Retail/stores you would like to see in SE VA

[vdogg]

Vdogg... is it against forum rules for me to make a personal appeal to the CEO of Saks Co. in the off-chance that he or she should happen to come across our website?  <---can you resist that face?  I think not...

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No it's not so long as you don't start posting billboard sized advertisements all over the site.

[urbanvb]

Actually, according to this forum we're in the northeast    .

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Oh man, here we go again with that "isvirginiainthesouth thing again!"

[PeninsulaKiddo]

Actually, according to this forum we're in the northeast    .

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I still don't exactly follow that... "Mid Atlantic" is the best fit, but as a long-time Virginia resident, we're rather southern indeed haha

[vdogg]

Oh man, here we go again with that "isvirginiainthesouth thing again!"

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[urbanvb]

[vdogg]

I guess it's not just HR with the identity crisis, it's the entire state .

edit: woohoo! 2000 posts

[urbanvb]

I detected hints of 'southerness' in Nova this past weekend but to me it definitely seems more northern.. but then again all of this is waaaay off topic... lol

[PeninsulaKiddo]

No it's not so long as you don't start posting billboard sized advertisements all over the site. 

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I'll behave myself, I promise.

Dear CEO of Saks Co.

As a resident of the Hampton Roads Metropolitan area, and an avid shopper and urban enthusiast, I find that our region--Virginia Beach in particular--is lacking a major upscale department store. Virginia Beach is the largest city in the state and has a wide array of typical shopping centers and outlets, however, I believe that the city and the residents of the region would be better-served by a store of your enviable caliber, perhaps a Parisian (which are found in areas such as our demographic) or a Saks 5th Avenue Department store. There are several locations in and around the Pembroke section of Virginia Beach which you may find rather suitable, including a block in the center of the city's vastly-successful Town Center Project. I think that with the traffic in and out of that area skyrocketing with the unprecedented success of the Town Center and its redeveloping surroundings, it would be in our (and your) best interest for you to get in while prices and development opportunities are managable.

Please consider our location and our desire for a name such as yours to grace our fair cities.

Sincerely,

PeninsulaKiddo and the UrbanPlanet.org members.

[PeninsulaKiddo]

^^ Sufficient butt-kissing or do I need to lay on some more cheese to that? lol

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A great letter!

[hoobo]

Hoobo--First of all, Parisian cannot be considered less upscale than Dillard's and Macy's. If you've ever seen the flagship stores at Riverchase Galleria in Birmingham (Parisian's HQ city) or at Phipps in Atlanta, you would know that Parisian--at its best--offers nearly 300,000 sq ft of beautiful, upscale merchandise. Of course, Parisian, like Macy's and Dillard's, does tailor some of their smaller stores to the particular market/submarket. Secondly, Macy's and Dillard's are not the same. Again, if you've ever seen the Dillard's at the Galleria in Dallas or other major S.W. cities (and even the one at MacArthur which has a SPA and faxes in some dressing rooms), you would know that Dillard's can be quite fashionable--with boutique sensibilities. Macy's has more of a tendancy to gear down their merchandise to the market/submarket, though there are some wonderful Macy's stores in the N.E. Lastly, the Nordstrom at MacArthur Center is not failing. I don't know where you get your information or how you would define "failing." True, they have not hit the 40 million/yr mark (thus failing to trigger the higher rent payments--this is the only way we would know given the sales figures blackout); however, my sources tell me that sales at the Norfolk Nordstrom have been on the upswing for over 2 years--and this in a difficult retail environment nationally. 

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My bad on Parisian. However, Macy's and Dillard's are basically the same in terms of merchandise. Macy's, as stated by Federated DS, does not gear their merchandise to a particular market or mall as MayCo stores do. As part of the conversion of MayCo stores to Macy's, their merchandise will be standardized. Here in SoCal, I can walk into any Macy's; whether in ritzy Century City or South Coast, near ghetto Culver City, or suburban Northridge; and find the exact same stuff. I can't do that with Rob-May (here) or Hecht's (in HR). Each store has a different selection like more surf clothes at the South Coast location and more RocaWear at the Century City location.

