Downtown Raleigh courts H&M

[JDC]

That's really great. Whenever we go home my girlfriend always has to make an appearance at the local H&M.

[hoobo]

Getting an H & M would be HUGE, bigger than landing a Nordstrom's or Saks. H & M is uberhip, cosmopolitan, chic, and don't just go anywhere. If Raleigh got one, it would signal that the city is hip, running with the big dogs. I think there is a good chance that Raleigh will get one, since the store has expanded aggressively throughout the Mid-Atlantic, particularly DC and Northern VA.

While we're out it, they should also lure Urban Outfitters downtown.

I wouldn't go that far in describing H&M. They've been expanding south and west from the Northeast. It's systematic. The farthest south they've reached so far is Virginia Beach. The farthest west is Chicago, although they do have four stores in the SF Bay Area. They don't even have a store in L.A., Vegas, or Miami.

Raleigh and Charlotte will get 1 or 2 H&M stores. The Triad is likely to get one too. But I would never put them ahead of Sak's as a retail coup since Sak's thrives on exclusivity while H&M thrives on economy of scale.

[foodpainter]

I just base my assumptions on the areas in Manhattan NYC where I saw H&M stores located.

Okay, but there's an H & M at the Short Pump mall in Richmond, which is typical mall-esque. so I don't think this retailer is exclusively committed to unique, urban locations.

[Redman84]

Never said it was exclusive to urban locations, however the article about H&M was saying that Downtown was courting the store, not Crabtree or Triangle Town Center. Given that information is why I would base my asumptions on what I have seen in Manhattan.

[DigitalSky]

Kudos to raleigh for getting an H&M, certainly a good thing for downtown retail

[DCMetroRaleigh]

What I meant is that if Raleigh got a hip, urban H & M like the ones in DC, it would mean more to me than the city getting a Nordstrom or Saks in a mall.

[Damien]

I was in Saks yesterday with my best friend and the salesperson we were chatting with said that the mens dept. is ranked number 4 in sales throughout all Saks, and the womens dept is ranked number 14 out of all Saks. If they can do that well here, then I should hope that H&M would have no problem.

[dmccall]

I was in Saks yesterday with my best friend and the salesperson we were chatting with said that the mens dept. is ranked number 4 in sales throughout all Saks, and the womens dept is ranked number 14 out of all Saks. If they can do that well here, then I should hope that H&M would have no problem.

That's really interesting. Of course with a name like that, I'm not surprised the men's section does well.

[bsutton1]

I wouldn't mind seeing a Niketown or Adidas store downtown. I don't think there is any kind of athletic retailer downtown, right?

[RaleighRob]

I wouldn't mind seeing a Niketown or Adidas store downtown. I don't think there is any kind of athletic retailer downtown, right?

None listed on the Downtown Raleigh Alliance website's shopping page. Closest I think is Cameron Village.

[ncwebguy]

A few of the stores on Wilmington sell some athletic apparel, but there is no Dicks/Champs/Foot Locker style store in the CBD.

Cameron Village has a small Athlete's Foot next to Blockbuster, but that is it. There was a Foot Locker on Hillsborough Street a long time ago, but it was really small. There is a dancewear store going into Seaboard, but that is a different market.

I think the Triangle is not close to getting a Niketown, which tend to rely on a large, affluent citizen base plus tourists. Nike does have close ties to Duke and UNC, so anything is possible, maybe in downtown Durham or Southpoint. I don't know if addidas has a store concept or not, even though other athletic shoe makers New Balance (with stores in Pleasant Valley and SouthPoint), Fila, and Puma (both in SouthPark in Charlotte) do.

It is good to see the local mens department hold its own against other Saks, especially since they seem to offer little other than shoes and a few racks. Or is that a typical offering?

The old Lord & Taylor location at Crabtree might hold an H&M, but Macy's holds the lease there. And there were remodel sketches that showed the anchor space going away.

[RaleighRob]

The old Lord & Taylor location at Crabtree might hold an H&M, but Macy's holds the lease there.

Yeah, before that article from the N&O came out referring to downtown, I was thinking the same thing. So it was certainly a bit of a surprise to find out Crabtree isn't trying to get H&M but downtown is.

