North Point Mall

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

It's interesting that Dillard's also made thier debut into the Atlanta market with the first Dillard's opening at NorthPoint Mall back in 1993.

Where the other two stores might go is anybodys guess.

[StevenRocks]

Von Maur sometimes opens in lifestyle centers, so that's a possiblity.

[jeb1974]

It's interesting that Dillard's also made thier debut into the Atlanta market with the first Dillard's opening at NorthPoint Mall back in 1993.

Where the other two stores might go is anybodys guess.

Dillard's did not open at North Point until 1996. When North Point first opened, that pad was on hold for a Macy's while R.H. Macy & Co. was bankrupt. In late 1994 Federated acquired R.H. Macy leading to Rich's and Macy's being owned by the same company. That edged out a Macy's on the pad and gave Dillard's the opportunity to enter the market.

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

Dillard's did not open at North Point until 1996. When North Point first opened, that pad was on hold for a Macy's while R.H. Macy & Co. was bankrupt. In late 1994 Federated acquired R.H. Macy leading to Rich's and Macy's being owned by the same company. That edged out a Macy's on the pad and gave Dillard's the opportunity to enter the market.

Geezzzzzzzz, so I got the year wrong. And Metro Atlanta has how many malls???? Your info is very accurate, I do remember that the mall opened in 1993, and that pad was in fact on hold for a Macy's store, but when Federated bought out Macy's that killed having a Macy's at the mall, so Dillard's was then able to enter the Atlanta market via North Point. Thank you jeb1974 for those enlightening details. You would think I would remember these things since I was born and raised in Atlanta, but there can be cases of memory loss when you start getting old.

[Mellophonius]

What about the empty anchor pad at the Mall of Georgia? Would that be a good fit for Von Maur?

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

OMG!!!, if they do well at North Point Mall, please come to Phipps Plaza and get rid of that Belk once and for all. Now we know how all the people at South Coast Plaza feel. The most luxurious mall in the most affluent county in California with a Sears attached to it at the upper right. Maybe that Sears carries the signature "Black Label Toughskin Jeans!"

[101_ce]

OMG!!!, if they do well at North Point Mall, please come to Phipps Plaza and get rid of that Belk once and for all. Now we know how all the people at South Coast Plaza feel. The most luxurious mall in the most affluent county in California with a Sears attached to it at the upper right. Maybe that Sears carries the signature "Black Label Toughskin Jeans!"

Er, well I'd actually much rather them keep the Belk and hope that they will put in some/more Michael Kors, Ferragamo, and Theory like at SouthPark. But Belk at Phipps is nothing like Sears, at all. I don't see any Sears stores with Coach, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Bahama, etc.

[dusty87]

When is Von Maur going to open?? I'm super excited about it!

[DaltonGA]

Von Maur is also going to Birmingham. Evidently they are more serious about entering the south than I had originally believed. I expected them to be testing the waters with the NorthPoint store before making plans to open more stores. Any guesses as to where the other 2 Atlanta area Von Maur's will be?

[Mellophonius]

Any guesses as to where the other 2 Atlanta area Von Maur's will be?

I've been told there's no telling. One will probably be somewhere in Cobb County; the other one maybe in Gwinnett. I wonder if they would open in the empty anchor pad at the Mall of Georgia. I don't know of any vacant places in Cobb County, though. The only other area I could see Von Maur looking at would be Buckhead, and I don't know of any available spaces around there either.

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

Convert the Belk at Phipps Plaza into a Von Maur, because flagship or not, it is just not high end enough to compete with Saks Fifth Avenue, and a Nordstrom that is a "boutique Nordstrom." According to what has been said about them, they would be on the same level as Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor.

The next place I think would be a good fit is to get GGP to do an expansion wing like they did with Nordstrom but somewhat longer and build the third Von Maur at Perimeter Mall. These 3 places are where Atlanta's wealthiest zip codes exist, not in Buford, Ga. The Mall of Georgia would be better suited to fill that empty anchor pad with a Sears.

You see Belk wanted into Atlanta's malls as a major player so bad, so the bought Parisian, dumped the name and converted most of them to Belk, or sold the ones they did not want to another retailer. Before that Belk was only known to be in strip shopping centers in a very small one level building. Now they want to play with the big boys in Atlanta, and have done ok, because most are in upper middle class malls or lifestyle centers, but when they tried to make Northpoint a new home, they got thrown out to the street. So economically, I feel it would be better for Von Maur to concentrate on the upscale malls since it is an upscale retailer.

