Recession Turns Malls Into Ghost Towns

Wall Street Journal ^ | 5/22/2009 | KRIS HUDSON and VANESSA O'CONNELL

[vetvetdoug]

Most of the Malls around and in Memphis are dangerous. One just about needs an armored vehicle and a BMG to get into the mall and out of it without being robbed. Its courtesy by the diverse majority of that area.

[NewHampshireDuo]

Haven’t stepped foot in an indoor mall in years. Just a gathering place for bland stores.

[PAR35]

Yes, accurate but sometimes dated is how I’d describe it.

I remember when Randall Park was new, and THE mall for for the East side. At the time, I thought it was far enough out that it wouldn’t have ‘urban’ problems. I thought Severance Mall would be the one to bite the dust.

[Ted Grant]

Stepped into a Best buy last Saturday and was shocked at how empty it was. It’s getting rougher out there.

[Anti-Bubba182]

Right! Malls have been in trouble for a long time. The "big box" stores hurt them and for a Mall to succeed they have to keep out the riffraff, which is hard to do and not get sued.

I am sure the current economic problems make it even worse.

[Tax-chick]

There are three or four successful malls here, but the new stores are opening in outdoor centers. I think people feel safer.

[Tax-chick]

The Albemarle Road Wal-mart? We go to Monroe Mall once in a while, when I need something from J.C. Penney, but the Wal-Mart there has gone from somewhat-crummy to desperately crummy in the last three years. Fortunately, we’re close to a newer one.

[investigateworld]

They gots to get their "Shankware" some place ping ;^)

[Oatka]

Recession Turns Malls Into Ghost Towns Homeless Shelters.

At some point I would expect fires, mysterious and otherwise, to break out.

I read somewhere that some innovative towns have converted a ghost mall into a Farmer's Market. An interesting idea for hard-hit rural areas.

[Drew68]

The truth is, the threat of gang wars and muggings are more of a deterrent than the "recession".

Unfortunately, in an attempt to address the problems of gang violence and general thuggery at the malls while being as politically correct as possible, many malls have simply implemented blanket policies that discourage all young people, even those who are law-abiding and possess the disposable income that store owners covet, from shopping there.

[PAR35]

Our local mall is on the cusp - it could collapse pretty quickly, but for now they’ve been able to keep it in pretty good shape. They managed to find a restaurant/entertainment tenant for the only vacant anchor store, after it sat empty after Mervyns pulled out of the state. The closest mall shut down completely, and the next closest has had problems since opening less than 10 years ago, so those things have helped. But long term, they need to think about a total redevelopment. With several new open air model malls opening or under construction within 10 miles, they’ll be down to local trade pretty soon.

[Lady Jag]

Interesting links. Thanks!

[3catsanadog]

There’s a big mall near where I live that decided a couple years ago to lease all their spaces to the hoity-toity fashion designer shops. I really don’t know how they are faring these days as I can’t afford anything that mall sells anymore so I don’t even go there at all. I’ve got a K-Mart/Target salary. Yeah, I struggle and work hard, but I’m not having mental issues because I can’t afford to carry my wallet and stuff in a Coach bag.

[Anti-Bubba182]

"....I’m not having mental issues because I can’t afford to carry my wallet and stuff in a Coach bag..."

Anybody who does have issues like that deserves to have their ass kicked.

[LiberConservative]

I moved away from Denver in 2000. At that time the Westminster Mall was king. But that same year Flatiron Crossing opened up right down the highway. Now I see Westminster is almost dead. Amazing.

[chasio649]

I’ve got a K-Mart/Target salary

---

i’m an ebay, craigslist salary ;) .....actually i rarely go to booksamillion anymore...i buy used off of amazon....most everything at a mall can be found cheaper elsewhere....my wife knows a few women that work in the big mall in town...they say business is dead....plus our city sales tax is at about 10%, throw in the mall mark up and they are hurtin’ in a big way.

[LostInBayport]

I read somewhere that some innovative towns have converted a ghost mall into a Farmer's Market. An interesting idea for hard-hit rural areas.

I have fond memories from when I was a kid and started driving...there was a dead mall about 20 miles from where I lived, and on Sundays they used the hollowed-out shell of some big, big store to have a flea market. Everything under the sun was there...I used to go every couple of months and shop for comics, old books and records. Once you left that area, it was the eeriest place...a quiet mall full of darkened storefronts, with a fountain still running in the center.

As for today, I stay waaaay clear of malls unless one happens to have some item I can't get online and I want as a gift for someone else. When I'm in the mall, all I can think about are things like "how do these stores full of bleep survive" and "I hope no one is stealing/denting/leaning on my car".

[Lorianne]

I agree. I stopped shopping in malls years ago. Boring stores, boring merchandise, boring everything.

And horrible music.

The recession had nothing to do with it.

[Richard Kimball]

There was a time when I had a coat for every season and all four came from Eddie Bauer. Then they decided all they wanted to do was sell over-priced preppy clothing. Now I never shop at Eddie Bauer and neither does hardly anyone else.

Abercrombie and Fitch started out as an expedition outfitters store. Amelia Earhart and Teddy Roosevelt shopped there. When it was repositioned in the 1990s, it became very successful selling to the 18-23 affluent "slacker upper class." A lot of companies followed their corporate plan of trashing $15 caps and selling them for $60. Eddie Bauer followed the same pattern. This market is suffering heavily now. Malls are having problems because they primarily sell stuff nobody really needs. That works fine in great economic times, but they were suffering even before this last downturn. Their primary market was people with both lots of money and lots of spare time. The new strip malls have bigger stores, but you can get in and out much more quickly. The cost of rental is cheaper, because there's no interior common space to cool, heat, maintain and decorate. The malls also catered heavily to chain stores, and were quite dictatorial about what you could sell, decorations, store hours, etc.

[Cap'n Crunch]

I know what ruined our mall, THUGS. Now everybody goes one county over to the new NO CRIME outdoor shopping center.

And it’s always packed with people.