Businesses are desperately moving away from the big Mall experience

Grassroots activism

Business Moving Away from Big Malls

While businesses are desperately moving away from the big Mall experience, promoters and vision seekers for the Corridor X Task Force, working under the jurisdiction of the Regional Growth Alliance, believe a Riverchase Galleria Mall is the ticket for interchanges located in Walker County. Fueled by the half-truths and false promises of smart growth, members of the Corridor X Task Force belief Walker County's population, no where near Birmingham's population, can support a Galleria type Mall.

Not in the next one hundred (100) years says more realistic leaders in Walker County and members of the Walker County Property Owners PAC. The Corridor X Task Force must take counsel from retail leaders such as Wal-Mart, Sears, K-Mart, JCPenney and Bloomingdales.

"The Regional Growth Alliance is a consensus of groups," Pell City Mayor Guin Robinson said. "You have elected officials, business partners and citizens working together."

The alliance is a three-way partnership between the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Region 20/20, according to a press release by Pell City officials.

Formed in 2001, the aim of the alliance is to foster cooperation across the geographic divide of county lines, police and fire jurisdictions and other abstract boundaries. Bringing together officials, business people and citizens from all areas, the alliance aims to make better decisions about what is right for the 12 counties served by it.

The Walker County Property and Home Owners PAC believes that the Regional Growth Alliance is a subterfuge for land grabs by government bureaucrats. The Regional Growth Alliance is about increasing property and sales taxes at the expense of property and home owners. Stay tuned for more on smart growth half-truths and false promises. If you need more proof that the Regional Growth Alliance and the Corridor X Task Force is wrong read on.

By the time this article makes the press, Sears, Roebuck and Company and K-Mart will be combined into one gigantic company. The new company is expected to have $55 billion in annual revenues and 3,500 retail outlets. That will mean it will trail only Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot Inc. among the biggest U.S. retailers.

For Sears, the merger allows the company to move more quickly to where it believes its strongest base of customers is. "Off-mall is where we need to move very aggressively," said Sears CEO Alan Lacy.

Consumers' growing preference for off-mall shopping will transform retail, Design and Display Ideas Magazine report finds:

Consumers' preference for off-mall shopping and the complementary decline in traditional shopping malls is reshaping the retail industry, according to DDI editor RoxAnna Sway in a recent report. The annual "State of the Industry" report, by editor Sway, was recently completed and is, for the first time, available to retailers, retail suppliers and service firms, financial analysts and others with vital interests in the retail industry. Other analysis from the report includes the growing polarization of consumers and the coming revolution as design moves into the mass market. For more information, please visit http://www.ddimagazine.com/displayanddesignideas/reports_analysis/index.jsp

Alan Lacy, chairman and chief executive at Sears, said the transactions "will jump-start our strategy to grow the Sears brand off-mall, increase our points of distribution, and acquire well-located real estate at a fair value in key markets for Sears." Sears said it plans to convert three of the newly acquired stores to its new Sears Grand concept, with most of the rest to have a similar format. Sears Grand stores, introduced last fall, offer grocery and convenience items in addition to traditional Sears fare such as clothing, home appliances and tools. San Diego Union Tribune July 1, 2004

Department store chain JCPenney, Plano, Texas, will be placing more of its stores in off-mall locations, according to president and COO Ken Hicks in a presentation from the company's 2004 analyst meeting. In the presentation, Hicks cited the population shift, few "traditional" regional mall opportunities and off-mall locations providing flexibility in location, size and timing.

Department store operators are starting to shift from their mall bases to more
freestanding stores, a strategy that offers more flexibility in opening stores and tries to capitalize on changing consumer shopping preferences.

The most recent example of the "off-mall" trend is a Bloomingdale's that opened Saturday in New York's SoHo neighborhood, a densely populated area made trendy in recent years as former warehouses have been converted to boutiques, restaurants and other shops.

Big Malls are unpopular, over crowded, no parking and are becoming very unpopular every day. Don't invest in our children's future with Smart Growth half truths and false promises.