[Mellophonius]

I don't think Belk has had any problem at Phipps. And as far as Belk being "in strip shopping centers in a very small one level building," there are still places like Macon, where a two-story mall Belk has been open since the mall itself.

I might have been slightly underestimating how high-end Von Maur is. Wikipedia says it's "mid-range" but also that it "competes on the same level as Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor." Nordstrom and L&T have always been way out of my price range anyway, so I would never consider them "mid-range," but when I suggested Cobb County and the Mall of Georgia I was thinking about not having the two new Von Maur stores so close to Alpharetta, or to each other.

I really don't understand the rabid anti-Belk sentiment that seems to prevail among people in Atlanta. I have bought plenty of clothes from there, and I don't see anything wrong with it. Someone on this forum once implied that they considered anyone who shopped at Belk to be poor. People just don't understand that a Belk at a strip center in small town Georgia is nothing like a Belk at Phipps Plaza. Should they have at least kept the Parisian name for their higher-end stores? Yes, they should have, but the fact that they didn't does not change what's in the store.

And in order to add a Von Maur to Perimeter, I think they'd have to be move an existing anchor in order to add on a new wing (or do like Macon Mall did and add a wing on the other side of an existing anchor). Maybe a small new wing extending northeast from Dillard's would work.

[george]

Belk has 5 diiferent store types.with the 1,2 stores being the smaller one story stores found in small towns few 3,4 level 2 story stores like the one's in macon and only a couple of 5 like Phipps and South Park.

[Mellophonius]

It would really help if they had 3 different names, one for each of these types. But I feel like you could change the Belk sign at Phipps to Parisian and everyone would be happy, even if nothing about the inside of the store was changed...

[101_ce]

I don't think Belk has had any problem at Phipps. And as far as Belk being "in strip shopping centers in a very small one level building," there are still places like Macon, where a two-story mall Belk has been open since the mall itself.

I might have been slightly underestimating how high-end Von Maur is. Wikipedia says it's "mid-range" but also that it "competes on the same level as Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor." Nordstrom and L&T have always been way out of my price range anyway, so I would never consider them "mid-range," but when I suggested Cobb County and the Mall of Georgia I was thinking about not having the two new Von Maur stores so close to Alpharetta, or to each other.

I really don't understand the rabid anti-Belk sentiment that seems to prevail among people in Atlanta. I have bought plenty of clothes from there, and I don't see anything wrong with it. Someone on this forum once implied that they considered anyone who shopped at Belk to be poor. People just don't understand that a Belk at a strip center in small town Georgia is nothing like a Belk at Phipps Plaza. Should they have at least kept the Parisian name for their higher-end stores? Yes, they should have, but the fact that they didn't does not change what's in the store.

And in order to add a Von Maur to Perimeter, I think they'd have to be move an existing anchor in order to add on a new wing (or do like Macon Mall did and add a wing on the other side of an existing anchor). Maybe a small new wing extending northeast from Dillard's would work.

There's pretty much no way Perimeter would get one. First, it's way too close to North Point. Next, it would be to close to Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, their supposedly upscale Dillard's, etc. From what I have heard, Bloomies is struggling at Perimeter. I didn't go in, but I saw hardly any brown bags in the entire mall. That's what happens when you put stores too close together, and especially when both are huge. Nordstrom seems to generally be more popular, and they have smaller stores, with the Phipps store being 135,000 square feet to the Perimeter one at 225,000. Bloomingdale's on the other hand is 280,000 at the Lenox store (if I'm correct) and then 230,000 at Perimeter. The size of the Lenox store probably would be alright, but the Perimeter store should have been smaller. But then, they didn't build the store so there's little they could do about it.

I don't think Belk has opened at Phipps to really compete with the luxury stores. It opened there because Parisian was there, which didn't compete with them either. There's no way to have Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus less than half of a mile from each other and then have Belk and Macy's almost as upscale as them, because they would carry way too many of the same brands and, even though Belk is "only for poor people", if they had the same brands, chances are it would be cheaper to buy it at Belk. Sadly enough, I think people would rather spend $400 to buy something at Saks, Nordies, etc. than to pay $200 at Belk for the same exact item, just so they don't have to turn into "poor people" to get their designer clothes, handbags, etc. There's only so much Buckhead can have before it's saturated with all of the same stuff, so I understand why Belk is like it is. Chances are that Von Maur wouldn't be much different.

