SouthPark Mall

[mallguy]

I have bought stuff at Prada and the prices are so outrageous that I don't see it being a store that would attract a lot of traffic in Charlotte at least among people who would actually spend money there; it would be more of a browser's destination if it actually came. Thus I don't see Prada coming. I'd rather have something else- A/X would be perfect.

[veggieboifl]

Greetings everyone. I am originally from Charlotte and now live in South Florida. I have just been reading some the threads here and thought i woudl share some information with you. Bloomingdales will not be opening in Charlotte anytime soon. I see that a few of you seem to think so . This is incorrect unfortunately. I work for Bloomingdales and they have no current interest in the Charlotte market for a Bloomingdales location. I can report to you that although Bloomingdales will not be opening Macy's will be considered a major market for Macy's and for Federated Inc. As an employee of Fedreated and of Bloomingdales were in contstant communication of whats goin on within the company. As you probabaly alyeady knwo by know all of the Hechts will be changed over to Macy's.You can expect to see some great changes take place at all of the Charlotte locations. Especially at Southpark! For any currect Hechts employees, dont worry. The changes will be for the best for you and the Charlotte market! Please feel free to ask me any questions

[Miesian Corners]

Macy's, Belk, Hect's, Dillard's...is there really any difference? They all sell exactly the same stuff. Can't really get excited about Macy's.

[DigitalSky]

Macy's, Belk, Hect's, Dillard's...is there really any difference? They all sell exactly the same stuff. Can't really get excited about Macy's.

yeah what it all boils down to, is that there really isn't distinctiveness between them

Edited February 8, 2006 by cantnot

[StevenRocks]

Macy's, Belk, Hect's, Dillard's...is there really any difference? They all sell exactly the same stuff. Can't really get excited about Macy's.

What's the difference? At SouthPark it boils down to a few things:

Belk

pros - Easily the most upscale of the three existing anchors mentioned. If you want cosmetics, china or real designer apparel, go to Belk. It's got a restaurant, coffee bar and wine & specialty foods department along with an optical department, fur salon, optical department and formalwear rental store.

cons - Housewares (outside of china) is marginal, though better than Dillard's

Dillard's

pros - The main strength of Dillard's is women's apparel and shoes. Aside from Nordstrom, they have the best women's shoe variety and more conservative, dressy apparel than the other stores mentioned. They also have the best fragrance department in the mall for both sexes.

cons - Juniors and Housewares are horrible.

Hecht's

pros - Their home departments easy trump all of the competition. Only store with a furniture department. Good store hours and frequent discounts also.

cons - Apparel is a sore sport. Bordering on bland.

[Temeteron]

Greetings everyone. I am originally from Charlotte and now live in South Florida. I have just been reading some the threads here and thought i woudl share some information with you. Bloomingdales will not be opening in Charlotte anytime soon. I see that a few of you seem to think so . This is incorrect unfortunately. I work for Bloomingdales and they have no current interest in the Charlotte market for a Bloomingdales location. I can report to you that although Bloomingdales will not be opening Macy's will be considered a major market for Macy's and for Federated Inc. As an employee of Fedreated and of Bloomingdales were in contstant communication of whats goin on within the company. As you probabaly alyeady knwo by know all of the Hechts will be changed over to Macy's.You can expect to see some great changes take place at all of the Charlotte locations. Especially at Southpark! For any currect Hechts employees, dont worry. The changes will be for the best for you and the Charlotte market! Please feel free to ask me any questions

[DigitalSky]

I guess this also probably means the Lord & Taylor spot in Raleigh won't be a Bloomingdale's either.

[NCMike1981]

^I had thought about saying that as well...I doubt it will be replaced with anything thrilling...

[kickazzz2000]

Haha. And what a store it is.

This is why CD stores now carry and often rent DVDs as well. Of course there are still those of us who prefer to have the actual product in hand to keep CD stores in business.

I want a SonyStyle

[veggieboifl]

Federated Depaertment stores has decided to divest the Lord & Taylor stores. Wich means teh stores will either become a Macy's or close. If there is already a Hechts currently at that mall it will become a Macys so therefore the Lord & Taylor will close.

[StevenRocks]

I don't think that Macy's SouthPark will be disappointing. Why would the largest department store chain in America put up a crap store at SouthPark with all that competition? They'd get killed!

