Dead Malls

[Konza]

Developers did start pivoting towards lifestyle centers with outdoor sections, though, and those look to be safer than a traditional indoor mall. Three of the local malls with outdoor areas have reopened and seem to be busy.

The main reason developers "pivoted" to "lifestyle centers" is because of the decline of the department store business.

New malls used to be built because the "anchors" (department stores) wanted new locations.  When the department stores were no longer were interested in expanding their footprint but other national chains that usually located in malls wanted new locations, developers responded by building what are essentially malls without department store anchors.

[Bruce]

Cascade Mall in Burlington, WA (the only enclosed shopping center from Marysville to Bellingham) will be closing at the end of the month. They only had one anchor tenant left (TJ Maxx), and a few on the periphery.

https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/cascade-mall-to-close-at-end-of-june/article_fe336545-6c50-575a-854d-9eb6b5b8b94b.html

Did Burlington even need a mall? It has less than 10,000 in population. While it's true malls have been on the decline for years I am amazed at how many we had. I thought they were only in larger cities.

I suspect it was built to attract customers from Vancouver, BC.

Cascade Mall was built to serve Skagit County, which has 110K, and a bit of north Snohomish (which has 100K on its own). There is a closer mall for Vancouverites (Bellis Fair in Bellingham) and an adjacent outlet mall that is squarely targeted at Canadians. Though both seem to be eclipsed by the Quil Ceda outlet mall+casino combo on the Tulalip Res, which has so many BC plates in their parking lots.

[briantroutman]

^ Along the same lines, I recall coming across a vacant outlet mall adjacent to I-87 (Exit 42) near Plattsburgh, NY. I can't recall the name offhand, but I later found some contemporary articles about the mall's opening and that one of its major targets was Québécois looking for bargains. But fluctuations in the exchange rate around the time of the mall's virtually nullified that benefit, and the mall failed.

[kphoger]

Are outlet malls still a thing?  Or are those dying too?

[Roadrunner75]

I've never thought of most "outlet" malls as true outlets.   A lot of these places have items made specifically for them.  Having been to what I consider real outlets in Reading, PA, most of these are just big strip malls of expensive brands selling alternate versions of their products. 

That being said, the "outlets" local to me seemed to being doing well (at least pre-pandemic) and a new one was built nearby only a couple of years ago.

[Revive 755]

Are outlet malls still a thing?  Or are those dying too?

Seems to depend a lot on the location.  I can think of a few that were dying prior to the pandemic.

[Takumi]

Are outlet malls still a thing?  Or are those dying too?

The one in Williamsburg, VA is still doing well, although Williamsburg itself is a tourist destination so that's not unexpected.

[ftballfan]

I've never thought of most "outlet" malls as true outlets.   A lot of these places have items made specifically for them.  Having been to what I consider real outlets in Reading, PA, most of these are just big strip malls of expensive brands selling alternate versions of their products. 

That being said, the "outlets" local to me seemed to being doing well (at least pre-pandemic) and a new one was built nearby only a couple of years ago.

A new Tanger Outlets mall was built just south of Grand Rapids, MI a few years ago. It seemed to be doing decent

[briantroutman]

I've never thought of most "outlet" malls as true outlets.

Yes, the concept of a true factory outlet was–as far as I can tell–a relatively brief window in the 1970s and 80s when space in gritty old mill buildings was repurposed to sell off unsold inventory and slightly imperfect merchandise. By the time that the outlet mall craze became a national phenomenon in the '90s, the stores' proliferation had outstripped the manufacturers' ability to supply overstocked products, and the concept of the made-for-outlet product was born.

I recall reading an article about the growth of so-called "premium"  outlets, and it described a fairly common strategy that has worked well for many mall developers thus far. The outlet malls are frequently sited at least an hour's drive outside of a major city–intentionally–both so that customers assume "it's so inconvenient to get there, they must have great deals" , and also so that visitors have so much time and effort invested in the shopping trip that they feel obligated to buy as much as possible to make the investment worthwhile. Another strategy is to locate outlets in the vicinity of popular tourist destinations so that carefree impulse purchasing becomes an extension of the fun atmosphere of being on vacation. Products are displayed with prominent "retail price"  tags and discounts frequently of 50% or greater, but the phony sale prices are even more of a fiction than in typical department and mall stores because the outlet store products are often (literally) not sold at retail.