I definitely agree about the Belk thing. It is a really upscale store if you go to the right ones. The SouthPark Belk has brands such as Marc Jacobs, Ferragamo, Michael Kors (shoes, handbags, clothes "ready-to-wear"), Coach, Burberry, St. John, Citizens of Humanity, BCBG, Eileen Fisher, Joe's Jeans, Stuart Weitzman, Kiehl's, etc.

You know the little "in store boutiques" they have inside department stores? Well, Belk created Gucci's. They have a much more rich history than many other stores. Even Haywood's Belk carries about half of those brands.

Belk @ SouthPark also had Charlotte's first Louis Vuitton, and then at one point had Oscar de la Renta, and many more luxury brands until they pulled out for Nordstrom, their own stores, and Neiman Marcus.

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

There's pretty much no way Perimeter would get one. First, it's way too close to North Point. Next, it would be to close to Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, their supposedly upscale Dillard's, etc. From what I have heard, Bloomies is struggling at Perimeter. I didn't go in, but I saw hardly any brown bags in the entire mall. That's what happens when you put stores too close together, and especially when both are huge. Nordstrom seems to generally be more popular, and they have smaller stores, with the Phipps store being 135,000 square feet to the Perimeter one at 225,000. Bloomingdale's on the other hand is 280,000 at the Lenox store (if I'm correct) and then 230,000 at Perimeter. The size of the Lenox store probably would be alright, but the Perimeter store should have been smaller. But then, they didn't build the store so there's little they could do about it.

I don't think Belk has opened at Phipps to really compete with the luxury stores. It opened there because Parisian was there, which didn't compete with them either. There's no way to have Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus less than half of a mile from each other and then have Belk and Macy's almost as upscale as them, because they would carry way too many of the same brands and, even though Belkis "only for poor people", if they had the same brands, chances are it would be cheaper to buy it at Belk. Sadly enough, I think people would rather spend $400 to buy something at Saks, Nordies, etc. than to pay $200 at Belk for the same exact item, just so they don't have to turn into "poor people" to get their designer clothes, handbags, etc. There's only so much Buckhead can have before it's saturated with all of the same stuff, so I understand why Belkis like it is. Chances are that Von Maur wouldn't be much different.

I definitely agree about the Belk thing. It is a really upscale store if you go to the right ones. The SouthPark Belk has brands such as Marc Jacobs, Ferragamo, Michael Kors (shoes, handbags, clothes "ready-to-wear"), Coach, Burberry, St. John, Citizens of Humanity, BCBG, Eileen Fisher, Joe's Jeans, Stuart Weitzman, Kiehl's, etc.

You know the little "in store boutiques" they have inside department stores? Well, Belk created Gucci's. They have a much more rich history than many other stores. Even Haywood's Belk carries about half of those brands.

Belk @ SouthPark also had Charlotte's first Louis Vuitton, and then at one point had Oscar de la Renta, and many more luxury brands until they pulled out for Nordstrom, their own stores, and Neiman Marcus.

Why is it to close to North Point. I think 11 miles is a safe distance. Phipps Plaza is 7 miles from Perimeter Mall, which is 18 miles away from North Point. The Southeastern U.S. "flagship" Macy's is just seven miles from the Perimeter Macy's, which even has a connecting 3 level Store for Homes and is 333,760 sq. feet, and yes Atlanta's "flagship" Dillard's ("supposedly") is at Perimeter Mall. The Macy's at Lenox Square is 433,308 sq. feet, but only spaced 7 miles apart from the Perimeter Macy's. Bloomingdale's at Lenox Square is 274,000 sq. feet on four levels. The Perimeter Mall Bloomingdale's is 222,056 sq. feet, and since that article came out about Bloomingdale's nearly a year ago, changes have been made and Macy's Inc. has said it has no plans to close the Perimeter Mall Bloomingdale's. But since you say ct36 that you only come to Atlanta to shop maybe around 6 times a year, many things can change. I live just 6/10's of a mile in a neighborhood behind Phipps Plaza so I have more exposure to all three of these malls and what is REALLY going on in our city's retail environment. That includes the guy from Milledgeville down in Middle Georgia.