Nordstrom was supposed to be hitting those higher sales figures by now. Instead, they have stumbled in HR while the chain on the whole has done well. Unfortunately, Nordstrom doesn't release per store sales and they are locked into a 30-yr lease at MacArthur, so no one really knows how well they're doing. I just base it on observations of foot traffic when I've visited. I hope the Norfolk Nordstrom is doing well, because upscale merchants are in a boom time right now. Sales and profits keep going up every quarter. I wish I had bought some shares in Saks when I was considering it before last Thanksgiving. Instead, I bought Circuit City. Dumb move.

An aside on Sak's. Proffit's bought Sak's 5th Avenue and took their name. So all Proffit's were renamed Sak's. Imagine, there could've been a Sak's at Pembroke. This has created a two-tier Sak's chain, the true 5th Avenue stores and the rebadged Proffit's. Needless to say, the former has more class and upscale merchandise. In the meantime, the new Sak's purchased Parisian. Now there's talk of Sak's breaking up to take advantage of the demand for upscale merchants (a la what happened to Nieman-Marcus). The rebadged stores would revert back to the Proffit's name and that company would retain Parisian. The true 5th Avenue stores would retain the Sak's name.

Finally, in my search to figure out if J. Jill used to have a store at Lynnhaven (I think I was just hallucinating) I ran across a strong rumor that Apple is looking to open a store at Lynnhaven when the "right space opens up." That could further explain all the store movement at that mall.

[PeninsulaKiddo]

My bad on Parisian.  However, Macy's and Dillard's are basically the same in terms of merchandise.  Macy's, as stated by Federated DS, does not gear their merchandise to a particular market or mall as MayCo stores do.  As part of the conversion of MayCo stores to Macy's, their merchandise will be standardized.  Here in SoCal, I can walk into any Macy's; whether in ritzy Century City or South Coast, near ghetto Culver City, or suburban Northridge; and find the exact same stuff.  I can't do that with Rob-May (here) or Hecht's (in HR).  Each store has a different selection like more surf clothes at the South Coast location and more RocaWear at the Century City location.

Nordstrom was supposed to be hitting those higher sales figures by now.  Instead, they have stumbled in HR while the chain on the whole has done well.  Unfortunately, Nordstrom doesn't release per store sales and they are locked into a 30-yr lease at MacArthur, so no one really knows how well they're doing.  I just base it on observations of foot traffic when I've visited.  I hope the Norfolk Nordstrom is doing well, because upscale merchants are in a boom time right now.  Sales and profits keep going up every quarter.  I wish I had bought some shares in Saks when I was considering it before last Thanksgiving.  Instead, I bought Circuit City.  Dumb move.

An aside on Sak's.  Proffit's bought Sak's 5th Avenue and took their name.  So all Proffit's were renamed Sak's.  Imagine, there could've been a Sak's at Pembroke.  This has created a two-tier Sak's chain, the true 5th Avenue stores and the rebadged Proffit's.  Needless to say, the former has more class and upscale merchandise.  In the meantime, the new Sak's purchased Parisian.  Now there's talk of Sak's breaking up to take advantage of the demand for upscale merchants (a la what happened to Nieman-Marcus).  The rebadged stores would revert back to the Proffit's name and that company would retain Parisian.  The true 5th Avenue stores would retain the Sak's name.

Finally, in my search to figure out if J. Jill used to have a store at Lynnhaven (I think I was just hallucinating) I ran across a strong rumor that Apple is looking to open a store at Lynnhaven when the "right space opens up."  That could further explain all the store movement at that mall.

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An apple store at Lynnhaven would be interesting... I think it would also be a good fit for the city and the profile of the mall. I had read that Proffits purchased Saks, but (obviously) Saks has much better name-recognition, which I think is an important component of the prestige of a store. I still think that Macys may be on a slightly higher tier than Dillards (though Dillards is a perfectly nice store), but like any major department store, they're each different and each are different sizes, price ranges, and offer somewhat different merchandise. A Dillards in El Paso, Texas will be tremendously different than one in NOVA, though they will still carry many common items.

[hoobo]

Speaking of bars/lounges, the Red Star Tavern seems to be doing very well at night packing them in. 

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That place is nice. Very classy. Especially when a James Bond wannabe shows up with a co-worker and they keep hitting on the same two girls all night who won't even give them a second's attention. There was a business card involved with a room number...I dunno.