[StevenRocks]

A few of the stores on Wilmington sell some athletic apparel, but there is no Dicks/Champs/Foot Locker style I think the Triangle is not close to getting a Niketown, which tend to rely on a large, affluent citizen base plus tourists. Nike does have close ties to Duke and UNC, so anything is possible, maybe in downtown Durham or Southpoint. I don't know if addidas has a store concept or not, even though other athletic shoe makers New Balance (with stores in Pleasant Valley and SouthPoint), Fila, and Puma (both in SouthPark in Charlotte) do.

It is good to see the local mens department hold its own against other Saks, especially since they seem to offer little other than shoes and a few racks. Or is that a typical offering?

The old Lord & Taylor location at Crabtree might hold an H&M, but Macy's holds the lease there. And there were remodel sketches that showed the anchor space going away.

Niketown isn't coming to the Triangle anytime soon, mostly because Nike isn't building as many of them as they used to. Neither is Adidas. I can't totally rule either of them out, because you never know in retail, but it's lees than likely.

The Lord & Taylor situation is beyond frustarting. Federated is scared of anything new taking sales away form Macy's, so they're holding on to the space for spite. They're probably hoping thr mall will buy out their lease at a premium, and they're willing to sit on the space unless they get a deal they like.

[ncsugrad204]

I agree that federated is being stingy witht that prime peace of the mall because of competition . However I also beleive that the only store that makes sense for the mall that would even take consideration into the spot and that is nordstrom. I just got back form NYC today and it was busy and crazy as usual. I saw the article on H&M in the paper and it said they have a hundred stores in the US. WELL about 90 of them must be in NYC. they were around every cornor. My wife loves them and i just showed her the article and she was so happy. I hope we do get them because they are trendy and very afforable. It will not cure downtown but it would be a start

[jednc]

I was just in San Francisco last week. I passed one of their H & M's and it was packed. I think it would do wonders for downtown Raleigh. Good luck with landing this.

[JerseyBoy]

I agree that federated is being stingy witht that prime peace of the mall because of competition wacko.gif . However I also beleive that the only store that makes sense for the mall that would even take consideration into the spot and that is nordstrom.

Bloomingdale's perhaps?

[TravisNC]

The Lord & Taylor situation is beyond frustarting. Federated is scared of anything new taking sales away form Macy's, so they're holding on to the space for spite. They're probably hoping thr mall will buy out their lease at a premium, and they're willing to sit on the space unless they get a deal they like.

I had been wondering why Federated wouldn't sell the store back to the mall owners considering they seem to be doing that at every other mall where their stores overlap. But that's a good explanation. Maybe when Plaza Associates figures out what they want do to the space if they buy it or if they get a serious tenant lined up, they will up their offer.

[Damien]

It is good to see the local mens department hold its own against other Saks, especially since they seem to offer little other than shoes and a few racks. Or is that a typical offering?

When the TTC Saks first opened they had D&G and Cavalli in the men's department. While I was in there Sunday the salesperson said they no longer carried those lines for men which leads me to believe that it is mostly white collar types shopping there and not the trendy hip young men.

[shrek05]

H & M is uberhip, cosmopolitan, chic, and don't just go anywhere. If Raleigh got one, it would signal that the city is hip, running with the big dogs.

Yes H&M is hip and popular and CHEAP<--- main appeal, it is as said, not very exclusive. It hasnt expanded much because its only been in the American market for a short time. It already has over 100 locations in New England + Mid Atlantic and they are slowly creeping to other regions. It will only be a matter of time before H&M is as common as Gap (cuz in Europe, H&M is definitely everywhere).

When the TTC Saks first opened they had D&G and Cavalli in the men's department. While I was in there Sunday the salesperson said they no longer carried those lines for men which leads me to believe that it is mostly white collar types shopping there and not the trendy hip young men.

The Triangle Town Center doesnt carry many brands because the store there doesnt do particularly well. Thus, it stocks lower-priced brands to appeal to the more money-conscience, but brand-appealed shoppers.