The Phipps Plaza Nordstrom is 153,740 sq. feet, and the Perimeter Mall Nordstrom is 230,000 sq. feet. So our first Von Maur will be 140,000 sq. feet. That is even smaller than the Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps which is 148,000 sq. feet. So I do not see a problem with Perimeter, because a new wing can be started on the opposite side of the Nordstrom wing, but be longer. It would start out northbound and then curve so that Von Maur would be on the west side. I have seen more things done where space is tight that people said never could be done, and presto, they do it.

The problem with the Belk at Phipps Plaza which is 170,000 sq. feet and a perfect fit for Von Maur,is that many people in this area which as I said in an earlier post above has one of the 10 wealthiest zip codes in the nation, may be shopping at Belk, but it has hurt Phipps Plaza tremendously. The mall is 100% leased except for the two level Belk wing where for example, the entire left side facing Lenox Road is boarded up with drywall except for United Colors of Benetton, and on the right side two retailers have been lost. This space would probably rent in a flash if it were a Von Maur, and probably to several upscale or even luxury retailers, most of which have chosen Lenox Square over Phipps Plaza because they have openly said that they do not want to be on "That Belk Wing." So people in North Atlanta do not have the familarity to Belk that Charlotte does. Many Atlantans that live in Buckhead, which has one of the 10 wealthiest zip codes in the nation, and tourist see this as what they have heard, that it is a low end department store and only the trailer park trash shop there.

And once again ct36, if you are so happy with South Park, why not stay there, and not even make your trips to Atlanta where as a teenager you claim to shop in some of the most luxury oriented retailers for your ready-to-wear and accessories. I just wonder where is a 15 year old high school kid getting all this money to spend, except maybe mommy and daddy?

[Mellophonius]

This space would probably rent in a flash if it were a Von Maur, and probably to several upscale or even luxury retailers, most of which have chosen Lenox Square over Phipps Plaza because they have openly said that they do not want to be on "That Belk Wing." So people in North Atlanta do not have the familarity to Belk that Charlotte does. Many Atlantans that live in Buckhead, which has one of the 10 wealthiest zip codes in the nation, and tourist see this as what they have heard, that it is a low end department store and only the trailer park trash shop there.

The only reason people believe that is because that misrepresentation is being perpetuated and repeated. If people just go in there and look around, they'll realize they're wrong about the place.

And once again ct36, if you are so happy with South Park, why not stay there, and not even make your trips to Atlanta where as a teenager you claim to shop in some of the most luxury oriented retailers for your ready-to-wear and accessories. I just wonder where is a 15 year old high school kid getting all this money to spend, except maybe mommy and daddy?

You seriously need to stop being so rude to this guy. Rudeness delegitimizes your argument. No one (myself included) will be inclined to take you seriously if you spend your time being rude to people. I didn't see you defend against his statements concerning Belk's high-end brands, or the in-store Gucci boutique, or anything else. Your opposition to Belk can be boiled down to a simple statement: "Rich people don't like Belk because they think only poor people shop there." Trust me, if Belk didn't think they could do well at Phipps, they would have closed the location rather than make it a flagship store. Yes, image is important and I do believe Belk should have used a different name for their high-end stores, but the people in "one of the 10 wealthiest zip codes in the nation" just need to be a little more open-minded and go see the Phipps Belk for themselves.

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

Look Mellophonius or whatever you damn name is. You need to stay out of that issue with ct36. He has showed his real side more than one time, in fact, I have quit counting. It all started when Dolce&Gabbana quoted him calling "Lenox Square a dump", then he changes it after it has already been quoted and says he does not mean that, and then starts babbling about the floor tile not matching. I tried to explain that is the mid 90's the mixture of drywall, then a section that looked industrial was popular for that time and the architects delivered on what Corporate Property Investers of New York wanted, since they owned Lenox Square, and we the shoppers had no say so, then in 1998 Simon bought Lenox Square from CPI, and Phipps Plaza from the Equitable RIET, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of The United States was still in existance before an Austrailian Insurance Company named Axxis bought the Equitable. The sale of both of these malls totaled $ 1.7 Billion, one of the largest mall(s) purchaces ever.

ct36 follows me around like he is stalking me, just to see if he can throw in a negative or smart alec comment, and I really am getting tired of this. If he leaves me alone fine, if not, then my next conversation will be with Neo.

