The West End

[cafealotaguy]

This kinda reminds me of Jillian's ...

[vicupstate]

Greenville News has an updated article with regard to American Apparel:

http://www.greenvillenews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...SINESS/60508006

One quote in the article jumped out at me: "Greenville is a second or third tier city, so it's not currently a priority."

Sounds like sour grapes to me. I realize that we are not NYC, but the way I read that comment it sounds like they could care less about insignificant Greenville. Maybe there is more to this story than American Apparel simply changing their minds, especially since that statement is not consistent with locations where they already have stores.

In SC, Charleston already has a store, which is at best only slightly more desirable than Greenville due to the heavy tourism. An American Apparel store is planned in Columbia, and they are certainly not above our market. There is already a store in Savannah, which is probably a fourth-tier city. I look forward to hearing more about this in the future.

Charleston is a far better market than any of the other cities mentioned (esp. Greenville) for a store such as this. Charleston has more tourism in one weekend than Greenville gets all year. Their tourists are more affluent, and spend more than tourists in other areas such as the Grand Strand. Second, there are what, 12,000 College of Charleston students downtown? Not to mention MUSC.

For the same reasons, Savannah is an obvious choice for a store. Savannah's SCAD campus is certainly a audience for a youth apparel store. And of course, Columbia has USC.

It is certainly possible that A.A. is just slowing down it's expansion for startegic business reasons. Hopefully, they found a receptive audience at City Hall. It's hard to see what the city's objection could have been. Frankly, S. Main needs to evolve a little more before A.A. can expect to do well there. There are still too many 'gaps' in the streetfront, and too much construction as well. A.A. will likely look again in 12-24 months.

[RestedTraveler]

The pavement at the Shealy Electric site is being ripped up, so I don't expect this to simply be a parking lot. There's something going on that site...I'm curious as to what it is.

[vicupstate]

The owners of the Shealy's site, and the owner of the 'historic' buildings on the corner of River and S. Main (the Army Store guy that wants to raze and build new) need to join forces to merge their parcels into one integrated mixed-use mega-project.

[mallguy]

Re: the American Apparel executive's quote that Greenville is a second or third tier city, that statement was definitely rude and antagonistic and could have been better phrased. But unfortunately Greenville doesn't have the demographics (population size and income levels) that some larger metro areas have and is thus a less-prominent retail location for some types of stores. As much as people on this board rave about everything in Greenville, it's not a NYC or even a Charlotte, which means fewer high-end and "with-it" stores, but there are advantages to not having big-city demographics as well.

Edited May 10, 2006 by mallguy

[tr2greenville]

As much as people on this board rave about everything in Greenville, it's not a NYC or even a Charlotte, which means fewer high-end and "with-it" stores

The statement about Greenville is probably true. However, American Apparel is by no means high-end. They make cheaply-made t-shirts and shorts. Basically, it's for college kids who want to look cool by acting like they're not trying to look cool. They pulled out due to our lack of a significant college base. This is no big loss. It just frees up the space for something that will do better here.

[mallguy]

The statement about Greenville is probably true. However, American Apparel is by no means high-end. They make cheaply-made t-shirts and shorts. Basically, it's for college kids who want to look cool by acting like they're not trying to look cool. They pulled out due to our lack of a significant college base. This is no big loss. It just frees up the space for something that will do better here.

Agreed. Greenville might not be at the top of AA's radar screen because Greenville doesn't have a ton of hipster college kids who would shop there (I don't see AA as being the Bob Jones or Furman preppy style). I have browsed at the American Apparel in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and there aren't a whole lot of people in Gville who dress like "those people" I saw at AA. Manhattan or Cambridge, MA would.

[goodbye]

Actually, I could easily see this store in the West End. It should be built there. However, if they want to be located in the best possible location in Greenivlle, I would say Haywood Mall fits every aspect of their target market. There are already similar stores located there, and no lack of "hip" young customers shopping there. If they can't find a fit in a metro of over one million, they don't belong here.

[g-man430]

[GvilleSC]

Clemson students LOVE coming to Greenville to shop! Typically it's at Haywood Mall, but with advertising you could get them to the West end and to your store... I think it's fishy. I mean, Clemson is close by, SC's third largest college is here (most of the students being "college aged kids"), Furman and BJU (they might not add much to this equation)... People from Anderson DO their shopping in Greenville... I think the demographics are there. I'd rather them come in a year when the West End has matured some more and is not so underconstruction and difficult to navigate

By the way- Joe's house looks GREAT! thanks for posting the pic

Edited May 10, 2006 by GvilleSC

[RestedTraveler]

By the way- Joe's house looks GREAT! thanks for posting the pic

I second that! Wow, have they done a lot of work in a short amount of time already! Can't wait until it's open!