[DigitalSky]

While it won't be a Bloomie's, Macy's SouthPark should be awesome

[veggieboifl]

The Southaprk Macys shoudl be a great store. As I have said in th past Federated Inc. has said that the Charlotte market will be a major market. You shouls see some additional remodeling, etc. within the store to fit the Macys standards.T

[DigitalSky]

As I have said in th past Federated Inc. has said that the Charlotte market will be a major market. You shouls see some additional remodeling, etc. within the store to fit the Macys standards.T

Could this mean Macy's is seriously looking to be an anchor tenant at Bridges at Mint Hill... and possibly opening a more-urban theme store for Eastland? If they did that, it would be really good for that mall.

[NCMike1981]

So veggieboifl Federated has no plans to open Bloomingdales anywhere in the Carolinas?

on a side note is Bloomingdales more on the level of Nordstrom, or is it closer to Saks, or is it up on the same level as Neiman Marcus. I'm assuming that Nordstrom is the less affluent of the 3, then Saks is in the middle and Neiman Marcus is on top, although maybe Saks/Neimans are on the same level, I've never been in a Neiman Marcus to compare it to anything.

[zt456]

So veggieboifl Federated has no plans to open Bloomingdales anywhere in the Carolinas?

on a side note is Bloomingdales more on the level of Nordstrom, or is it closer to Saks, or is it up on the same level as Neiman Marcus. I'm assuming that Nordstrom is the less affluent of the 3, then Saks is in the middle and Neiman Marcus is on top, although maybe Saks/Neimans are on the same level, I've never been in a Neiman Marcus to compare it to anything.

I would say that Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom are pretty much on the same level. Then Saks and Neiman share the same level of most upscale department store.

[DigitalSky]

yeah I agree^

[atlrvr]

It really depends on what market/location you are in. The Bloomie's in SoHo is as high-end as the Atlanta Neiman, while the Raleigh Sak's, is pretty comparable to the Charlotte Nordstrom's, in my opinion.....all brands have higher profile stores with higher quality merchandise, typically in larger markets.

[StevenRocks]

Generally, Saks and Neiman-Marcus are considered similar, and Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's are considered similar. But, as was stated before, it depends on the market.

[mallguy]

At least in NYC, the ranking is:

1 Bergdorf Goodman (owned by Neiman Marcus): king of the hill; its clothes are beautiful but obscenely expensive ($300+ shirts are common there)

2 Saks Fifth Avenue: A bit below Bergdorfs, although the clothes are still beautiful; somewhat more conservative and Brooks Brothers-like than Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf's

3 Bloomingdale's: A bit below Saks, although still very expensive; way more stylish and upscale than Macy's. Bloomingdale's = Ted Baker; Macy's = mid-market Polo at best.

4 [i would put Nordstrom at least somewhat below both Manhattan Bloomingdales]

5 Lord & Taylor: Kind of like the Nordstrom in Charlotte, although ghetto compared to Bloomingdales, Saks and Bergdorf's; clothes are kind of like Harold's or a nice Parisian, though with some high-end things such as $300+ Gucci and Ferragamo shoes scattered among Kenneth Cole and worse ones

6 Macys: Somewhat below L&T, although if the Manhattan Macy's were in a mall in Charlotte, it would be considered somewhat upscale

Also, Federated's divestiture of Lord & Taylor doesn't necessarily mean that L&T stores will close; hopefully they will be sold, although I'm concerned that the stores perform so poorly outside of NYC that their value is their real estate. I buy most everything at L&T and would be devastated if the chain folded.

Edited February 11, 2006 by mallguy

[DigitalSky]

At least in NYC, the ranking is:

1 Bergdorf Goodman (owned by Neiman Marcus): king of the hill; its clothes are beautiful but obscenely expensive ($300+ shirts are common there)

2 Saks Fifth Avenue: A bit below Bergdorfs, although the clothes are still beautiful; somewhat more conservative and Brooks Brothers-like than Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf's

3 Bloomingdale's: A bit below Saks, although still very expensive; way more stylish and upscale than Macy's. Bloomingdale's = Ted Baker; Macy's = mid-market Polo at best.