[ewt]

I'm not sure I see H&M coming here in a downtown location. Most of their non-city stores are in malls. *If* they went downtown or the mall, it would be a much smaller space that that Lord and Taylor spot or Jillians. Only their flagship stores have sq footage even close to that. Its likely to be only a little larger than the Gap at Crabtree in terms of sq. footage.

There seems to a reluctance for a lot of stores to come to this area and I don't understand why. My hometown in the midwest of only about 100,000 people consistently gets things like IKEA, H&M, Trader Joe's etc far more quickly than this area does. Why is that?

[RaleighRob]

^I think people who run fashion-oriented stores that are based out of NYC and other big cities think "WalMart" when they think of the South's buying preferences.

But if Raleigh has gotten Saks and Durham has Nordstrom, you'd think that H&M would say, "you know if they can afford those clothes, they sure as heck can afford ours!".

As far as downtown vs mall, it depends if they city Raleigh as a city or just another suburban area. Let's hope the downtown alliance is able to prove to them that we're a city...and that downtown has enough of those "young hip urban" customers that H&M thrives on. Just show them pics of Glenwood South on a Saturday night or Moore Square on First Friday and that should convince them!

[ncwebguy]

RE: Saks TTC, which of these statements is true?

- The TTC mens and womens sections are #4 and #14 among Saks stores

or

- The Triangle Town Center doesn't carry many brands because the store there doesnt do particularly well.

They might both be true -- TTC does well because it carries lower priced brands. The fact that they don't carry brands they used to when the store first opened points to that.

This would make the area all the more attractive to H&M, an area with fashion concious shoppers not looking to throw all kinds of money into their wardrobe. Crowd building events like Alive after five, Raleigh Downtown Alive, Artsplosure, etc. show the size of the potential market downtown. Right now there is a game of chicken to see who makes that first step into the CBD.

The downtown alliance was set up to create the momentum so it needs to step up to the plate and do something. Former alliance president Margaret Mullen said F Street should be reopened because she had a list of retailers that would move downtown if/when that happened. She never disclosed any names because they didn't want to disclose their future expansion plans. Where is that list now? Did she take it with her? Or did it never exist?

[raleightransplant]

I think the area is just starting to come in to it's own--which would explain how some popular stores are now beginning to enter the market. I don't think they would think "WalMart" when thinking of the South (especially North Carolina, Atlanta, etc.)....there are tons of people relocating down south so I'm sure they're aware of the demographics, etc. If people around the country have taken notice of the Triangle over the past decade or two--I would think these folks would be VERY aware.

[Damien]

RE: Saks TTC, which of these statements is true?

- The TTC mens and womens sections are #4 and #14 among Saks stores

or

- The Triangle Town Center doesn't carry many brands because the store there doesnt do particularly well.

They might both be true -- TTC does well because it carries lower priced brands. The fact that they don't carry brands they used to when the store first opened points to that.

This would make the area all the more attractive to H&M, an area with fashion concious shoppers not looking to throw all kinds of money into their wardrobe. Crowd building events like Alive after five, Raleigh Downtown Alive, Artsplosure, etc. show the size of the potential market downtown. Right now there is a game of chicken to see who makes that first step into the CBD.

The downtown alliance was set up to create the momentum so it needs to step up to the plate and do something. Former alliance president Margaret Mullen said F Street should be reopened because she had a list of retailers that would move downtown if/when that happened. She never disclosed any names because they didn't want to disclose their future expansion plans. Where is that list now? Did she take it with her? Or did it never exist?

The sales ranks were told to me by a store associate when I was in there last week. I don't have any link to back that statement up though. Some retailers have the entire line of their merch. in new stores and use the sales data from that to determine what sells best so they know what to send in the future. I don't think it has much to do with the pricing though. If that were the case the expensive suits wouldn't have such a huge selection when compared to the selection in the casual/street wear section.

[StevenRocks]

A News & Observer article from last year about Saks in Raleigh confirms the store is doing well:

Shoppers have flocked to the store's Louis Vuitton boutique. They've gobbled up premium denim. And they've enjoyed the selection of Juicy Couture so much, Ali had to move out a mock living room in the contemporary department to make more space for Juicy.

The joy of Saks