Is Charlotte ready for Bloomingdales?

[DigitalSky]

With Federated's buy out of May Company, do you think Charlotte could see a Bloomingdale's store out of it?

The city currently has two Hecht's stores, and one more on the way. Does anyone see it possible though that Hecht's at SouthPark could become Bloomingdales, and Northlake and Carolina Place stores become Macys?

[atlrvr]

Conceivable, but not likely.....the biggest reason is that the Hecht's at SP is over 200,000 feet......if it was around 120k-140k, then I would be more optimistic.

[StevenRocks]

Does anyone see it possible though that Hecht's at SouthPark could become Bloomingdales, and Northlake and Carolina Place stores become Macys?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I never thought about it. Certainly anything's possible but that seems a little unlikely. Don't get me wrong though; it would be awesome and it would really wake up that end of the mall in a way Macy's probably wouldn't.

[DigitalSky]

Conceivable, but not likely.....the biggest reason is that the Hecht's at SP is over 200,000 feet......if it was around 120k-140k, then I would be more optimistic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

why is that though? the square footage thing

[bret15]

Probably, considering the metro's growth, I'd consider it a strategic location.

[atlrvr]

Well, for example, the Bloomingdale's in Beverly Hills is 160,000 sq. ft......granted there are some stores around the country that are 200,000 sq. ft., but they are either in major markets or in major tourist destinations.....

Having a store of that size would require stocking it completely, and I doubt that Charlotte could support that many high-end clothes to justify it......I could be wrong though, and I certainly wouldn't mind if they did open at SP.

[waccamatt]

Honestly, Bloomingdales used to be "la creme de la creme" of department stores, but I went in the one in Atlanta recently and they were selling the same stuff everyone else was. They used to have the best merchandise AND the best merchandisING. I have moved out of the department stores and into locally owned men's shops. Most of the "upscale" department stores are the same now.

[StevenRocks]

I think the size issue is moot. That store can be expanded or truncated to whatever size it needs to be for Bloomingdale's, should one decide to come. More than likely all of the Hecht's interior and exterior would be ripped out anyway because Hecht's and Bloomingdale's don't look the same.

The merchandising would be the issue. Like waccamat was saying, I've heard from a couple of sources that Bloomingdale's Atlanta stores were sub-par merchandise wise, and if they screwed a market like Atlanta, I'd hate to think what a Charlotte store might look like. Of course, everything I know about the Atlanta stores is second hand information, so it may or may not be true.

Personally, I'd rather have a well-stocked Macy's than a badly put together Bloomingdale's, but as a Bloomingdale's shopper, I'd welcome it to SouthPark in whatever form.

[ChristianDean]

Bloomingdales DID used to be awesome, Now even their LA stores seemed to be pretty much a Macys with a different name now.

[StevenRocks]

After being an awesome Thalhimers, the SouthPark store was on auto-pilot for several years as Hecht's. Since Hecht's decided to raise thae bar, it's a vastly improved store. If Macy's can bring some excitement into the mix, it should do okay.

[alslex1]

I would think Charlotte could handle a Bloomingdales considering you already have Nordstrom. Nordstrom is very selective in deciding what markets they enter.(Nordstrom backed out of planned stores in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.) Also Nordstrom in today's retail world is much more hip than Bloomingdales. Every new mall/ lifestyle center wants to land a Nordstrom... no one really requests Bloomingdales. Not that I have anything against Bloomingdales, I went in one two weeks ago in Florida, very nice. However, Nordstrom seems to carry more bragging rights with it.

[StevenRocks]

Nordstrom is a little fresher than Bloomingdales, and their service is way better, but they both carry a lot of the same stuff.

[csedwards72]

The two Bloomingdale's in Manhattan (59th & Lex and SoHo) are about as expensive as Saks Fifth Avenue. As SFA's arrival in Charlotte seems not to be happening anytime soon, perhaps Federated will try to beat SFA and shut out Saks from coming into town by making the SouthPark Hecht's into a Bloomingdale's. Having Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus would probably take enough business that Saks wouldn't risk coming to town (especially to a non-SouthPark Mall location).

[StevenRocks]

I'm almost willing to bet the SouthPark Hecht's will become a Macy's. I can't see Bloomingdales coming there.

[HOTSPOTTNY]

I don't see what the big deal about Bloomingdales is...I shopped there all the time and they aren't that different from the Nordstrom's in south park and I wouldn't thnik that it is impossible to get a bloomindales there ....Neiman Marcus , to me, is alot better and it offers a better high end variety and if u can land NM Then nothing is impossible....lol....