[urbanvb]

A computer store would be a perfect fit for the CBD as well since the old computer store at the HQ property closed (can't remember the name but the one with the cow branding).

[vdogg]

A computer store would be a perfect fit for the CBD as well since the old computer store at the HQ property closed (can't remember the name but the one with the cow branding).

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Gateway

[urbanvb]

Exactly, that's it. That store seem to do well but then again Gateway was/is not doing well.. or did they go under already?

[vdogg]

or did they go under already?

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I think they went under. Don't quote me on that though.

[rusthebuss]

Gateway

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Gateway = crap

[PeninsulaKiddo]

Gateway = crap

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The computer I'm using is a gateway ... and... well... it's ... less than ideal lol.

[vdogg]

The computer I'm using is a gateway ... and... well... it's ... less than ideal lol.

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I'm surprised it didn't blow up when you connected it to the internet. j/k

[rusthebuss]

I'm surprised it didn't blow up when you connected it to the internet.  j/k

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They left a gapping hole in Hampton when they left. Their quality sucks. But at least you have a computer. I have a dell now and I'm probably building my next one, which i have a very nice case with a 450w peak power supply, for gaming and video quality.

[baobabs727]

Exactly. Coffee houses, Bistros, all that stuff that gives a DT that more cosmopolitan (I mean they did name a building that  ) feel.

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Sonoma Wine Bar and Bistro is coming below Ruth's Chris. Red Star and Keagan's are pretty happening on Fri/Sat nights. Vie De France will satisfy your daytime coffee fix. Virginia Beach is so focused on "family-friendly," high dollar spenders (read: rich old folks) right now that I doubt that you will see anything like Time or Club Soda in TC soon.

Richmond has or will have a boutique called Club Libby Lu, a division of Saks/Parisian. Yes, Parisian's flagship stores are at least 260K sq feet, but they do have some around +-200K.

[urbanvb]

A large department store would do well at TC and I hope they will incorporate something like that there as well. Small shops are fine but a large store could be a big draw.

[burt]

^^ Sufficient butt-kissing or do I need to lay on some more cheese to that?  lol 

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PK, you can skip VCU or Old Dominion or UVA or any other academic stop and head directly to Madison Avenue! The Ad World needs your kind of writing talent

You've got a great sense of humor and a terrific literary style!

[baobabs727]

Hoobo--I'll trust you on Federated's refusal to tailor Macy's to a particular market, but I stand by my contention that both Parisian and Dillards flagships can and do bring in higher-end merchandise than Macy's--in general. Anyway, with respect to higher-end retailing success of late, your point is well taken. But we musn't forget that the Norfolk Nordstrom was conceived in a period of transition and on the cusp of Nordstrom's penetration into the secondary markets and to the South. Norfolk sealed the long before tonier Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte and Atlanta did so. (Yes, I know the entire history of Norfolk's incentive package, but let's not debate that here.) If you will remember, the mid=late 1990's were not so good to Nordstrom, as the once Midas-like retailer struggled with merchandisising (mix/buying/development), service and marketing. Prior to the downturn, Nordstrom had proposed a 210K sq ft store for MacArthur; however, as Nordstrom redeveloped its strategy for expansion into secondary markets, it was announced that we would receive a 160K sq ft store. (As you may know, only Atlanta has one bigger, and all of the other aforementioned markets boast smaller stores than ours.) Well, fast forward to March 1999 and enter MacArthur's Nordstrom, really the beginning of the new Nordstrom concept store (smaller market=smaller store). Of course, this market's Nordstom following had been used to shopping at Tysons 220K sq ft flagship location and was woefully ill-prepared for what Nordstrom had wrought at MacArthur. Can you say "train wreck!?" In sum, Hampton Roads' wealthy took one sniff and got back on the plane (or in their Mercedes S500) and headed to DC or NY to shop once again. Yes, the Nordstrom buyers (at one time from DC and then from ATL) did meet with various society types trying to re-adjust the merchandising mix--

to no real avail. Since that time, the store has seen it's share of ups and downs (along with the rest of the retail industry), and, yes, MacArthur's Nordstrom's fortunes have improved of late along with rest of the high-end gang. Hopefully, the recent influx of luxury condos/townhomes into downtown will help a bit, for I, too, would love to see them stay beyond their multi-year year commitment. Only time will tell.