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	Business Moving Away from Big Malls
	While businesses are desperately moving away from the big Mall experience, promoters and vision seekers for the Corridor X Task Force, working under the jurisdiction of the Regional Growth Alliance, believe a Riverchase Galleria Mall is the ticket for interchanges located in Walker County. Fueled by the half-truths and false promises of smart growth, members of the Corridor X Task Force belief Walker County's population, no where near Birmingham's population, can support a Galleria type Mall. Not in the next one hundred (100) years says more realistic leaders in Walker County and members of the Walker County Property Owners PAC. The Corridor X Task Force must take counsel from retail leaders such as Wal-Mart, Sears, K-Mart, JCPenney and Bloomingdales. "The Regional Growth Alliance is a consensus of groups," Pell City Mayor Guin Robinson said. "You have elected officials, business partners and citizens working together." The alliance is a three-way partnership between the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Region 20/20, according to a press release by Pell City officials. Formed in 2001, the aim of the alliance is to foster cooperation across the geographic divide of county lines, police and fire jurisdictions and other abstract boundaries. Bringing together officials, business people and citizens from all areas, the alliance aims to make better decisions about what is right for the 12 counties served by it. The Walker County Property and Home Owners PAC believes that the Regional Growth Alliance is a subterfuge for land grabs by government bureaucrats. The Regional Growth Alliance is about increasing property and sales taxes at the expense of property and home owners. Stay tuned for more on smart growth half-truths and false promises. If you need more proof that the Regional Growth Alliance and the Corridor X Task Force is wrong read on. By the time this article makes the press, Sears, Roebuck and Company and K-Mart will be combined into one gigantic company. The new company is expected to have $55 billion in annual revenues and 3,500 retail outlets. That will mean it will trail only Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot Inc. among the biggest U.S. retailers. For Sears, the merger allows the company to move more quickly to where it believes its strongest base of customers is. "Off-mall is where we need to move very aggressively," said Sears CEO Alan Lacy. Consumers' growing preference for off-mall shopping will transform retail, Design and Display Ideas Magazine report finds: Consumers' preference for off-mall shopping and the complementary decline in traditional shopping malls is reshaping the retail industry, according to DDI editor RoxAnna Sway in a recent report. The annual "State of the Industry" report, by editor Sway, was recently completed and is, for the first time, available to retailers, retail suppliers and service firms, financial analysts and others with vital interests in the retail industry. Other analysis from the report includes the growing polarization of consumers and the coming revolution as design moves into the mass market. For more information, please visit http://www.ddimagazine.com/displayanddesignideas/reports_analysis/index.jsp Alan Lacy, chairman and chief executive at Sears, said the transactions "will jump-start our strategy to grow the Sears brand off-mall, increase our points of distribution, and acquire well-located real estate at a fair value in key markets for Sears." Sears said it plans to convert three of the newly acquired stores to its new Sears Grand concept, with most of the rest to have a similar format. Sears Grand stores, introduced last fall, offer grocery and convenience items in addition to traditional Sears fare such as clothing, home appliances and tools. San Diego Union Tribune July 1, 2004 Department store chain JCPenney, Plano, Texas, will be placing more of its stores in off-mall locations, according to president and COO Ken Hicks in a presentation from the company's 2004 analyst meeting. In the presentation, Hicks cited the population shift, few "traditional" regional mall opportunities and off-mall locations providing flexibility in location, size and timing. Department store operators are starting to shift from their mall bases to more freestanding stores, a strategy that offers more flexibility in opening stores and tries to capitalize on changing consumer shopping preferences. The most recent example of the "off-mall" trend is a Bloomingdale's that opened Saturday in New York's SoHo neighborhood, a densely populated area made trendy in recent years as former warehouses have been converted to boutiques, restaurants and other shops. Big Malls are unpopular, over crowded, no parking and are becoming very unpopular every day. Don't invest in our children's future with Smart Growth half truths and false promises.
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