The parent company of Circle Centre Mall anchor Carson Pirie Scott
has joined a growing list of retailers struggling to stay afloat after disappointing fourth-quarter sales. About half the
racks in the store are on sale for 75 percent off, good news for customers but bad news for a retailer. The store is part
of York, Pa.-based Bon-Ton Stores Inc., which operates 280 stores in 23 states. The company has less than $24 million in cash
on its books and about $1.4 billion in debt, and Moody's just downgraded the company's credit rating. Its shares are down
84 percent in a year, to $6.56. Carson's took over the space about a year ago from Parisian. How big of a blow would it be
if Carson's had to close?
Another struggling retailer is Sharper Image. The chain plans
to close 90 of its 185 stores nationwide after declaring bankruptcy this week. The San Francisco-based home electronics retailer
has stores at the Fashion Mall at Keystone and in Fort Wayne. A spokesman said no decision has been made on which stores will
close.
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Whatever the cause, the fact that the store located in what is arguably THE prime retail location in downtown Indy is having problems is pretty troubling.
If you put a retailer there that people actually want to go to (ie Crate & Barrel or Target) then there would be no issue.
Does anyone know why the Victoria's Secret at Circle Centre seemed to abruptly close up? There is a sign out front that says they're relocating to the 4th floor next to GameWorks. Does anyone else think that's odd? I can't imagine that would increase their sales. They had a prime spot. Now it will be teen boys ogling the displays on their way to play games.
VS moving is only temporary while they remodel to their latest prototype.
Carson did an effective job of dumbing down an outstanding retailer (Parisian) just like what May Company did to L S Ayres. That’s what corporate greed does to America, over and over again.
Both Bon-Ton Stores and Macy's have acquired some quality stores and then reduced them to the lowest common denominator. I've visited Macy's stores in several cities in the past couple of years and, in each case, what used to be nice places to shop with quality merchandise have been transformed into ordinary stores with mediocre to substandard goods. I think the Carson's situation is comparable. No wonder people don't shop there. I certainly don't.
Funny how there was just a recent article listing them as one of the innovative places to shop.
IT JUST POOR SELECTION AND APPEARANCE that’s killing Carsons downtown. IT'S ALMOST LIKE AT TJMAXX there.
cutting edge techno gadgets and became nothing more than a tacky
Brookstone.
I was told by a Carson's sales associate that every inch of storage is packed
with unsold Winter merchandise ordered by buyers who've never visited the
store. Hence the current mega clearance. This space deserves a much stronger,
more engaged anchor that could hold their own against Nordstrom. Perhaps
Lord & Taylor or Bloomies but I doubt either would give this location the time
of day...
We should all be worried about Circle Center. The fact some major tenants are skating on thin ice (CPS, Finish Line, Gameworks, UA), there really isn't much of a variety of shops given the size of the mall, and much of the fourth floor has sat unoccupied for several years now.
As for tourism, there is a lot of convention business, but Indianapolis isn't and probably never will be a tourist destination. When I travel to seminars or for work, the last thing I want to do is trudge around a mall to see how similar it is to the one back home.
Downtown Indianapolis is a major business, convention, and tourist center for the whole metro area--the area around Eastgate is NOT (and NEVER has been). Also, Eastgate suffered from changing demographic which left the surrounding neighborhood a very economically depressed area--in contrast, downtown Indianapolis is generally affluent and vibrant.
Circle Centre will NEVER suffer the fate of Eastgate. In 7 years, the national and local economy will have long recovered from its current slump and the mall will be BETTER off than it is now.
In any event, the only thing I have been drinking in lately is reality--you might want to try a sip sometime.
Also, you might attempt to back up your statements with facts or at least get used to being criticized when you post an absurd comment without any support for your opinion.
Nancy, I think you are the one confused about urban malls and what keeps them going. Urban malls fail when they rely entirely on locals...as Eastgate did. When they serve out-of-towners, they thrive.
I see that Nancy and Johnny have found there way from the StarBoards. Please keep the negativity there. We like our oasis here, thank you. Bring something constructive to the table, or don't take a seat!
Something constructive does not, as you apparently think, mean something unquestionably positive. Indy simply is not a tourism destination, and there's nothing wrong with that.
What is your source for your claim that occupancy has never been below 90%? Let me give you a little hint: SPG reports occupancy rates in their 10Ks. Circle Centre is one of SPG's most vacant malls in an urban setting. It's most recent occupancy was 87%; Lafayette Square fared only slightly worse at 82%. Contrast this with the 99% occupancy rates of the Fashion Mall, Castleton and Greenwood Park.
I'm saying that CC is doomed, but there is plenty to be concerned about.
Let me walk you through this slowly: YOUR name is Nancy, as your screen name shows and my name is Chris, as my screen name shows. And yet, somehow you think you are my alter ego? Wow, either you really need mental health treatment, or else you need to work on your sense of humor because it is really far more bizarre than funny.
In any event, to respond to the one coherent comment you made: If Circle Centre is doomed to fail because it supposedly relies mostly on tourists for business, then why has it had for almost its entire 13 year history higher sales per square foot than the national average for malls? Does the failure part come in year 15 or 20?
You certainly have a right to your opinion, but as I posted before if you cannot back up what you say, then you can expect others to disagree with you.
Finally, I will respond to Johnny: The vacancy rate in Circle Centre is almost entirely confined to the 4th floor, which has never been a success. The first three floors are almost entirely occupied. In 2005, Circle Centre had sales of $422 per square foot compared to the national average of $366. The occupancy rate, which is now 88.1% (as of Simon's latest 10K) is certainly not the lowest of the malls in Simon's portfolio--various other malls had lower occupancy--AND it needs to be balanced against the sales per square foot the mall generates.
Admittedly, the high-end Fashion Mall does much better, but Circle Centre does quite well and brings in a good amount of revenue. I am not quite sure what all the gloom and doom is about.
I would venture to say that Johnny hasn't stepped foot in CC in years...probably because he doens't feel safe there. Circle Centre is THE model for downtown urban malls and how they succeed. Do a google on it and you will find numerous stories on Indy's uber successful downtown mall.
Personal attacks aside, I am in CC nearly every day that I'm in the city, and I've been keenly interested in the project since the Hudnut administration.
Why on Earth did you say probably because he doens't (sic) feel safe there?