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Upscale retail


mallguy

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A lot of people at UNCC wear FCUK and A/X along with other brands. The only problem is that most students are from NC so the obviously drive far for these brands. I wear some A/X shirts, but i got them in Honolulu and Miami Beach. Also many students wearing these brands are international students so who knows. If the university has a strong base of people wearing these brands, then they should consider coming here.

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For the department stores fine......Charlotte might be ok right now.....but why is A/X, French Connection, Gucci, Club Monaco, Diesel, D&G, Versace, Zegna, Sony Style, Zara, True Religion, Miss Sixty, Energie, and other boutiques taking so long to come to Charlotte, when places like St. Louis, Kansas City, and Austin already have some of these? We're the 2nd biggest banking city in the US....im sure we can support more upscale retail boutiques at least!
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Let's see - I define Upscale as anything you can't normally afford. (i.e. anything at SouthPark anymore).

Walked around Charlotte's upscale mall about 2 times since it has been retooled and I find absolutely nothing worth buying. Of course, if you can afford to spend $200 for a pair of blue jeans that looks like it has been run over by a truck about 100 times.

I do have finer tastes and know that "you get what you pay for," but I truly think that Charlotte has too many upscale places for the population it currently has. All this talk about Saks and L&T...bah! I thought we were cool when Tiffany put a store in at SP. Now, its just like - oh well.

If all of these upscale places keep spreading themselves out, they will go the route of the Hard Rock cafe? Remember when it was THE place to go? Now there is one in every city. No "it" factor. No coolness to it anymore. It has become like another fast food place in front of the mall. And the food isn't worth what they charge.

But obviously, there are enough people who want to spend way too much money on looking like they belong in GQ; hence all of the stores in and around SP.

I can spend over $200 at Kohl's and still look fairly presentable when going out on the town. And that $200 will buy a whole heck of a lot more than a pair of jeans! :lol:

Like I mentioned, as long as this city can support having SP, Philips Place, Ballantyne and the like, there will be just as many Target's, Kohl's, JC Penny's and Belk's around for the rest of us. That is what makes a good marketplace.

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I'll give you that. It would be hard to locally support lines that don't have a local presence. Most of the upmarket retailers in town are fairly conservative. Though, you have to admit, there's a lot more contemporary sportswear in Charlotte (in a variety of price points) than there's been in years.

There are ways to push the envelope. and get these desired companies' attention.

One way is to contact the companies personally and express your desire to see them here. It's not the most foolproof method, but it never hurts. Another thing to do is to support these brands in nearby markets. If, for example, enough people were shopping at, say, the Energie/Miss Sixty strore in Georgetown or the A{sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}}X at Tysons Corner, from the Charlotte market to make affect their sales, they might consider offering their line to a local store or opening a boutique here.

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upscale really depends on the person. from someone in charlotte a/x and fcuk can be seen as upscale. in new york, chloe, christian louboutin, carolina, pucci, etc.

Well, actually, Atlanta is closer, and that's usually where I get my A/X and FCUK, and Sisley also.....unless I'm flying to Boston or somewhere....but you can only go out of town but so many times a year, I'm quite sure if A/X and any of these other not so expensive stores opened in Charlotte, they most likely will be the only location in the Carolinas. How can they not succeed? I see people wearing FCUK and A/X in Charlotte all the time!
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I really think that BOSS Hugo Boss would be a great fit.....so many jobs that require suits. They are the biggest surprise after Club Monaco, and maybe FCUK.

I agree that Charlotte is a long way from D&G or Zegna, besides, Zegna is already available at TRC and NM.

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Maybe Charlotteans just aren't sufficiently interested in cutting-edge fashion, whatever the price?

The standard Southern guy uniform is Levi's or khakis and a polo shirt and most of the stores at SouthPark don't deviate much from that. The only ones that do are Nordstrom, NM and some of the stores in their wings. Most of the rest of the mall is very traditional; whatever the price, there's not even an H&M or the like.

Certainly not knocking it, as preppy is good.

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Southpark would definitely qualify as upscale.

Other malls or areas that I have been to that would qualify would be Lenox in Atlanta, The Galleria in Houston (still the most awe-inspiring mall that i have ever entered), and North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Newbury Street, The Shops at Prudential Center , and Copley Place, all located in Boston.

I think by 2020 at the most, all major upscale department stores will be represented in the Charlotte area.
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DaAcheiver, I don't believe we'll see Barney's NYC at all, but Charlotte has been on the radar for the Barney's Co-op since the major Southpark Mall Overhaul began. But still, a Barney's NYC is pretty good wishful thinking in my opinion.

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Well, actually, Atlanta is closer, and that's usually where I get my A/X and FCUK, and Sisley also.....unless I'm flying to Boston or somewhere....but you can only go out of town but so many times a year, I'm quite sure if A/X and any of these other not so expensive stores opened in Charlotte, they most likely will be the only location in the Carolinas. How can they not succeed? I see people wearing FCUK and A/X in Charlotte all the time!
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I think there is a market for FCUK and A{sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}}X in Charlotte, but it's a small one, at least right now. Even in bigger markets with a fair amount of international and tourist traffic like Washington, FCUK has one store in Georgetown and A{sodEmoji.{sodEmoji.|}}X has one, maybe two locations. Neither has any plans to expand there that I know of. Brands like that are very fashion driven, and Charlotte doesn't tend to be a particurally fashion-driven.

SouthPark has made a lot of progress with the contemporary menswear, to be sure. It was fiercely traditional before the renovation, even a bit staid. Definately better now, store wise.

I could see Hugo Boss. they could make a go of it in Charlotte, definately.

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