Jump to content

Oak Court

northernbizzkit1

By northernbizzkit1
in Memphis

Recommended Posts

northernbizzkit1 Hamlet

northernbizzkit1

Posted
Posted

If you compare the area of Oak Court Mall in Memphis to that of Green Hills in Nashville, they are very similar. Both malls are located in the upper class area of their cities and they both cater to an upper class shopper. Could we begin to see a revival in Oak Court just as we are seeing at Green Hills? Oak Court currently houses the local flagship for Macy's...3 stories, sprawling, and very upscale. The stores are upscale with places like Enzo Angiolini and even more so across the street at Laurelwood with places like Joseph (has another store in L.A. and sells Versace, Gucci, etc.), James Davis, Mednikow (jeweler in Memphis and Atlanta that is essentially the Memphis Tiffany&Co....their ads display things going for $500,000+), Davis-Kidd, etc. Articles have been all over the Memphis papers about how locals want to see Panera Bread, the Cheesecake Factory, and other upscale places...so why don't you see this happening? Hermes apparently has a store at the Regalia, so the market for upscale places is currently here. In my opinion, there could be an expansion and renovation of Oak Court to where the old Oak Hall building and CK's coffee shop are torn down to allow more space for the mall and new clients. If you look at the area, the surrounding residential areas are home to 1-3 million dollar homes. One of my good friends lives on Tuckahoe (part of a neighborhood behind Laurelwood) where many people are buying old homes, tearing them down, and building sprawling estates. The shoppers are literally in the backyard of these places! I just see the potential to make the Oak Court area even more upscale with the introduction of places like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 27
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Kyle Unincorporated Area

Kyle

Posted
Posted

Hey, I just noticed that it's a double post. Anyway, I read somewhere that it used to be upscale and that it had a Lord and Taylor in Oak Court. Then one day Simon retail group came in and mismanaged it so they could build Wolfchase. I hear now that it has some closed stores in it. I'll have to find the link for it though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
northernbizzkit1 Hamlet

northernbizzkit1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hey, I just noticed that it's a double post. Anyway, I read somewhere that it used to be upscale and that it had a Lord and Taylor in Oak Court. Then one day Simon retail group came in and mismanaged it so they could build Wolfchase. I hear now that it has some closed stores in it. I'll have to find the link for it though.

Yeah, my mom was a representative for Estee Lauder and had to open their division at Lord&Taylor. But it closed when there was a mass Southern exodus for the store. Simon came about 8 years after the closing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rocket9561 Whistle-Stop

rocket9561

Posted
Posted

I don't think they are very similar at all - especially the Green Hills that emerged after the initial remodels. You can still find places like Payless and American Eagle at Oak Court which really wouldn't fit into Green Hills. Plus, Green Hills offers more stores and the larger upsclae retail chains like Pottery Barn, Metropolitan Deluxe, and Williams Sonoma.

The areas, however, are somewhat similar and if Oak Court was marketed correctly you could see it become an upscale mall. Right now I would say Wolfchase is more upscale in its retail offerings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
memphian Hamlet

memphian

Posted
Posted

I think its okay to compare the two malls to an extent. Green Hills is an institution in Nashville where I don't see Oak Court having the same draw. Yes, I choose to go to Oak Court over Wolfchase because of convenience but it just doesn't have the same feel as you get when you go to Green Hills. I was in Nashville over the weekend and when I went to Green Hills I felt that I was somewhere special, a feeling that I don't get at Oak Court. The big draw at Oak Court has to be Macy's though. After Goldsmith's closed their downtown store this location became the flagship (and very well may have already held that position for some time). The Macy's at Oak Court is very big so I see it continuing as the Flagship Macy's in Tennessee (even after Hecht's changes over to Macy's in Nashville). The store has like 280,000+ sq. ft of space and that is almost unheard of these days.

Could the newer tenants of Green Hills (Tiffany & LV) cause the Hecht's there to maybe become Bloomies??

The old Lord and Taylor at Oak Court has been gone a long time. Dillard's has since taken that space and done absolutely nothing with it. The store smells musty and moldy and looks horrible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
StevenRocks City

StevenRocks

Posted
Posted

Could the newer tenants of Green Hills (Tiffany & LV) cause the Hecht's there to maybe become Bloomies??

We've had this discussion on the Charlotte Retail and Raleigh boards. It's possible if there are two Federated anchors in the same mall, or if the mall is able to expand, that you could see Macy's and Bloomingdale's. But if there's a single Federated anchor, like at Green Hills, it's probably gonna be Macy's

Link to comment
Share on other sites
memphian Hamlet

memphian

Posted
Posted

Each city has its own retail climate. If Federated had any real idea to the new cities it is about to enter - they'd know what to do. I don't see this happening and so I expect a Macy's at Green Hills too. I really do feel that a Macy's at Green Hills would be a mistake. There are 4 other malls in Nashville that a Macy's would work very well in. Bloomies is the better fit for Green Hills IMO. Bellevue and Cool Springs are very close malls where a Macy's could benefit from added foot traffic created by not having a Macy's in Green Hills. Just seems like a better idea to have the stores feed off of each other rather than compete against each other. Plus Bellevue and Coolsprings both have the room to house a furniture store by expanding into the mall itself where Green Hills doesn't.

