FEATURED ARTICLE
The entrance to the Fox Run Mall
Photo: Amy Root-Donle |
Changing with the times
Fox Run adapts with facelift and new, larger space stores
By Michael McCord
Published: October 2006
In August, a new store opened at the Fox Run Mall in Newington. The arrival of national apparel store Charlotte Russe reflected a few of the trends that have been transforming the mall industry for the past five to 10 years.
First, at 7,100 square feet, the Charlotte Russe is much larger than what the typical mall-based national chain store used to be. Scott DeCost, the general manager of the Fox Run Mall and Crossing at Fox Run retail locations, said that more and more retailers need larger spaces in malls to become destination draws in their own right.
As an example, DeCost cited American Eagle Outfitters which occupies the space that used to hold three separate stores.
The second major trend is obvious to anyone who spends even in an hour strolling around a modern mall: it's mostly about teens.
Skylights were added to the mall's hallways.
Photo: Amy Root-Donle |
Malls have adapted to the times and become a "huge attraction to the teenage market," said Linda Frink, Fox Run Mall's marketing manager who has worked there for more than two decades. "There's no doubt that more stores are targeting the teens." The reasons why are demographic (they are part of the boomlet generation) and financial (the teens have much more discretionary income to spend than their predecessors). "We've always had a lot of teen stores," Frink said. At the dawn of the 21st Century, they just have a whole lot more.
So it's no surprise that yet another youth-orientated store opened its doors at Fox Run Mall. Charlotte Russe bills itself as delivering "fashion and lifestyle needs of young women in their late teens and early twenties, offering trend right apparel and accessories at value prices." DeCost said that Fox Run constantly strives to strike the right balance and is consciously aware of trying as well to appeal "to that middle market of 25 to 45" age range. One of the challenges Fox Run faces is to strike the right balance because a mall's long-term strength depends on the diversity of its choices.
Fox Run Mall general manager Scott DeCost and marketing manager Linda Frink in front of a new Macy's sign.
Photo: Michael McCord |
Economic driver
By any economic measuring stick, the Fox Run Mall is a huge economic engine for the region. DeCost said that the more than 100 stores, restaurants, and kiosks generate more than $200 million in annual sales. More than 1,800 employees work there and an estimated 12 million customers come through the doors annually and navigate through about 600,000 square feet of retail smorgasbord - clothing, accessories, books, personal services, food, jewelry, electronics.
Opened in 1983 just as the country was coming through the worst of the stagflation (high inflation, low wage growth) recession hangover from the 1970s, Fox Run has survived two major national economic downturns, the closure of Pease Air Force Base which wreaked havoc on the region's economy, the radically changing retail shift towards more diversity and niche-focused markets and the rise of Internet-based shopping.
"We haven't lost our relevance because we have had to be creative," said DeCost. "People still want to come to a convenient location and see it (merchandise), touch it, feel it." Part of that creativity played out beginning in 2000 when Fox Run had a major facelift: the thoroughfares were repaved with brighter, more modern tiling; skylights were built that let in natural light; and, among other amenities, a children's playground area was built to enhance the mall's family friendly atmosphere.
A children's play area was part of the mall's face-lift.
Photo: Amy Root-Donle |
At first, Linda Frink said she was sad to see the old New England look of the original mall pass but thinks the changes have repositioned the mall for the future.
But Fox Run has succeeded and survived in part because of its location, which is far enough east, south and north of major malls in Manchester, Portland, Maine, and Peabody, Mass. "We are the only one (mall) in the region," Frink said.
The modern mall era arrived in 1956 with the opening of the first major complex in Minneapolis, Minn. and one of the biggest commandments in mall construction between developers was: Thou Shall Not Encroach upon my 40-mile territory.
The golden era of mall construction has passed. Malachy Kavanagh, a spokesperson for New York-based International Council of Shopping Centers, said there are 1,200 such enclosed air facilities in the country along with 44,000 open air shopping centers.
Only three new malls are being built around the country, Kavanagh said. The main reason is, essentially, no vacancy. "There aren't a lot of places to build them," he said.
What's happening is that a lot more malls of being renovated and converted to capture a new shopping experience. "Most malls were built in the 1970s or 1980s," Kavanagh said. They were also built to accommodate the philosophy of the big anchor stores (Sears, JC Penney, Filenes) as magnets to draw shoppers in.
But the anchor concept is fading as mid-level national retailers have flexed their muscles and expanded their inventories. Kavanagh cited Barnes & Noble as an example of the changing marketplace. He said the book retailer 20 years ago would have needed 3,000 square feet of space but today with its much larger stores that house coffee bars and large music selections, it needs as much as 21,000 square feet.
Enclosed malls across the country are remaking themselves and letting in more light, creating half-open or half-enclosed complexes or unveiling village concepts that shoppers find comfortable. One thing is certain: the mall concept isn't likely to fade away, Kavanagh explained, because the economic scale works for retailers who sell more items per square foot than other locations.
Fox Run future
It's certainly working at Fox Run, which averages a 95 percent occupancy rate, which is better than the New England and national averages. The mall also has a reputation of being very safe and secure for shoppers and retailers.
What also has happened in the Fox Run area has been the merging of the main enclosed mall and the Crossing at Fox Run big box collection that includes Kohl's, Dick's Sporting Goods, Old Navy, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble. Both properties are managed by DeCost, who works for Jones Lang LaSalle, which manages 60 shopping centers across the country.
More than any other area, the former Newington Mall was devastated by the Pease Air Force Base closing and its renaissance over the past has been dramatic. Not only have the major national retailers located there but the Regal Cinemas has begun major renovations to build the region's first high-concept cinema stadium facility.
These trends are what DeCost calls the "synergy of the total shopping experience" from morning to night, though meals and merchandise buying and even a movie.
|
