Loading ...
« Fashion Illustration, We Dare You! | Home | Valentino The Emperor »
Midwest Shopping In Our Neighborhood
By admins | March 23, 2009
image via racked.com
When you think of shopping in NYC you picture strolling down 5thAve or rushing in and out of boutiques in Soho, right? You do not think of hitting up the mall like shoppers in the rest of the country do. And when someone mentions a department store we think of Bloomies, Barneys, or Bergdorf’s. We do not think of Sears, Marshalls, or JC Penny. Well, just down the street from us at 33rd Street south of Macy’s is the only mall in Manhattan aptly named the Manhattan Mall. Yes, many of you may not have even realized there was a mall in the city and to be honest we don’t know anybody besides tourists that regularly shop there. However, if you have swung be there lately, you may have noticed all the recent construction. It seems that the mall has decided like its Midwest counterparts it needs an anchor store, so retail giant JC Penny is moving in.
Unfortunately for nearby retailers the construction mess, in addition to the current recession has driven off many customers so much so that many mall shops are closing earlier than usual. This, on top of the fact that the mall had to sacrifice its food court for the JC Penny to have enough retail space. Losing those neighborhood workers on their lunch hour certainly doesn’t help the mall. JC Penny has wanted to open a store in Manhattan for awhile now, and it is surely an ambitious move for the struggling retailer to open a 150,000 sq ft store in Midtown during the current economic climate. Especially considering the troubles this mall has had keeping tenants in the past. As Bob Grayson, of retail consulting firm the Grayson Co. so delicately put it, “[Manhattan Mall] has always been a loser.” So what do you think? Will JC Penny thrive in Manhattan? Will New Yorkers become mall rats? Or will enough tourists find comfort in familiarity and help the store thrive?
Here is more related scoop;
Topics: economy, new york, shop | 4 Comments » 
Email This Post
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 am
I think we’ve been experiencing the “mallification” of Manhattan for a while now, with the chain stores taking over pockets of key real estate. It might be that they are the only ones who can afford the commercial space now. I come from suburban America, so I was kind of comforted by the idea of shopping at a Bed Bath and Beyond in the city, stores like that. I frequent the shops in Soho and it’s definitely become more chain-store friendly down there.
March 29th, 2009 at 11:43 am
I guess that’s part of Boomerg’s plan to make the city a more profitable business: making Midwesterners feel more “comfortable.”
It’s one thing to go to the ancient, established, and behemoth Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.
But even tourists don’t come to Manhattan to go to JC Penny’s.
Every New York resident who goes to shop there should be tagged and forcefully relocated to Staten Island.
March 29th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Yes, Dreams NYC is definitely becoming more suburban with its retailers. And they are convenient sometimes, but let’s hope that the mom & pop stores which set NYC apart from every-town USA do not get priced out.
Elizabeth, you are too funny, we couldn’t have said it better. This is so the comment of the month!
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:20 am
Great post! Just wanted to let you know you have a new subscriber- me!