The target customer, I understand, has deep attachments to brand names (especially names carrying some sense of prestige)–which are prioritized over product quality or satisfaction with the product.

Are outlet malls still a thing?  Or are those dying too?

From my standpoint as a casual observer, the outlet mall trend has continued to grow in recent years, although a few aspects have evolved.

One that I alluded to above is the increased focus on selling the cache of designer brand names via inferior products to aspirational consumers who, honestly, can't afford the genuine article. With little exception, most of the declining or dead outlet malls I can think of generally lacked a focus and sold a variety of goods–often with a high percentage of non-apparel items–through stores that either weren't brand-specific or were brands that the public didn't perceive to be desirable. On the other hand, all of the successful outlet malls I know are populated almost solely by single-brand stores–and typically brands whose products are little more than vehicles for ostentatious displays of the company name: Calvin Klein, Guess, Coach, etc.

It seems that there's been a bit of a sorting out of the label-conscious crowd: Those with the least disposable income go to off-price retailers like Ross and T.J. Maxx in the hopes that they can sift through a dozen disheveled racks and come away with a few pieces from brand names they like. Those who are more brand fixated and who have a little more income–but not enough to go to a class A mall–go to the outlets to buy the brands they want.

[Flint1979]

The outlet mall in Birch Run seems to be doing ok still. It's the largest outlet mall in the Midwest and it's been there since 1986.

[GaryV]

The outlet mall in Birch Run seems to be doing ok still. It's the largest outlet mall in the Midwest and it's been there since 1986.

However 30 years ago it was much more "outlet" than it is now.  We used to get kid's stuff at Oshkosh, and they kindly put little stickers on the clothes noting the imperfections.  It seems when we've gone in more recent years our emphasis was on being able to get certain brands we wanted.  The stores don't seem to focus on overruns or less-than-perfect anymore.

Still, Birch Run is doing better than many other outlet malls in MI - one or 2 have closed.

[Flint1979]

The outlet mall in Birch Run seems to be doing ok still. It's the largest outlet mall in the Midwest and it's been there since 1986.

However 30 years ago it was much more "outlet" than it is now.  We used to get kid's stuff at Oshkosh, and they kindly put little stickers on the clothes noting the imperfections.  It seems when we've gone in more recent years our emphasis was on being able to get certain brands we wanted.  The stores don't seem to focus on overruns or less-than-perfect anymore.

Still, Birch Run is doing better than many other outlet malls in MI - one or 2 have closed.

I haven't gone into any of the stores in the Birch Run Outlets in years now. I worked at Tony's for 15 years out there and the volume of business that exit produced was crazy. It also helps that it's the NB exit for Frankenmuth.

[Takumi]

Yes, the concept of a true factory outlet was–as far as I can tell–a relatively brief window in the 1970s and 80s when space in gritty old mill buildings was repurposed to sell off unsold inventory and slightly imperfect merchandise. By the time that the outlet mall craze became a national phenomenon in the '90s, the stores' proliferation had outstripped the manufacturers' ability to supply overstocked products, and the concept of the made-for-outlet product was born.

That"˜s pretty much how I understand it happened. By the time I was aware of things, only Sears still had the older style outlet stores around. Companies like Marshall's and Ross were on the rise around then.

[thenetwork]

A lot of the outlet stores I am familiar with are indeed about 60 minutes away from large cities.  Here in Colorado, there is a big one on I-25 in Castle Rock (about midway between Denver and Colo Springs) and there is another one in Dillon -- near the ski resorts and an hour west of Denver on I-70.

Another reason why many outlet malls were about an hour out of town: Land was waaay cheaper at a freeway exit which once had minimal services.   

[webny99]

Waterloo Premium Outlets, located in the Middle Of Nowhere™ between Rochester and Syracuse, seems to be doing well. They used to have a lot of Canadian shoppers, obviously that's not the case any more, but the parking lot was still quite full both times I've been past since the start of the pandemic.

[Bruce]

Seattle Premium Outlets is about 30 miles north of Seattle and mainly exists to siphon away money from Canadian tourists.

