Word: malling
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Dates: during 1990-1990
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Unlike dreary discount stores or outlets of the past, which tended to be about as cozy as an airplane hangar, Sawgrass Mills has a Disneyesque ambiance that offers fun along with bargains. The innovative Coral Gables, Fla., firm Arquitectonica designed the mall in a wacky alligator shape, a nice touch considering its location at the edge of the Everglades. The Florida theme extends from the logo, a saw-toothed alligator, to parking-lot markers (a yellow toucan, a pink flamingo, etc.), to a windswept-looking Hurricane Food Court, complete with wind sounds and swirling banners. Shoppers stroll under palmetto trees...
Step into Florida's Sawgrass Mills, the world's biggest outlet-and-discount mall. Situated 15 miles west of Fort Lauderdale, it boasts 2.2 million sq. ft. of name-brand shopping at no-name prices. The parking lot alone covers 170 acres. Two miles of storefronts, 150 in all, include outlets for such status labels as Ann Taylor, Maidenform, Van Heusen, American Tourister and Athlete's Foot, plus such familiar discount stores as Brands Mart and Marshalls...
Many of the most popular direct-from-the-factory establishments are individual stores, such as the L.L. Bean outlet in North Conway, N.H., or the V F Factory Outlet in Reading, Pa. But hundreds of outlet centers, ranging from spartan shopping strips to swank malls, now cater to tourists and travelers. Many are sited just off major interstate highways or close to vacation spots. "For these prices, I don't mind fighting the freeway," exults Houston housewife Laura Freeman, two small kids in tow, as she balances a mound of towels selling for $2.99 a pound at the Lone Star...
Sawgrass, perhaps the snazziest discount mall to date, was built by Western Development Corp. based on the firm's two earlier successes: Potomac Mills in suburban Virginia and Franklin Mills on the fringes of Philadelphia. Each attracts 1 million bargain-hunting shoppers a month. "Western is doing something daring and truly different, gambling that this might be the future of malls in America," says Terry Dunham, publisher of Value Retail News, which tracks the outlet industry from Clearwater, Fla. Western has plans for four more discount malls: near Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Ontario, Calif. Not to be outdone, Benderson Development...
...invaders, partly because they perceive the discount centers as out- of-the-way places, suitable mainly for tourists or big-haul shopping. Luxury department stores like Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue take an elitist approach -- at least publicly -- and shrug off the challenge from outlet malls. "The competition in retail is always fierce, but our customer is not attracted to an outlet mall," says Carol Sanger, vice president of the Federated and Allied Stores chain, which includes Bloomingdale's, Burdine's, A&S and Jordan Marsh. She may be wrong about that. "I'd much rather...