[breed]

Re: the American Apparel executive's quote that Greenville is a second or third tier city, that statement was definitely rude and antagonistic and could have been better phrased. But unfortunately Greenville doesn't have the demographics (population size and income levels) that some larger metro areas have and is thus a less-prominent retail location for some types of stores. As much as people on this board rave about everything in Greenville, it's not a NYC or even a Charlotte, which means fewer high-end and "with-it" stores, but there are advantages to not having big-city demographics as well.

I wouldn't be too-concerned about Greenville's demographics. Any retailer that is seriously in business has access to more advanced demographic systems than simple municipal population numbers provided via the Census. Greenville fares well. In addition, location that is one block less than ideal can mean the difference between success and failure in the retail world, so sometimes it has to do with numbers at a specific site rather than those of the market, as a whole. (i.e., traffic counts) That is probably less of a factor with a destination-types of retail like AA, though.

My gut feeling on the comment is one of two things... either the AA people were miffed about something in Greenville, or based upon their own proprietary figures, Greenville was a second or third tier market. My hunch is on the latter.

[RestedTraveler]

Sometimes those complex demographic regression models must be abandoned and one must go with their "gut feel," though.

[goodbye]

Or just make a personal visit to see if the gut feeling is real.

[mallguy]

FYI- American Apparel generally doesn't do malls.

I'd also think that AA would attract the same type of crowd as an Urban Outfitters would. Neither store is "preppy casual", which seems to be the type of clothes that people in Greenville generally wear. Visit SoHo in Manhattan or Cambridge, MA and you'll see lots of people wearing edgy-looking clothes (which, from my preppy eye, are ugly). Those are the types of people AA would probably target, and the chain would focus on markets that have lots of those types of people in them. Greenville doesn't have many of them; the city is more of a Harold's/J Crew/Rush Wilson type of city. To me that's a good thing.

Edited May 11, 2006 by mallguy

[vicupstate]

I second that! Wow, have they done a lot of work in a short amount of time already! Can't wait until it's open!

Let's take guesses, what is going to be the TV drama for this episode of "Flip This House"?

** Termites

** No building permit

** Ghost of Joe Jackson scares off workers

** Subs don't show up

** Rats

**Miscommunication leads to re-work

Have I missed any?

[gs3]

Not exactly crying over the AA thing. Here is a photo of one of their stores I was in, in Seattle. Not impressed. Cheap clothing (ie: Old Navy), on a small boutique scale. Cheap interior fittings. AA is definitely not upscale. West End isn't missing much.

[adrockc2]

Cheap clothing (ie: Old Navy), on a small boutique scale. Cheap interior fittings. AA is definitely not upscale. West End isn't missing much.

American Apparel is actually quite a step above Old Navy. I'd say it's on the same level with H&M or Gap. The clothes may be inexpensive but that doesn

[RestedTraveler]

Appalachain Outfitters' Life is Good Store is more in tune to our community anyway.

Do what you like.

Like what you do.

Let's take guesses, what is going to be the TV drama for this episode of "Flip This House"?

** Termites

** No building permit

** Ghost of Joe Jackson scares off workers

** Subs don't show up

** Rats

**Miscommunication leads to re-work

Have I missed any?

** Mold

[goodbye]

Appalachain Outfitters' Life is Good Store is more in tune to our community anyway.

Do what you like.

Like what you do.

"Not all who wander are lost." - Life is Good!

[distortedlogic]

Not losing any sleep over this one either, I would probably never shop there, and I don't think it would add anythign DT anyway. Looks like just another clothes store to me, there is no shortage of those around here. Now if we got an IMAX or even something retail like Media Play that would add something.

[gs3]

A Virgin Megastore!

[adrockc2]

<sarcasm>I haven

Edited May 12, 2006 by adrockc2

[Greenville]

Whoever compared American Apparel to Urban Outfitters was right on. Both stores have overpriced clothes for upper and middle class young people who want to dress like they don't have much. I have never been inside American Apparel, but I did go into an Urban Outfitters with a friend of mine and thought it looked like a glorified rummage sale. I hope Greenville gets an AA (as well as an Urban Outfitters) one day in order to continue to diversify our offerings, but personally I do not see the point of this type of store.

[charlie swords]

A Virgin Megastore!

ewwwww!

Go to Earshot....

and it seems Media Play has pulled out of the area....closed stores in Charlotte and Gastonia and closed Suncoast and Sam Goody here also....

Edited May 12, 2006 by charlie swords