mediamongrel
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Posts posted by mediamongrel
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3 days in a row for the all time high in Charlotte of 104.
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warm winter cool summer.....wow!
so much for the cool summer...Charlotte tied the ALL TIME RECORD of 104 today (last set in 2007)
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The Best Buy in south Asheville was rumored to close, but it was not on the list. As Best Buy continues to struggle, I can see them closing their south Asheville location anyway. I wonder about the one in Waynesville, too. That one hasn't been open for much longer than 2 years, if I am correct.
The last time I remember going into a Best Buy, they would never have anything I wanted in stock, whether it be a DVD or CD. They would always say, "We can order it for you," and I'd be saying, "So can I, on Amazon." Best Buy will probably also be gone around the time of B & N's exit. Media sales will be primarily over the internet (via streaming and downloading) and regular CDs and DVDs will still be easier to have shipped to your house, rather than "going out to buy a CD." If Best Buy just opened up a smaller type store, focusing on TVs, DVD players, and cell phone sales, they might actually make it, but I doubt the execs would go for that.
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I kind of wonder about B&N too. Their nooks seem to sell really well, but I don't know why they are trying to kill themselves. I wanted 3 books from there, so I went over to the store at the mall to buy them. I went in and each one was $18. I thought that was pretty expensive, even though they were hardcover. So, I looked online and they were only $10 on their website. I don't understand why everything is so much more expensive in store. Are they trying to close their stores or something? If they continue this, I could see them having to close a lot of stores and maybe much smaller stores with new releases and nooks only.
Yes that is really odd. Especially considering B & N has two stores within 10 miles. (Asheville Mall & Biltmore Park) Speaking of Kmart, another thing that is puzzling is that you can get a B & N Nook at Kmart (when they are on sale) for $30 less than B & N's price. They are just killing themselves in essence. Also, they try to make people think all their dvds are a bargain at 50% off, but the regular prices on some of their DVDs are $39.99 for ONE Blu-Ray! People just go to B & N to read without paying, get coffee at the coffee bar, and leave. I don't see the B & N stand alone stores surviving for more than 5 years. There's too many outlets to get books that are a lot cheaper, like E-books, or if you want the actual paper versions, they are always cheaper on Amazon anyway.
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How long can Sears last, anyway? It was empty on a Tuesday afternoon, and only had about 10 other people on a Saturday (while the mall was crowded)
Sears Holdings tends to shut down grops of stores after the holiday season. So in all likelyhood, I would expect the Sears at Asheville Mall, the adjacent Kmart, and the Skyland Kmart to shut down sometime around the beginning of 2013. This would leave the Brevard Road and Patton Ave. Kmarts as the only two remaining Sears Holdings properties in the Asheville area (not counting the Kmart in Hendersonville).
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Online shopping has hurt big box stores like Best Buy, etc., I think. Most malls are even more packed now than they were before online shopping got so big, or at least it seems. Besides, I hardly ever buy clothes online because it is so annoying to take it back if it doesn't look right/doesn't fit, etc.
Most malls are "packed" because teens and other people loiter around them. That being said, teens rarely buy anything of a substantial value, other than maybe Claire's, FYE, or the food court, so when you see a packed mall it is very misleading. The Asheville mall is starting to become like the old Four Seasons mall in Greensboro when it comes to people loitering around. And as far as Best Buy goes, it does seem like they are on their last legs. Movies, CDs, TVs, and practically everything else they sell is all available cheaper online. I haven't been inside a Best Buy in probably 10 years.
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I don't think that downtown is that bad, it can sometimes even be sort of pleasant. However, I definitely think that it is over hyped and definitely isn't as nice as many other downtowns (Charlotte, Orlando, etc., which may not be as unique, but seem safer and are nicer looking).
The good thing about the Asheville Mall is that, after losing all of it's other more upscale stores (Express, Godiva, Ann Taylor, etc.) and replaced them with crappier stores, that means that they really can't afford to lose Abercrombie & Fitch, so that means that they will probably not close, even more so since there is not one for about 100 miles if they close the Asheville store. I guess I'm just scared, haha, since I don't know what I would do if that store closed.
