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SouthPark Mall


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1 hour ago, Temeteron said:

Yes I agree whenever I passed by it was always empty.  I’ve shopped in the past from Emporio but as it is not in my price range it’s hard to go often.  The only stores that have been in the neiman wing since it opened that are still there are Louis Vuitton and Burberry.  The others have been in and out, in and out.  RIP Hermès, Juicy Couture,  Billy Reid, BCBG, Ralph Lauren, Vince Camuto, Emporio Armani, etc. 

I think each of those stores opened and closed with the rise and fall of their respective "trends." More specifically Hermes, Juicy, BCBG, and even Ralph Lauren. It seems the mall and the company tried to capitalize on trend relevance, and some, like Juicy, just disappeared. Others, like RL, were misinterpreted as a harbinger for more luxury shopping, even though customers go gaga over the polo label, a $500 sweater is not the same. 

Again, I think SouthPark is best served as a place for accessories and business fashion retail. St. John, Burberry, Louis Vuitton do a great amount of business as places to buy accessories or items for more conservative office attire. I think Ferragamo, Zegna, and Chanel could see some cache here as solely those carry-only stores. But I doubt we will see Gucci or anything currently "trendy."

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2 hours ago, Rufus said:

I think each of those stores opened and closed with the rise and fall of their respective "trends." More specifically Hermes, Juicy, BCBG, and even Ralph Lauren. It seems the mall and the company tried to capitalize on trend relevance, and some, like Juicy, just disappeared. Others, like RL, were misinterpreted as a harbinger for more luxury shopping, even though customers go gaga over the polo label, a $500 sweater is not the same. 

Again, I think SouthPark is best served as a place for accessories and business fashion retail. St. John, Burberry, Louis Vuitton do a great amount of business as places to buy accessories or items for more conservative office attire. I think Ferragamo, Zegna, and Chanel could see some cache here as solely those carry-only stores. But I doubt we will see Gucci or anything currently "trendy."

As much as I dislike it, I can’t wrap my head around why and how we don’t have a Gucci yet.  The new money clientele of Neiman Marcus are obsessed with that brand.  And Charleston has had a store for years!  

Edited by Temeteron
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Yeah, there’s no reason Charlotte cannot support a Gucci store if Charleston can. Burberry was going to close it’s Charlotte location a few years ago, but I guess they’re still holding on. The tenants SouthPark has attracted in recent years are almost embarrassing when looking at the stores that do not have a location in Charlotte or the entire state of NC. 

Not to mention the lack of offerings NM has - for men especially. 

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3 hours ago, TheOneRJ said:

Yeah, there’s no reason Charlotte cannot support a Gucci store if Charleston can. Burberry was going to close it’s Charlotte location a few years ago, but I guess they’re still holding on. The tenants SouthPark has attracted in recent years are almost embarrassing when looking at the stores that do not have a location in Charlotte or the entire state of NC. 

Not to mention the lack of offerings NM has - for men especially. 

Totally agree!  I have to go to Atlanta to find options.  I feel like SouthPark only caters to a certain style.  Either the very preppy basic white male, or the super flashy black male.  Very little in between.  We desperately need more European brands.  Can’t deal with these american designers; nothing fits right and everything is made in China.  

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15 hours ago, TheOneRJ said:

The new Tesla store seems to be an attraction. I’ve seen more people in it on my Snapchat than I ever seen anyone in Armani in person. 

Armani is a fashion brand in transition, facing fierce competition and declining sales worldwide (down -7% Year-Over-Year). They have consolidated lately from 7 labels to just 3 and have been closing stores to cut costs. Their sales started going south around 2015 and they haven't been able to hit consistent growth since then. That closely lines up with when the consumer "experience" and technology status economy really took off. Many affluent people are putting their money in a Tesla or talk about their vacation to Brunei as status symbols these days, while wearing a t-shirt and jeans to show how "down to earth" they are. Compound that with technology being a significant source of wealth in the country now, and you have tech CEO's making billions up there in a t-shirt and jeans presenting their products, rather than wearing Armani suits. 

It doesn't surprise me that Tesla would be drawing big crowds. The brand is hot, a status symbol, and growing rapidly. 

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2 hours ago, CLT2014 said:

Armani is a fashion brand in transition, facing fierce competition and declining sales worldwide (down -7% Year-Over-Year). They have consolidated lately from 7 labels to just 3 and have been closing stores to cut costs. Their sales started going south around 2015 and they haven't been able to hit consistent growth since then. That closely lines up with when the consumer "experience" and technology status economy really took off. Many affluent people are putting their money in a Tesla or talk about their vacation to Brunei as status symbols these days, while wearing a t-shirt and jeans to show how "down to earth" they are. Compound that with technology being a significant source of wealth in the country now, and you have tech CEO's making billions up there in a t-shirt and jeans presenting their products, rather than wearing Armani suits. 

