SouthPark Mall

[CLT2014]

1 hour ago, jordan704 said:

Scotch and Soda closed  

They declared bankruptcy in March and sold themselves to Bluestar Alliance management firm that has scooped up other struggling brands like Hurley, LimitedToo, Brookstone, et...

I'd expect a shift to online sales as primary mode for Scotch and Soda and numerous store closings as Bluestar tries to turn the brand around.

[ClassicColtrane]

1 hour ago, CLT2014 said:

They declared bankruptcy in March and sold themselves to Bluestar Alliance management firm that has scooped up other struggling brands like Hurley, LimitedToo, Brookstone, et...

I'd expect a shift to online sales as primary mode for Scotch and Soda and numerous store closings as Bluestar tries to turn the brand around.

Makes sense, and there's plenty of Scotch & Sode items in Nordstrom down the hall. 

[Temeteron]

2 hours ago, CLT2014 said:

They declared bankruptcy in March and sold themselves to Bluestar Alliance management firm that has scooped up other struggling brands like Hurley, LimitedToo, Brookstone, et...

I'd expect a shift to online sales as primary mode for Scotch and Soda and numerous store closings as Bluestar tries to turn the brand around.

Wtf they were only there for 1 year

[CLT2014]

45 minutes ago, Temeteron said:

Wtf they were only there for 1 year

They severely mismanaged their business coming out of the pandemic and ran into cash flow issues last year that they weren't able to recover from without selling out to Bluestar Alliance. Looks like Bluestar is starting to shut locations down, including Charlotte alongside their Georgetown DC store, Upper West Side NY, Chicago, Beverly Hills, Pacific Heights in San Francisco, Portland,  et.. that also closed as they try to turn the business around. Locations just closed overnight and I expect the list will be longer than this as hours of ops get updated on Google Maps, et. from the abrupt closings in markets.  

Simon may have also offered them an opportunity to get out in order to consolidate space for Zara. 

Edited May 11, 2023 by CLT2014

[nakers2]

6 hours ago, jordan704 said:

Scotch and Soda closed  

Bummer, my girlfriend bought a really nice jacket from there. 

[Rufus]

I'm having a hard time figuring out where Zara is going at the mall if it's going there at all. Aritzia is taking the massive space in the middle of the mall. There are 5 open retail spots (Vineyard Vines has closed), but they are all in different spots of the mall. Unless there is a major shifting of tenants, I just don't see it. 

Maybe some of you might know more. 

[CLTProductions]

2 hours ago, Rufus said:

I'm having a hard time figuring out where Zara is going at the mall if it's going there at all. Aritzia is taking the massive space in the middle of the mall. There are 5 open retail spots (Vineyard Vines has closed), but they are all in different spots of the mall. Unless there is a major shifting of tenants, I just don't see it. 

Maybe some of you might know more. 

There will be a bunch of moving around and new space, you wont be able to see it from the current map.

[Temeteron]

1 hour ago, CLTProductions said:

There will be a bunch of moving around and new space, you wont be able to see it from the current map.

I noticed that when I was there last week.  Seems like several stores have moved around including Swarovski.  Burberry remodeled and looks more open and bright.  There is a Thai place opening in the food court (yummy)

[Temeteron]

Omega, Aritzia and Alo Yoga are opening soon.  Also, Brahmin (the handbag store) has moved a few stores down from where it was.  I asked the lady working there why they moved and she said Louis Vuitton is expanding.  This is the 2nd time LV is expanding as they gobbled up the original Lacoste store that was next to them a few years back.  

[TheOneRJ]

According to permit plans a True Food Kitchen and Channel are headed to the mall. 

[Temeteron]

47 minutes ago, TheOneRJ said:

According to permit plans a True Food Kitchen and Channel are headed to the mall. 

Ugh trying to be like Lenox. So commercialized  I wonder where they are putting it. It’s usually a big spot 

[Rufus]

4 hours ago, TheOneRJ said:

Channel are headed to the mall. 

Ugh...I misread that and almost had a heart attack

[TheOneRJ]

3 hours ago, Rufus said:

Ugh...I misread that and almost had a heart attack

The permit spells it Channel and I didn’t realize it wasn’t spelled correctly until you pointed it out lol. Surely they meant Chanel.

[tozmervo]

8 hours ago, TheOneRJ said:

The permit spells it Channel and I didn’t realize it wasn’t spelled correctly until you pointed it out lol. Surely they meant Chanel.

Nah, the Chinese knock-off industry is now moving into brick and mortar. 

[TylerFerreroSorel]

Ralph Lauren, Rag & Bone, and La Vie Style House will all be opening boutiques this fall at Phillips Place - just got the email.

Ralph Lauren shuttered its doors at SouthPark a few years ago, so this is a big get for PP!

[Richhamleigh, DC]

On 3/16/2023 at 8:40 AM, TheOneRJ said:

ZARA’s first NC location to open at SouthPark Mall: https://www.businessinsider.com/zara-store-openings-renovations-us-list-2023-3?amp

In the same league as Baton Rogue now!

[Temeteron]

2 hours ago, Phillydog said:

In the same league as Baton Rogue now!