4 [i would put Nordstrom at least somewhat below both Manhattan Bloomingdales]

5 Lord & Taylor: Kind of like the Nordstrom in Charlotte, although ghetto compared to Bloomingdales, Saks and Bergdorf's; clothes are kind of like Harold's or a nice Parisian, though with some high-end things such as $300+ Gucci and Ferragamo shoes scattered among Kenneth Cole and worse ones

6 Macys: Somewhat below L&T, although if the Manhattan Macy's were in a mall in Charlotte, it would be considered somewhat upscale

Also, Federated's divestiture of Lord & Taylor doesn't necessarily mean that L&T stores will close; hopefully they will be sold, although I'm concerned that the stores perform so poorly outside of NYC that their value is their real estate. I buy most everything at L&T and would be devastated if the chain folded.

That's a good breakdown mallguy.

[StevenRocks]

5 Lord & Taylor: Kind of like the Nordstrom in Charlotte, although ghetto compared to Bloomingdales, Saks and Bergdorf's; clothes are kind of like Harold's or a nice Parisian, though with some high-end things such as $300+ Gucci and Ferragamo shoes scattered among Kenneth Cole and worse ones

6 Macys: Somewhat below L&T, although if the Manhattan Macy's were in a mall in Charlotte, it would be considered somewhat upscale

The Lord & Taylor in Manhattan isn't ghetto compared to Bloomingdale's. It's a little worn, but it's still a very nice store. The restaurant is very good, and the fur salon is cool.

Also, Macy's is about as upsacle as a 1.2 million square foot tourist attraction can afford to be. They do have a Louis Vuitton counter these days and a lot of brands that are considered pretty swanky, though they don't have the couture collections that Bloomingdale's, Saks, and Bergdorf Goodman have.

Edited February 11, 2006 by StevenRocks

[mallguy]

L&T is my favorite store, ever since Parisian in my hometown closed. The two have a lot of the same types of clothes. Still, I didn't realize how upscale Bloomingdale's is until I became a serious shopper a few years ago; "ghetto" is relative but L&T's store is just aging, and not too gracefully.

[StevenRocks]

Bloomingdale's does offer a lot of bang for the buck, but I like L&T Manhattan a lot, warts and all. It's kind of an "old lady" store; but it reminds me a lot of the old downtown stores near where I live, in a very New York kind of way, obviously.

Really, for what I like, going upscale is easier at Saks, Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman than Bloomingdale's. For menswear and home items, Bloomingdale's has a lot of the same things as Macy's. Saks, Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman tend to have a lot more exclusive and designer brands, and the prices aren't much worse when you compare apples-to-apples.

I like Bloomingdale's a lot, mind you, but those other stores tend to be a wee bit hotter

[veggieboifl]

Hi NCMIKE.......There are no plans to open any Bloomingdales in the Carolinas at this time. From what is being said within the compnay they plan to open just 3 within teh next two years. And as for how would you compare Bloomingdales with others stores such as Saks, Norstrom etc. ,Mall guy pretty much is correct.Bloomingdales liek to be in an area where the area has a little bit of trend to it. As you will find no Bloomingdales stores in Texas. We once had a store in Dallas and it closed very soon after its initial opening. Our newsest store in San Francisco will open later this year and will without doubt be a fabulous store. I work in the Boca Raton Bloomingdales. There are just a few Bloomingdales stores in Florida. There are 2 in Miami, Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, and Orlando. There are no stores on the west coast such as Tampa. My location is a huge store compared to certain other stores. My store is larger than the Belk @ Southpark. We are considered an A store behind New York , and Short Hills.

As for the Neiman Marcus that will open there in Charlotte later this year....It will be a very small store for a typick Neiman Marcus. Actually it will be the secound smallest in the Company behind Palm Beach.It will be a great store though. There is a Neimans at the mall that I work at...Town Center at Boca Raton.The manager from that store has actively tried to get me to come work there since its opening in November. From what I have heard from management it will be a nice location even though its size is much smaller.

Oh one last thing, you were wondering what are some of the designers that we carry....it all depends really on store loaction. We carry names anywhere from, Diesel, Salvatore Farragamo, Gucci, Prada, Jean Paul Gautier, Burberry, Sonya Rikel, Dana Buchman, Jospeh Abboud, etc,etc,etc. The list continues. Check out the Bloomingdales web site. Also in closing expect to see Macys furniture locations opening in the future.Have a great day!!!!