It doesn't surprise me that Tesla would be drawing big crowds. The brand is hot, a status symbol, and growing rapidly. 

I definitely think there is still a bigger demand for luxury clothing, Charlotte just lacks in that department so people are settling with what we can get here. 

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Keep in mind that lots of sales happen in boutiques like Capitol, Paul Simon, Tabor, etc. 

Capitol is one of only six or eight boutiques in America allowed to carry the brand (Gucci), and the others are in places such as L.A. and Dallas.

It probably makes more sense for a brand like Gucci to move a lot of product through a channel like Capitol than open their own boutique because it's highly curated for the market. Yes, they're lacking a men's line there, but people who buy Gucci tend to travel and can visit a boutique elsewhere.

If it wasn't for the tourism, Charleston wouldn't have half the stores that they do. That's who buys, not locals.

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53 minutes ago, CLT> said:

Keep in mind that lots of sales happen in boutiques like Capitol, Paul Simon, Tabor, etc. 

Capitol is one of only six or eight boutiques in America allowed to carry the brand (Gucci), and the others are in places such as L.A. and Dallas.

It probably makes more sense for a brand like Gucci to move a lot of product through a channel like Capitol than open their own boutique because it's highly curated for the market. Yes, they're lacking a men's line there, but people who buy Gucci tend to travel and can visit a boutique elsewhere.

If it wasn't for the tourism, Charleston wouldn't have half the stores that they do. That's who buys, not locals.

That last statement is true maybe for Charlotte of 10 years ago but things are very different now.  There are a lot of locals that shop high end now moreso than before.  The challenge is trying to maintain a nice tenant selection in the mall while people continue to use online shopping more and more.  

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11 hours ago, CLT> said:

Keep in mind that lots of sales happen in boutiques like Capitol, Paul Simon, Tabor, etc. 

Capitol is one of only six or eight boutiques in America allowed to carry the brand (Gucci), and the others are in places such as L.A. and Dallas.

It probably makes more sense for a brand like Gucci to move a lot of product through a channel like Capitol than open their own boutique because it's highly curated for the market. Yes, they're lacking a men's line there, but people who buy Gucci tend to travel and can visit a boutique elsewhere.

If it wasn't for the tourism, Charleston wouldn't have half the stores that they do. That's who buys, not locals.

I think this highlights the Catch-22 of retail in this age, and why SouthPark might seem "struggling" to some: 

Online Retail vs Brick and Mortar is not that simple, especially when you have large companies with boutiques that don't have the regional shopping knowledge that a more curated, but smaller independent boutique might have. It's a tough line to walk. I would love a Gucci boutique, but not if it is going to fail after a year because they didn't know the market properly. That's what happened with Ralph Lauren and Hermes, basically. Honestly, an in-store Gucci at NM would be great. 

Charlotte is such a conservative (not politically but culturally) town. Hopes for Prada and Chanel, and the like are out of the realm of what Charlotte shoppers are really wanting. I could see a Ferragamo or Zegna here because of the suit culture they have. I think any other luxury brands should be confined to the department stores and independent retailers in the city, for now. Maybe a pop-up at the RNC could work Uptown though. 

I was recently doing a database mapping of "luxury" malls in the country, and I found that there are a lot of malls that have the same "entry-level luxury" retailers (i.e. Michael Kors, Coach, Tory Burch) and only like 10-15 malls nationally that have an even higher cache of retailers. Charlotte will never compete with Lenox/Phipps, Tysons, South Coast, Bal Harbor, or Gallerias of the country, but remaining competitive with places like Green Hills in Nashville, Cherry Creek in Denver, or the Domain in Austin is where it's at. Keep up with those, and make sure the department stores are remaining strong in their cast of brands is going to be the big step for the country and market. 

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2 minutes ago, Rufus said:

Same. That, South Coast Plaza, Americana Manhasset...I felt my wallet crying. 

I remember the first time I stumbled onto Americana Manhasset, I couldn't believe it was there. I had to rent a car and pick up a piece of furniture from Crate & Barrel. 

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49 minutes ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

I remember the first time I stumbled onto Americana Manhasset, I couldn't believe it was there. I had to rent a car and pick up a piece of furniture from Crate & Barrel. 

It's the most random place, and it's not even a mall by traditional standards. It's a strip mall that houses one of the highest collections of luxury retail in the world, and it's in the North Shore of LI. 

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