It’s all about real estate.  And a lot of these European companies have no clue about demographics.  They think that because it’s a state capital it deserves to have a location.  Lol

[CLT2014]

2 hours ago, Temeteron said:

It’s all about real estate.  

Exactly this. I think Zara has wanted to enter the market via SouthPark and there hasn't been a clear vacancy with the right amount of square footage to meet their needs without adding on / building. Given it is going to take until 2025 to get the store open at SouthPark, I think Simon is waiting until some current leases expire so they can not renew to create the desired space for Zara. I haven't been to SouthPark in a few weeks, but don't think there are any significant vacancies. 

Mall of Louisiana is all about the real estate opportunity working out. This two story location on the prime corner in that mall is vacant. Right in the sweet spot square footage wise for them, next to H&M, et. There isn't a spot like this at SouthPark that doesn't require Simon to move a lot of tenants (which is in flight). 

Edited August 30, 2023 by CLT2014

[KJHburg]

Charlotte may get a Saks 5th Avenue but at the expense of our Neiman Marcus.  NM is in talks to sell itself to Saks 5th Ave 

https://nypost.com/2023/08/28/neiman-marcus-in-talks-to-merge-with-luxury-archrival-saks-fifth-avenue-sources/?s=09

[Matthew.Brendan]

but will it have a casino?

https://www.6sqft.com/new-renderings-of-saks-fifth-avenue-casino-in-midtown/

[nakers2]

On 9/10/2023 at 3:03 PM, KJHburg said:

Charlotte may get a Saks 5th Avenue but at the expense of our Neiman Marcus.  NM is in talks to sell itself to Saks 5th Ave 

https://nypost.com/2023/08/28/neiman-marcus-in-talks-to-merge-with-luxury-archrival-saks-fifth-avenue-sources/?s=09

I think the Neiman Marcus does pretty good business does it not? Is Saks higher end? I'm not too in touch with that kind of stuff. 

[KJHburg]

1 hour ago, nakers2 said:

I think the Neiman Marcus does pretty good business does it not? Is Saks higher end? I'm not too in touch with that kind of stuff. 

There was a leveraged buyout a few years back and NM was loaded up with debt I think that is the reason. It would be sad to see that storied name disappear and maybe it wont. 

[nakers2]

6 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

There was a leveraged buyout a few years back and NM was loaded up with debt I think that is the reason. It would be sad to see that storied name disappear and maybe it wont. 

Would be cool to see a Saks finally in Charlotte, but I was always hopeful it might take the Macy's space. Of all the stores at South Park, especially among the anchor tenants, the Macy's feels like a small town dying mall location. Even the Dick's is at least held to a high standard. 

[Temeteron]

12 hours ago, nakers2 said:

Would be cool to see a Saks finally in Charlotte, but I was always hopeful it might take the Macy's space. Of all the stores at South Park, especially among the anchor tenants, the Macy's feels like a small town dying mall location. Even the Dick's is at least held to a high standard. 

The Macy*s at SP never felt like a Macy*s at all.  The men’s dept is god awful

[CLT2014]

2 hours ago, Temeteron said:

The Macy*s at SP never felt like a Macy*s at all.  The men’s dept is god awful

Eh, outside of the Northeast and a few flagship stores, a lot of Macy*s in this country are marginally nicer than a T.J.Maxx, with far worse prices. The conditions of Macy*s in very affluent markets like Beverly Hills, Scottsdale, et.. are pretty similar to SouthPark with stained ceiling tiles, broken floor tiles, stained brown carpet, and disorganized merchandise all over the place and par for the course for most of the brand.  The company's strategy has shifted away from investing in the physical Macy*s stores as they focus on Omni-Channel investments and improving their supply chain for online shopping. They also are focused on investing in off-mall locations and they don't have the cash on hand to invest in older stores that need to be refurbished like SouthPark, while also executing on their digital investments.

Macy's Inc is also bringing the Macy*s nameplate down market in their investor materials with an emphasis on their private labels like Alfani, Bar III, And Now This, et.. to improve margins as they compete against Target, T.J.Maxx, Amazon, et. and keeping focus on Bloomingdales as their upscale store that carries luxury  brands where people shop in person. Macy*s is also being refocused as an online store (convenience) that also has physical locations, while Bloomingdales is still positioned to focus on the in store experience. No investor materials associate Macy*s with luxury or premium any longer and they position the brand as solidly mass-middle. 

The core positioning statement Macy's Inc is using for the Macy*s brand and Bloomingdales brand are very different:

• "Macy*s offers a high-quality assortment of market and private brands created and curated to inspire our customers while providing them VALUE and seamless convenience." Big emphasis on "market" and "value"
• This contrasts to Bloomingdales that offers "Premium luxury designers to emerging contemporary labels and beloved private labels, in a space to discover and indulge in your own unique style."

Long story short, Macy*s at SouthPark won't be moving upscale. At the very least we can hope they might clean it up a bit or replace it with Bloomingdales. If it stays under the Macy*s name, expect the same private label mass-middle brands to grace the majority of the shelves. 

Edited September 22, 2023 by CLT2014