[101_ce]

Look Mellophonius or whatever you damn name is. You need to stay out of that issue with ct36. He has showed his real side more than one time, in fact, I have quit counting. It all started when Dolce&Gabbana quoted him calling "Lenox Square a dump", then he changes it after it has already been quoted and says he does not mean that, and then starts babbling about the floor tile not matching. I tried to explain that is the mid 90's the mixture of drywall, then a section that looked industrial was popular for that time and the architects delivered on what Corporate Property Investers of New York wanted, since they owned Lenox Square, and we the shoppers had no say so, then in 1998 Simon bought Lenox Square from CPI, and Phipps Plaza from the Equitable RIET, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of The United States was still in existance before an Austrailian Insurance Company named Axxis bought the Equitable. The sale of both of these malls totaled $ 1.7 Billion, one of the largest mall(s) purchaces ever.

ct36 follows me around like he is stalking me, just to see if he can throw in a negative or smart alec comment, and I really am getting tired of this. If he leaves me alone fine, if not, then my next conversation will be with Neo.

I'm sorry. It's obviously that I am not welcome here. I'm sorry you refuse to be friends and make me seem so bad. Also, I am sorry that you think that I try to stalk you (which is obviously not the case), or make a "negative or smart alec comment". The post did not go through, so I made a different one and realized I was being too hard on Lenox. But it was too late. I'm sorry that I ever trusted you or even became friends with you at one point if you want to act like this. I'm definitely not stalking you though considering I really don't like you. Atlanta is a nice place. and I do like Lenox. Can you please find where I was being rude or negative? Because I can only seem to find one, which didn't appear to go through. So, naturally, I just assume that it will not be posted and forget about it.

Mellphonius:

Thanks and I agree with you 100%. I will miss having any more chances to talk to you.

[Mellophonius]

Look Mellophonius or whatever you damn name is. You need to stay out of that issue with ct36. He has showed his real side more than one time, in fact, I have quit counting.

ct36 follows me around like he is stalking me, just to see if he can throw in a negative or smart alec comment, and I really am getting tired of this. If he leaves me alone fine, if not, then my next conversation will be with Neo.

I haven't seen anything to suggest he's stalking you or throwing in negative comments. In fact, in this conversation I've seen more negativity from you than anyone else. If you weren't so harsh on him there wouldn't be an "issue." You both are obviously interested in retail, urban development, and the other topics of this forum, so why can't you just get along and respect each other's opinions? Whether or not he called Lenox a "dump" is irrelevant. He should be able to call it whatever he wants. Your explanation about the technical history behind Lenox's appearance is also irrelevant. Sure, it justifies your opinion on the place, but that doesn't mean no one can have a differing opinion. You need to stop being so harsh on people with differing opinions.

I'm sorry. It's obviously that I am not welcome here. I'm sorry you refuse to be friends and make me seem so bad. Also, I am sorry that you think that I try to stalk you (which is obviously not the case), or make a "negative or smart alec comment". The post did not go through, so I made a different one and realized I was being too hard on Lenox. But it was too late. I'm sorry that I ever trusted you or even became friends with you at one point if you want to act like this. I'm definitely not stalking you though considering I really don't like you. Atlanta is a nice place. and I do like Lenox. Can you please find where I was being rude or negative? Because I can only seem to find one, which didn't appear to go through. So, naturally, I just assume that it will not be posted and forget about it.

Mellphonius:

Thanks and I agree with you 100%. I will miss having any more chances to talk to you.

Thank you, and don't let this guy chase you away from this forum. Just ignore him if he keeps getting onto you.

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

You know, now it seems everyone is ganging up on me, but ct36 has made some mistakes, you have made some mistakes Mellophonium, but then so have I. I have been thinking about this for some time now and I guess I was just hurt that my friend ct36 would dis Lenox Square. It has its pluses and minuses like any other retail center. I thought I would never do this but here goes:

ct, I am sorry for all the things I said that might have made you angry or hurt with me. I know you are very knowledgeable in retail and I am amazed that you know about what I did when I was your age. We had a super friendship going, and we both were wrong in some of the things we posted. I am going to look in the front windshield and drive forward and never look back into the rearview mirror. I feel as human beings we all deserve a second chance, so I welcome your friendship, and I want to be friends with you again, and I will add you to my friends list, and I hope you will do the same. You really are a cool guy ct!!