Ok, I've just solved Nashville's retail woes - LOL. (I am still trying to breathe life into Bellevue Center - ha ha ha)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lexy Town

Lexy

Posted
Posted

We've had this discussion on the Charlotte Retail and Raleigh boards. It's possible if there are two Federated anchors in the same mall, or if the mall is able to expand, that you could see Macy's and Bloomingdale's. But if there's a single Federated anchor, like at Green Hills, it's probably gonna be Macy's

It's gonna be a Macy's regardless. It has alreaddy been announced. The other store that is interested rumor has it is Neiman Marcus.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
northernbizzkit1 Hamlet

northernbizzkit1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The big draw at Oak Court has to be Macy's though. After Goldsmith's closed their downtown store this location became the flagship (and very well may have already held that position for some time). The Macy's at Oak Court is very big so I see it continuing as the Flagship Macy's in Tennessee (even after Hecht's changes over to Macy's in Nashville). The store has like 280,000+ sq. ft of space and that is almost unheard of these days.

I was there tonight...they have a restaurant in it now, and it's great to see how it's becoming even more of a metropolitan, upscale store. I mean, you have Coach and Chanel operating boutiques in the middle of the store...swanky! It was, however, revolting to see Christmas decorations up already...argh...I don't like Christmas shopping!!!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
StevenRocks City

StevenRocks

Posted
Posted

I was there tonight...they have a restaurant in it now, and it's great to see how it's becoming even more of a metropolitan, upscale store. I mean, you have Coach and Chanel operating boutiques in the middle of the store...swanky! It was, however, revolting to see Christmas decorations up already...argh...I don't like Christmas shopping!!!!!!!

I've never seen an in-store Chanel boutique in a Macy's before. Quite swanky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
cdarr Whistle-Stop

cdarr

Posted
Posted

Hey, I just noticed that it's a double post. Anyway, I read somewhere that it used to be upscale and that it had a Lord and Taylor in Oak Court. Then one day Simon retail group came in and mismanaged it so they could build Wolfchase. I hear now that it has some closed stores in it. I'll have to find the link for it though.

What you read about the Lord & Taylor was right, but the stuff about Simon deliberately tanking the mall so they could build Wolfchase is nonsense. Wolfchase is 10 miles away from Oak Court and draws from a totally different area (Bartlett/Cordova). Besides...any executives that would suggest investing capital in a mall just to ruin it and send the business elsewhere would be lined up and shot.

I was in Oak Court recently and counted just one empty store, and I think it had a "coming soon" sign on it. Actually, this mall might be ripe for expansion. Retail space along Poplar is scarce these days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kyle Unincorporated Area

Kyle

Posted
Posted

What you read about the Lord & Taylor was right, but the stuff about Simon deliberately tanking the mall so they could build Wolfchase is nonsense. Wolfchase is 10 miles away from Oak Court and draws from a totally different area (Bartlett/Cordova). Besides...any executives that would suggest investing capital in a mall just to ruin it and send the business elsewhere would be lined up and shot.

I was in Oak Court recently and counted just one empty store, and I think it had a "coming soon" sign on it. Actually, this mall might be ripe for expansion. Retail space along Poplar is scarce these days.

Actually, these are not necessarily the opinions of me, just something else I found on the 'net. I have been several times, and it's really fairly nice to me. It does have a flagship Macy's and a Dillard's in it as well as (from what I can remember) some swanky boutiques in there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
memphian Hamlet

memphian

Posted
Posted

I think Oak Court is far cry from Green Hills as far as offerings are concerned - both are nice malls though. I do like the Macy's although I wish it was still Goldsmith's. The Dillard's is barely worth mentioning as it is in 2 seperate buildings and both are tiny and the merchandise is just crammed into the store. Personally I think they should tear down the old Lord and Taylor building and rebuild with a much bigger presence where everything can be in one location. That will also open up the other Dillard's store to someone else like Gus Mayer (Nashville & B'ham but used to have a Memphis store). Maybe Belk or something (not too many anchors to choose from these days).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Clobber Burg

Clobber

Posted
Posted

I think Oak Court is far cry from Green Hills as far as offerings are concerned - both are nice malls though. I do like the Macy's although I wish it was still Goldsmith's. The Dillard's is barely worth mentioning as it is in 2 seperate buildings and both are tiny and the merchandise is just crammed into the store. Personally I think they should tear down the old Lord and Taylor building and rebuild with a much bigger presence where everything can be in one location. That will also open up the other Dillard's store to someone else like Gus Mayer (Nashville & B'ham but used to have a Memphis store). Maybe Belk or something (not too many anchors to choose from these days).

Dillard's has basically tripled its presence in Oak Court. I remember when there used to be both an Oshman's and a Lord and Taylor, as well as Dillard's. Now, Dillard's occupies all three spaces...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
crabbj Unincorporated Area

crabbj

Posted
Posted

I haven't been to either Oak Ct or Green Hills in several years, but wasn't the food court in Green Hills almost nonexistent? Back in the day, early 90s, there was Mozzarella's, Sbarros, Cheeseburger Charleys, and a restaurant called Garfield's, which went away a long time ago. Oak Court had more options, as well as more variety of shops. I don't even remember Green Hills having any bookstores, if they have one today.

I remember Lord & Taylor. Didn't last very long.

Is Brentano's Bookstore still in Memphis malls? Nashville never had those, as far as I know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
memphian Hamlet

memphian

Posted
Posted

Dillard's used to be down the road at Highland and Poplar in the old Lowenstein's building. I am not sure where you're getting the third building for the Oak Court Dillard's. I know of the Lord and Taylor building (it's inside still looks like a L&T), then there is the store that was Oshman's (Dillard's Mens, Home and Childrens store there now). Where else was Dillards? in this mall?

Anyway I'll stick with my desire for a new store there, the old L&T store smells like mildew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.