I really think that the mall is getting pretty sub par. Now if they could get the Express and Godiva back, add a Macy's (close Sears), add nicer stores like Loft, force JCP into a renovation with a Sephora, etc. They could have had a Loft next to Ulta with an outdoor entrance, but instead they are just putting this random chinese place
The mall would be so much nicer if Old Navy had an outdoor entrance, along with a Loft next door. Why not just have outdoor shops all the way from Belk to Sears (Macy's)? That would definitely make the mall a lot more attractive instead of the old, crappy look they have now.
You're right, that mall, for being the only one is Asheville, is pretty sad. The Biltmore Square Mall never took off, and I really couldn't think of a decent place for a second mall. However, like all enclosed malls, it will probably eventually meet it's demise. The move to outdoor malls is what the future is (other than shopping online). The ULTA store was probably the only poisitve thing in that mall in a while. Holiday traffic is a nightmare near the mall, and I don't know if Macy's would ever choose the Asheville Mall in all honesty. Like you mentioned, they are just not quite upscale enough for a Macy's, and I doubt they ever will be.
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Hmm, when was the last time you went downtown? 1987? Do you really think downtown is just full of crackheads, panhandlers and occupiers?
Particularly on an evening with nice weather, Asheville's downtown has an absolutely amazing vibe. Seriously: Packed to the gills with people, both tourists and locals, sidewalk cafes galore, buskers on every corner. (Buskers don't count as panhandlers, by the way, in case you're wondering.) Plus the fact that the activity is spread pretty evenly throughout downtown on many streets and in many districts, giving the impression that one could explore for a week and still not have a chance to see it all. It's just incredibly fun. I'm sure there are plenty of tourists who only come to Asheville to see the Biltmore Estate and they might happen to go to Biltmore Village since it's close by, but Asheville's downtown has an extremely positive reputation.
There might be some panhandlers but there are so many people out to enjoy the shops and restaurants and atmosphere that it doesn't feel like a problem at all. Contrast that with your average American downtown where there aren't so many people wandering about and the ratio of panhandlers to non panhandlers is much, much worse.
If you like that sort of thing, I guess downtown is your haven. I'm just saying I can see why some people dont.
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Yes, it is called Biltmore Park Town Square. It's actually not exactly a lifestyle center, but sort of close. It's really nice, however, it seems to be having a few hardships finding small retail shops to open there. With Hilton, Regal, REI, PF Chang's, Brixx Pizza, Barnes & Noble, it has very strong anchors. I don't think there would be room for a Macy's, though.
I really don't want national retailers to move to downtown. I think the "quirky" stores would definitely be better suited for downtown, not national stores. Also, there are tons of people that refuse to shop in downtown Asheville because of that reason, and you should probably add me to that list. I mean it's nice for tourists and "quirky" people, but everyone else doesn't really care for it. The Asheville Mall probably receives a lot more traffic, too. I think they just need to do some exterior work and add tile to the entire mall, but let's face it, CBL isn't good enough to do that. If Simon refuses to renovate the much-need Lenox Square Mall, then CBL definitely will not renovate the Asheville mall that much.
That's pretty funny. I actually agree with you. I like Asheville a lot, but I stay away from downtown most of the time. I would rather not deal with crackheads, panhandlers, "occupy" groups who just do nothing all day...Is that supposed to be inviting for tourists? No wonder people just stay near Biltmore Village or Biltmore Park when they come here. If I was introduced to the city's downtown by seeing all of that garbage, I would too!
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As a native NCer, rest assured this is pretty typical of Charlotte weather. For some reason I still am never ready for it though. AS June-Sept unfold the only way to get relief is to go to the mountains.
Dewpoints tend to be higher in the mountains because of the moist air getting "trapped" in between the mountains. Though the temperature may be 95 in Charlotte and the dewpoint 66, Asheville for instance may see only 89, but with a dewpoint of 69, making it feel about the same. The mountains (relative term) aren't much cooler, except for places like Boone and Jefferson. Those areas are a lot higher in elevation though. Areas like Forest City and Rutherfordton may be considered "the mountains" but they usually get temperatures equal to that of Charlotte because of the downsloping effect.