And Mellophonius, I am also sorry if I said anything that made you angry, upset, or even said anything that was hurtfull. I would like to call you a friend to, and yes I am one of the ones that has seen the Phipps Plaza Belk, and actually like the company. It is not Belk's fault that all that boarded up space is sitting there on the belk wing. That is a problem with Simon Properties and their leasing department. I actually do quite a bit of shopping at the Belk at The Shoppes At River Crossing when I travel down to Macon to see my brother, and I also feel more comfortable in Belk there than I do the Dillard's store. So if it is ok, I will also add you as a friend. You somehow helped me to open up my mind and see some things in me that I did not even know. Maybe I should quit hanging out so much with some of my stuck up Buckhead friends.

My brother in Macon graduated from college in Millegeville and it has some of the most beautiful mansions I have ever seen. Now can we all just start over and be friends? ct, I am sorry I let you down, it will not happen again, I promise.

[george]

though i was going to have open a can on all three of you.

[101_ce]

I'm really happy to hear that! I am sorry for the negative things that I said and am extremely happy to be friends with you again! I'm very grateful that you decided to give me a second chance and I will definitely forgive you and I'm very glad that you forgave me!

[Kenneth Disraili-Jean]

Oh ct, I am so happy!!! I sure have missed your friendship!! You are really cool and we do indeed know our retail. So thanks ct, and from now on if there is an issue, we will use the PM system and resolve it then and there. Good friendships are hard to come by these days, so I will not ever act like this again. I was in a lot of emotional pain having to strike back at you, when I really did not want to. I am so glad this boulder has been lifted!!! Thank you for your friendship ct, I will not let you down again!

Thank you George for caring about us, we are greatful. Oh, that reminds me, my brother took a photo of Parisian and part of the mall being demolished. I will try to post it in the Macon Mall thread tomorrow.

[101_ce]

I hope we don't, either!

I saw the video on a (Macon news) website of the Belk at River Crossing a few years ago and it's really nice!

The Belk in Asheville has been renovated on level one and now has a huge women's shoe department. Oddly enough, I think it feels about the same size or even larger than the shoe department at Belk SouthPark (336,000 square feet) and even Macy's at Lenox (433,000 square feet), and it's just 156,000 square feet

Anyways, I would love to see:

The roof resurfaced or something in the Plaza part of the mall

New flooring throughout the mall

A complete new food court

Have the back part of the mall near Bloomingdale's that looks old match the front of the mall.

Lenox has great stores but it isn't the most attractive mall I've ever been to (that would be the Mall at Millenia). But considering how much money it makes and how nice the stores are it's a shame that Simon doesn't invest any money in it anymore. I think after 5 years of pretty much no renovations and A LOT of luxury store opening, 2012 will see a Lenox Renovation

Perimeter:

New flooring

The exterior of the mall looks old. It reminds me of Haywood mall from the way it looks, but Perimeter looks better on the exterior (only from the lifestyle center, Nordstrom, and Dillard's) but the interior looks better at Haywood IMO. I have no idea why, but Perimeter used to have nice hardwood on level 2 (in the main part of the mall, saw an older picture, at least I think) but in March when I went it had been replaced with carpet! I mean carpet is nice in hotel hallways and such but I just don't like them in a mall.

I don't think they should put a Sears at the Mall of Georgia, though. The Gwinnett Place store is doing well I've heard, so I don't want that mall to be killed off. Besides, Sears as a company has been doing very poorly. The only time I've actually seen more than 10 people in the entire store in Asheville or at the Haywood Mall was only Black Friday last year. Every other time, even tax free weekend, there were less than that. But then again, I'm only in Sears for maybe twice a year. The problem is that you can buy better or similar products everywhere else in the mall, Best Buy, etc. TBH there's hardly a reason for anyone to go there anymore. It's sad because the people who work there are always really nice, so I'd hate to see them out of a job. They kind of set themselves up for failure though building all those huge stores (our Sears is 225,000 square feet.....and never has more than 10 people normally).