighRob]

^Thanks Steven...I hope you're right!

I have only been to like 3 or 4 of the Manhattens H&M's and they are certainly not girly tween stores. Matter of fact..there was almost nothing for that demographic. It was more like 25-40 urbanesque in its draw. Almost too urban for Raleigh...

Yeah, I like Sue Stock, but on this article it sounded as if she's never been to one of their stores.

Not only NYC but I've also been to their big downtown DC store and was really impressed. I agree it definitely seemed more tuned to the 20s/30s demographic than teens. Especially the men's department...I never dressed that respectable when I was in high school, that's for sure!

I do however, disagree with the "almost too urban for Raleigh" part though. I mean, we got several Banana Republic, Guess, and Express shops...H&M is pretty similar but priced more like a JCPenney. Perfect for this area, I think. And it'll be a Triangle-wide pull----and beyond---not just Raleigh.

The one thing I would caution NC shoppers who've never been to H&M---Try on EVERYTHING first! It's a European company....a Swedish "small" is not the American version. (H&M is probably the only place I've ever bought a medium instead of small, for example.) Countries with lower obesity rates have a different definition of small vs large!

Edited October 16, 2009 by RaleighRob

[DigitalSky]

I have to agree with that^^ some of the shirts I bought were medium, then later I tried them on and realized I needed larges since the mediums were too small so I had to go back and exchange those

[ncwebguy]

We went to Crabtree last weekend, and the work is well underway for H&M. They have all the space from Harrods (sp?) in center court to Try Sports. If/when Try Sports moves across the hall, H&M's space will be close to that of Forever XXI, which may be where Sue Stock is getting confused....

Didn't noitice much else going on, though we only walked from center court to Crate & Barrel on the first floor.

[StevenRocks]

IMO, Forever XXI isn't really that close to the new H&M. H&M is pretty much half of the first floor of the old Lord & Taylor, while Forever XXI is in part of the old Sears. There's at least a third of the mall between them.

Edited October 29, 2009 by StevenRocks

[Gard]

FYI H&M is now open. Mall personnel estimate there were around 1,000 people lined up to get in on the day of opening:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/19/396178/bargain-fashionistas-line-up-for.html

[NCMike1981]

^I was wondering if anyone was going to note this....anyone brave the crowds to check out H&M?

[Gard]

FYI a tenant for the Circuit City building has been announced, though they will only take half of the building. A portion of the building will become the state's first "The Container Store." The company, from it's website, seems to be spreading fast and serves customers from coast to coast and Canada.

News Article: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/04/10/430573/corporate-vacancies-start-to-fill.html

Company Website: http://www.containerstore.com/welcome.htm

[StevenRocks]

I LOVE The Container Store! The Circuit City building is an awkward location, but I'd definitely stop by when they open.

[DigitalSky]

It's about time. Very excited for The Container Store! Thanks for sharing the good news.

[StevenRocks]

I was at Crabtree this weekend for the first time in a long while. The place was positively hopping! I haven't seen it this busy (and almost fully leased) in a while.

[RALNATIVE]

First in the state...

American eagle's 77kids coming to Crabtree

[NCMike1981]

I read in the paper a few days back that Crate and Barrel in Crabtree is going to be closing after Christmas and hopping over to the outdoor area at Southpoint...that's a decent sized store so wonder if it will be subdivided or if a larger inline store will take it's place...

[StevenRocks]

Oh man, I'm going to miss the Crate & Barrel at Crabtree! I love that store, and can't tell you how many trips I took to that mall that were motivated by them being there. I can understand why they're moving, though. Crabtree really should have put some effort into trying to get them a larger, more visible location. Moving to Southpoint puts them in a more visible spot where they can build their own store and attract the same kind of customer (the upscale merchant overlap between the malls is pretty heavy.)

Edited June 30, 2010 by StevenRocks

[ncwebguy]

The *amount* of space H&M has is close (but not quite) to that of Forever XXI's. Though the different orientations -- Forever XXI is on the main axis and H&M is in half the old Hecht's space -- may make it seem off. Plus H&M seems somewhat clausterphobic in the way they segmented their space. The two stores are not adjacent, which probably works for both of them.

Not much else going on last time I was there, other than Martin and Osa is gone, but I think that is due to giving up on the concept, not just that particular store/location.

Losing Crate and Barrel is bad, but expected. This area deserves a space like the Charlotte/South Park store, and with the work they're doing near the movie theater at Southpoint, that is what is in store there.

There is no space that makes sense for them in downtown Raleigh or Durham. The old Storehouse space in North Hills would be good, but there is limited parking over there already. And North Hills East was not built for a Crate and Barrel either.

[DigitalSky]

Interesting but not surprising about C&B, agree with the sentiments that they do need a full size store in the Triangle

[NCMike1981]

Belk unveils new logo

The big news here is Belk is updating their logo and doing away with the last of the hyphen names, which includs not only the Triangle Hudson Belks but also the remaining Belk Matthews store. On my way home from work this evening I noticed it looks like they have a temporary banner in the old script that says simply "Belk" above the entrance. It reminds me of how Macys transitioned over from Hechts.