The reason the local mall is failing (2018)
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The reason the local mall is failing (2018)
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Re: The reason the local mall is failing (2018)
#2Is it fair to compare value and tax revenue of the 9 downtown blocks to the mall? Aren’t malls usually built in cheap areas because the land has low value, while downtown is typically, well, down town.
Also the mall space is including parking lots and the 9 blocks have parking somewhere but not in those 9 blocks.
Re: The reason the local mall is failing (2018)
#3Is it fair to compare value and tax revenue of the 9 downtown blocks to the mall? Aren’t malls usually built in cheap areas because the land has low value, while downtown is typically, well, down town. Also the mall space is including parking lots and the 9 blocks have parking somewhere but not in those 9 blocks.
Is it fair to compare value and tax revenue of the 9 downtown blocks to the mall? Aren’t malls usually built in cheap areas because the land has low value, while downtown is typically, well, down town.
Well, downtown have something going for it if it's valuable. Land that are of low value aren't exactly prime estate.
Also the mall space is including parking lots and the 9 blocks have parking somewhere but not in those 9 blocks.
Why would that in itself be valuable use of lands? Remember, even the roads are a land use choice.
Re: The reason the local mall is failing (2018)
#4Having lived through the peak of the US Mall years, I blame the downfall on... Nintendo.
The mall was a social center for teens. A lot of money got pumped into the malls from that age group.
Teen boys would go for the arcade. Teen girls would follow, checking out the guys. Many stores catered to that demographic (Spencers, HotTopic, makeup and cheap jewelry stores, etc.)
In short, it was a place to go on casual dates, find dates, hook up, and the like.
My peer group quit going as frequently as we could play SuperMario Brothers for free at home. And, once the internet emerged, that was it... teens rarely leave their houses now, don’t date, and shun all face-to-face contact.
So, in short, Nintendo destroyed the Malls.
Re: The reason the local mall is failing (2018)
#5Is it fair to compare value and tax revenue of the 9 downtown blocks to the mall? Aren’t malls usually built in cheap areas because the land has low value, while downtown is typically, well, down town. Also the mall space is including parking lots and the 9 blocks have parking somewhere but not in those 9 blocks.
Is it fair to compare value and tax revenue of the 9 downtown blocks to the mall? Aren’t malls usually built in cheap areas because the land has low value, while downtown is typically, well, down town. Well, downtown have something going for it if it's valuable. Land that are of low value aren't exactly prime estate. Also the mall space is including parking lots and the 9 blocks have parking somewhere but not in thos…
Parking lots are not very valuable. I meant that the mall parcel includes retail space and parking while the 9 blocks is only retail space. So it’s comparing different densities. I was thinking that there is probably some parking lots for the people doing that shopping that should be included when comparing taxes per area.
I think it would be an accurate comparison if those 9 blocks were replaced by a mall, but this seems like apples to oranges if the goal is to see which brings in more tax revenue to the community.
I suppose sales tax would be really important too.
Re: The reason the local mall is failing (2018)
#6Having lived through the peak of the US Mall years, I blame the downfall on... Nintendo. The mall was a social center for teens. A lot of money got pumped into the malls from that age group. Teen boys would go for the arcade. Teen girls would follow, checking out the guys. Many stores catered to that demographic (Spencers, HotTopic, makeup and cheap jewelry stores, etc.) In short, it was a place to go on casual dates…
Can't tell if satire or woefully unaware.
Re: The reason the local mall is failing (2018)
#7This seems like a woefully incomplete analysis. The same basic evolution happened in manufacturing and for largely the same reasons. Boutique job shops replaced by industralized mass production facilities replaced by abstracted labor and infrastructure in offshore contracts.
Boutique stores worked downtown because there was no better option, not because it was great. Who wants to drive downtown to get shoes or a tie? Going in and out of building after building, dealing with traffic, trying to keep your packages out of the rain, etc. sucks.
Malls took over because you could socialize, you were out of the elements, there was a mix of attractions and shopping, it was comfortable and safe to walk everywhere. You also didn't have to deal with driving in and out of downtown, they were almost always right off of some major highway.
But malls aren't great either. There’s been zero innovation in the business model since the beginning. Relative to the Internet, the selection sucks, prices suck and the logistics suck. Shopping is an event rather than an impulse. Back when you could download your entire Amazon order history, my chart of orders and spending nearly had an expoential curve in it from 2006 to 2018 as the superior (to me) experience gradually drained my business away from brick and mortar.
And guess what's back? Boutique shops. My daughter opened up an Etsy store when she was 14 and has sold custom sculptures and stickers to people all over the world. No way she could have done that downtown or in the local mall.
Re: The reason the local mall is failing (2018)
#8Having lived through the peak of the US Mall years, I blame the downfall on... Nintendo. The mall was a social center for teens. A lot of money got pumped into the malls from that age group. Teen boys would go for the arcade. Teen girls would follow, checking out the guys. Many stores catered to that demographic (Spencers, HotTopic, makeup and cheap jewelry stores, etc.) In short, it was a place to go on casual dates…
Can't tell if satire or woefully unaware.
That's rude. It's a valid perspective. I dumped thousands of dollars in arcade games in the 70's and 80's and spent at least as much buying tshirts and toys and pizza or walking down to the theater and watching a movie.
Re: The reason the local mall is failing (2018)
#9Our local mall went through a period of decline, as old stalwarts like Sears, Montgomery Ward, and JC Penny went out of business or left. But then it got renovated, new stores moved in, and it's as busy as ever. I think it just took a different selection of stores to attract customers back. And the redesign made space for a number of medium-size anchor stores like REI who have doors facing out rather than into the mall itself.
Re: The reason the local mall is failing (2018)
#10Perhaps the company was debt-loaded so it would fail and be liquidated. The (complicit) lenders collected lots of interest payments, and the parent company gets the proceeds from the asset sales, along with a nice tax write-off because of the "loss".