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Yes, it is called Biltmore Park Town Square. It's actually not exactly a lifestyle center, but sort of close. It's really nice, however, it seems to be having a few hardships finding small retail shops to open there. With Hilton, Regal, REI, PF Chang's, Brixx Pizza, Barnes & Noble, it has very strong anchors. I don't think there would be room for a Macy's, though.
I really don't want national retailers to move to downtown. I think the "quirky" stores would definitely be better suited for downtown, not national stores. Also, there are tons of people that refuse to shop in downtown Asheville because of that reason, and you should probably add me to that list. I mean it's nice for tourists and "quirky" people, but everyone else doesn't really care for it. The Asheville Mall probably receives a lot more traffic, too. I think they just need to do some exterior work and add tile to the entire mall, but let's face it, CBL isn't good enough to do that. If Simon refuses to renovate the much-need Lenox Square Mall, then CBL definitely will not renovate the Asheville mall that much.
That's a nice area, but in my opinion, it's way too far south of I-40 to be considered "Asheville."
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While doing a little Google News Archive research I learned that Sears was originally just the first floor with the second being office and warehousing. This article from 1993 seems to indicate that the main impetus was the announcement of Montgomery Ward.
Sears to open major clothing display
Might be old news for some of you, but it's new info for me.
Montogomery Ward? Most of them shut down a few years after this (around 1999 or so)
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The Super BI-LO at the corner of Weddington Rd. and Mckee rd.(near Matthews and Stallings) is almost finished. I think I heard it's opening on March 5th. Anyone know if it's that much better than a reg. BI-LO? There's already a Harris Teeter across the street. I can't see that many people switching from Teeter to BI-LO unless it's really nice. Those folks over there don't really care much about low prices. They just want nice, well lit stores with good meat, good produce departments, and clean bathrooms.
That HT you are speaking of is very old though. It was built in 1990, and is comparitively small inside, so more people might switch than you think.
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RECORD #1 BROKEN;
HIGHEST AVERAGE AUGUST TEMPERATURE = 83.7 (2007)
OLD RECORD = 81.9 (1900)
RECORD #2 BROKEN;
2ND LONGEST STREAK WITH TEMPERATURE 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER = 32 (2007)
*NOTE THE FIRST PLACE RECORD IS 33 DAYS BUT WILL PROBABLY NOT BE TIED TOMORROW.
RECORD #3 BROKEN (TENTATIVE)
LEAST RAINFALL FOR AUGUST = 0.41" (2007)
OLD RECORD = 0.61" (1972)
*NOTE THIS RECORD IS VALID UNLESS THE AIRPORT RECEIVES 0.21" OF RAIN OR MORE THIS EVENING
CERTAINLY, THIS AUGUST WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS WE BREAK THREE ALL TIME RECORDS, AS WELL AS SETTING NUMEROUS TEMPERATURE RECORDS THIS MONTH INCLUDING 104 DEGREES, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST EVER.
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Rain for month as of midnight = 0.41"
31 days 90 or above breaks the old second place record.
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and northwest Greensboro, where they are growing just as rapidly.
True, but the rest of Greensboro is far from HT clientel. (Nothing against Greensboro, used to live there)
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After Tuesday, the average temperature for Aug. '07 is still running 84.0
No precip at the airport either.
29 days 90 or above.
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It's really no different than the monopoly Publix has on Atlanta and South Florida (actually all of Florida for that matter). It's expected that since Harris Teeter is going to be #1 in the Charlotte area since it is sort of their "home-turf," but I'm not a fan of a store every 1-2 miles on the same road like they've done.
