Struggling Malls Try To Lure Shoppers Back

Just a few years ago, Janet Schwartz couldn’t think of many reasons to visit Roosevelt Field mall.

“It looked old, wasn’t too busy and only had a few stores I was interested in,” said the Brooklyn, N.Y., resident. “Not worth the schlep.”

But now Schwartz spends many afternoons roaming the corridors of the Long Island mall, a newly renovated shopping mecca with stores like J. Crew, Polo Sport, MAC cosmetics, Pottery Barn and FAO Schwarz.

It’s an era of reconstruction in the mall industry as shopping centers and retailers nationwide invest millions of dollars in renovations to improve their facilities and lure shoppers.

Such efforts come as malls face increasingly tough competition for precious consumer dollars. Older, dated malls often lose shoppers to more modern rivals that offer entertainment complexes, service-oriented stores and better parking and security.

“With retail sales down, consumers need to be drawn back into the malls,” said Bruce Van Kleeck, vice president of the National Retail Federation, a Washington-based trade group. “But they need something beside shopping to get them to there.”

The malling of America began three decades ago, when enclosed shopping centers began appearing around the country. Intrigued by a new phenomenon in the shopping experience, consumers flocked to malls not only to make their purchases, but also to gather in their free time.

Mall traffic, however, dwindled as consumer shopping patterns changed in recent years. More people work, leaving them with less time to spend at the malls, and many consumers aren’t buying as much because they’re laden with debt from credit cards.

Consumers today also want more than just shopping from their malls. Services like dry cleaning or tire centers, and entertainment areas including popular restaurants, movie theaters and amusement rides, are now part of mall life.

“Shopping is no longer a national pastime,” said Bob Verdisco, president of the International Mass Retailers Association, an Arlington, Va.-based industry group. “What consumers are really looking for is price, convenience and selection. They want to go one place and buy a few different things and be done.”

That has forced many mall developers to upgrade existing centers rather than build new facilities. In fact, last year 895 malls - from the largest megamalls to small three-store shopping centers - were built nationwide, nearly a third of the total built in 1987, according to the National Research Board, a Chicago-based group that studies shopping centers.

Roosevelt Field was once filled with moderately-priced stores that didn’t meet the local needs of the densely-populated, affluent area about 30 miles east of New York City.

The mall underwent a vast expansion in 1993, adding a second level, a food court and some higher-end retailers, including popular stores like J. Crew, Banana Republic, Bebe and Warner Bros. Sales increased about 20 percent after the new wing opened.

More renovations came last year, with additional space added to the second level for a number of upscale tenants like Bally shoes, BCBG and Kenneth Cole. The first Nordstrom on Long Island is set to open next August, giving the mall five “anchor” stores including Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, J.C. Penney and Stern’s.

“The demographics around Roosevelt Field were so strong, across every class,” said Mitchell N. Friedel, director of leasing at Corporate Property Investors, the New York-based company that owns and is responsible for the recent renovation and expansion.

“By upgrading our tenant mix, our goal was to capture more of the Long Island market,” he said. “From this, every store in the mall benefits because a greater diversity of shoppers patronize the mall.”

Now Roosevelt Field is considered one of the nation’s largest malls, in terms of size and sales. Traffic is up significantly as is consumer satisfaction, and most tenants see an uptick in sales for their stores.

And Roosevelt Field isn’t the only mall going through such a transformation. Nationwide, mall developers and retailers are giving their facilities face lifts to drive in more consumer traffic.

The owners of River Park Square in downtown Spokane plan a $100 million redevelopment project with a new Nordstrom store as anchor tenant. Other features include a multiscreen cinema and food court.

Spokane’s NorthTown Mall was extensively rebuilt over the last few years, including the addition of a second level to accommodate more shops and restaurants.

Meanwhile, work is progressing on the new Spokane Valley Mall, which is scheduled to open in August.

“Retailing is a really tough business these days,” said Cathy Lickteig, spokeswoman for the Columbia, Md.-based Rouse Co., which plans to expand 35 of its 70 malls by the end of the decade and limit the amount of new development.

“Consumers are careful with their spending and they know the difference between average and outstanding,” she said. “Our expansion can’t be just a coat of paint.”