Baltimore retail

[urbanvb]

Nordstrom says no to downtown

Snub by chain prompts change in retail strategy

Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc. has abandoned its efforts to lure a traditional department store to the area; instead, it is concentrating solely on attracting specialty retailers to the city's core.

Kirby Fowler, president of the downtown business group, said that a recent influx of small retail businesses, the lack of large retail spaces locally and the consolidation in the department store industry have prompted the shift in strategy. And attempts to woo high-end department store chain Nordstrom were recently unsuccessful.

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[StevenRocks]

Nordstrom was a bit of a long shot anyway. The tourist and employment demographics are right, but the nearby population would probabaly make them antsy.

[urbanvb]

It still seems a bit surprising. I am not familiar with DT Baltimore but DT Norfolk has a Nordstorms - although I have heard rumors they were not doing that well. Since that time though DT Norfolk has had- and continues to have - a housing boom for upscale housing so that should help with sales and such.

[TennBear]

It still seems a bit surprising. I am not familiar with DT Baltimore but DT Norfolk has a Nordstorms - although I have heard rumors they were not doing that well. Since that time though DT Norfolk has had- and continues to have - a housing boom for upscale housing so that should help with sales and such.

Retail in downtown Baltimore is spotty. There are tourist shops and the like in the Inner Harbor and the Food Market and discount shops of the Western Downtown. There isn't a real downtown shopping area.

[orulz]

IIRC there's stuff like a Barnes & Noble on the harbor, plus a million little shops and restaurants.. and I seem to remember something that looked like a department store in one of the larger buildings on Pratt Street across from the harbor. I did not investigate further and I could be wrong, though.

[zt456]

Across the street from that Barnes & Noble is The Galleria with stores like Brooks Brothers, J. Crew, bebe, Ann Taylor, Aldo, Banana Republic and a Best Buy just opened up next door. Yeah we're no NYC when it comes to downtown shopping but we have some good stores.

[Mike D]

Nordstrom was a bit of a long shot anyway. The tourist and employment demographics are right, but the nearby population would probabaly make them antsy.

Nordstrom's has a store in Providence, which like Baltimore, fell from grace in the 60s and 70s and hit the bottom in the 80s and early 90s. And like Baltimore, Providence is going though an urban renwal phase. So if they (and Norfolk) can have a Nordstrom's, I don't see why Baltimore can't have one, especially given that other large retailers are there now.

[Southernyank]

URBAN OUTFITTERS TO HIT CITY'S HARBORPLACE

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore.../06/story4.html

[StevenRocks]

^Oh, that's awesome. I like Urban Outfitters.

[urbanvb]

Urban Outfitters delaying opening at Harborplace

City hipsters hoping to nab suede boots and funky bar attire at Baltimore's new Urban Outfitters will have to wait until March.

The retail store will not open at Harborplace this fall, as had been scheduled, because the 25-year-old building had some mechanical issues that delayed construction, Christopher S. Schardt, the store's general manager, said.

[bmorescottamanda]

Upscale grocer sought for city project

An upscale grocery store could come to the city's midtown as part of a $58 million apartment and retail complex to be built on a parking lot owned by the University of Baltimore.

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore...4603600^1380883