Their only problem is, in my opinion, that they ONLY concentrate on Charlotte, Raleigh and Washington, D.C. Their stores is Winston Salem are slowly dwindling in sales, they have been eaten up by Ingles in the mountains of NC, and they have been forced to vacate many areas such as Atlanta, Georgia, and parts of Tennessee over the last five years. I don't know if anyone can call HT a great retailer when their only stronghold is basically two areas (Raleigh & Charlotte). Plus they only pick areas where the median income is over $100,000 and that doesn't include very many people.
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OTHER RECORDS SET TO BE BROKEN!
There is another interesting record which might be broken by August 31, 2007. This record is the average temperature for August. The record for highest average August temperature is 81.9 set back in 1900. Currently, the average temperature to date in Charlotte in 84.1 Unless temperatures take a massive dive and lessen the average by 2.2 degrees, then we will also set a record for highest ever average temperature in August.
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THE STREAK DOESN'T END!
As of 6pm today the high temperature at the Charlotte Douglas Airport was 90 degrees, which continues the streak of days with a temperature of 90 degrees or above at 28 days. The four week (28 day) record, is a new third place in the longest 90-day streaks ever since records have been kept (1879). If we can hit 90 until Thursday, we can break the 2nd place record of 31 days. We also still have a shot to break the least precipitation ever during the month of August. The old record is 0.61, so unless the airport picks up another quarter inch of rain or so in the next four days, we will set the all time record for least rain in August in any given year. I will keep track of that one in the next few days.
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I did some exploring in Northwest Charlotte today. This may be a dumb question but why are there so many HTs so close together in such sparsely populated areas? I understand locating before the sprawl happens, but all of them were less than two miles apart. It's bordering on ridiculous.
Who knows why. I am just as puzzled as you, because as I have noted before on this forum, there are cities around the country that have 1-2 million people and they are similar to Charlotte, however they have about HALF the amount of grocery stores. I think in about 15-20 years when the population tends to permanently settle in certain areas of Charlotte, some stores will be very busy while others will be left with almost no one shopping there and will end up closing. For right now, everyone is still "sprawling" and most of the 45+ Harris Teeters in Mecklenburg county are doing fairly well. In other areas, such as Winston-Salem, this is not the case. I will explore that market in more detail later on in this forum.
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that's not good news. we definitely need rain. I've cut back on water usuage and hope everyone else has done as well (wishful thinking).
Today breaks the third longest 90 degree day streak from 1925. We are now at 22 straight 90 degree days. Only two records left (31 and 33 days)
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I think Charlotte has some of the most passionate and loyal shoppers... if you look at store openings here, from Nordstrom to Trader Joe's, they are truly like none other... I still don't get Whole Foods reasoning.
What do you mean by Whole Foods' reasoning?
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As of a couple hours ago, the Charlotte Douglas Airport has hit 90 degrees or above for the 19th consecutive day. This puts the current streak in fourth place knocking out 7/4/77-7/22/77 (19 days) as the old fourth place streak. This only leaves three 90 degree day streaks ahead of the current one. They are; 8/31/25-9/21/25 (22 days), 7/4/86-8/3/86 (31 days), and 6/28/93-7/30/93 (33 days). The weather forecast tomorrow may make it pretty close as the high is expected to be right around 90 degrees, however, after that, it looks like all next week should be in the 90's as well. We will see if the current streak holds. Also, the atmosphere looks like it may get a little more active and unstable this week, giving a higher probability of much needed rain. So far, the airport has only recorded 0.01" this month. The record for least rainfall in August is 0.61" in 1972, and there is a good chance we will break that as well.
Asheville Mall
in Asheville
Posted
i agree with a lot of the things you said. As far as the mall debate goes, it just seems to me that it is in a crappy area of town. Tunnel Rd. isn't that great of an area, especially the north part. I drive up and down that section at least three or four times a week, and I see a lot of loitering, crackheads, and no effort is really being made to improve it other than building a car wash and vitamin store. I don't frequent that mall as much as the defunct Biltmore Square or the Biltmore Park plaza. They are just nicer areas with easier access and less traffic. However, if some people still like the Asheville Mall that's fine, but I honestly cannot see it as a mall that would be attracting higher end stores in the future.