[Life in Paradise]

In my regional area, Eddyville, KY (Western KY) had a outlet mall that is practically dead and buried.  There may be a couple of stores left out of dozens.  Edinburgh, IN has been doing well (between Columbus, IN and Indianapolis on I-65), but south of there outside of Seymour, another outlet mall has gone to that great concourse in the sky.  There is one that is outside of Evansville, IN (near US41 and I-64) that basically was platted in the late 80s, and never built other than a restaurant on the highway.

[US 89]

Are outlet malls still a thing?  Or are those dying too?

The Tanger Outlets mall at Kimball Junction, Utah (I-80 and SR 224) is still going strong as far as I can tell, though that may have more to do with the high volume of tourist traffic to the nearby Park City and Deer Valley ski resorts.

[hbelkins]

In my regional area, Eddyville, KY (Western KY) had a outlet mall that is practically dead and buried.  There may be a couple of stores left out of dozens.  Edinburgh, IN has been doing well (between Columbus, IN and Indianapolis on I-65), but south of there outside of Seymour, another outlet mall has gone to that great concourse in the sky.  There is one that is outside of Evansville, IN (near US41 and I-64) that basically was platted in the late 80s, and never built other than a restaurant on the highway.

Outlet malls were a big thing for awhile. There's a small one in Carrollton, Ky., that doesn't have much left. The VF store is still there (I bought many pairs of Lee jeans and khakis there years ago) but I don't know if much else is open. There's also one in Dry Ridge that's doing better. A huge one in Georgetown is just a shell of itself. Ditto for one at Flatwoods, WV.

A new premium outlet mall has opened at Simpsonville, just west of Shelbyville and a few miles east of Louisville. It's become something of a destination.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

The Albertville outlet malls between the Twin Cities and St. Cloud is still doing pretty well as far as I know.

[Sctvhound]

SC has multiple outlet malls. Tanger Outlets (right by the Charleston airport) is a very successful one. I'd say one of the most successful maybe in the country. That outlet mall has basically taken the enclosed mall in our area, Citadel Mall, out of business.

Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach also have Tanger Outlets. Myrtle Beach has two right across from each other along with Hilton Head.

Santee (exit 98 on I-95) used to have an outlet mall, but it has closed down now. No stores operating at all. At one point it had 50 stores. Darien, GA also has a small outlet mall.

[jakeroot]

The Shoppes at Riverside near Aberdeen, Washington has a big hole in it.  Street View.

I went back in time using Historic Aerials:

1981: no store (open "pad")
1990: store built on the site
2006: demolished, seemingly a while ago.
today: obviously still nothing there.

So that site was home to nothing, then something, and then nothing again lol.

Reminds me of the Sears at the Tacoma Mall. Both the last addition to the mall, and the first thing demolished as part of redevelopments.

EDIT: added another year.

[kevinb1994]

SC has multiple outlet malls. Tanger Outlets (right by the Charleston airport) is a very successful one. I'd say one of the most successful maybe in the country. That outlet mall has basically taken the enclosed mall in our area, Citadel Mall, out of business.

Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach also have Tanger Outlets. Myrtle Beach has two right across from each other along with Hilton Head.

Santee (exit 98 on I-95) used to have an outlet mall, but it has closed down now. No stores operating at all. At one point it had 50 stores. Darien, GA also has a small outlet mall.

I was wondering why it was dead there in Santee back in late September of 2017.

[EpicRoadways]

The Albertville outlet malls between the Twin Cities and St. Cloud is still doing pretty well as far as I know.

The older western end of the outlets by all indications is doing well and at least pre-covid was always PACKED. I just read somewhere that the newer (mid-2000s) eastern development separated by CSAH 19 is really struggling to attract any new businesses and has resorted to more local boutique-style storefronts as opposed to the national chains which in general have all either closed up shop or moved to the west side of the outlets.

[D-Dey65]

Are outlet malls still a thing?  Or are those dying too?

Seems to depend a lot on the location.  I can think of a few that were dying prior to the pandemic.

The one in Santee, SC was dying before the turn of the millennium. My parents used to take road trips to visit my grandmother in Clearwater and they bragged about how great it was. The same goes for Smithfield, NC. When I saw it for the first time the whole place went bust. Smithfield still survived, but in my case, most of the stores I wanted to go to weren't open yet.