A few words on Eastland's last day

Eastland Mall closes today, 34 years and 11 months to the day after its much-heralded debut on July 30, 1975. The mall's ride has been a fascinating and rocky one, with all kinds of ties to Charlotte's greater history of growth, development, traffic patterns and changing neighborhoods and identities, fraught with meaning, symbolism and implications. (I've been trying to keep up with news on the mall's fate while delving deeply into some of that in recent stories, which is why my blog posts have been few and far between for the last couple of weeks - for that, I apologize!)

It's been incredibly interesting talking to people about their memories of the mall and their feelings about its slide, and it's reminded me of the role that retail spaces can play in shaping our lives - how they help provide a sense of place, take us back to moments in time and offer not just four walls in which to make some kind of transaction, but serve as a workplace, a social space and a mirror of a community. Are all shopping centers designed and intended to be this way? Certainly not, as evidenced by plenty of disposable architecture littering the landscape. But Eastland wasn't some tossed-off, hastily constructed insta-plaza. As historian Tom Hanchett said when I talked with him about the mall last week: “The mall was thought out in a way that made it a special place, and made it a coming-together place."

I think that's part of why people remember it so fondly and have taken its decline so personally: It was designed as a destination, with entertainment options, spots to sit and relax, waterfalls and skylights and 30-foot ficus trees growing inside. Opening when it did, in the mid-1970s, when malls were ascendant in teen culture and broader society, it became sort of the de facto downtown of a suburban area that otherwise lacked a more traditionally-defined center. And indeed, it struck me that people looked back at Eastland's heyday the same way that someone raised a couple decades earlier might feel upon returning to a small-town downtown that bustled in the 1950s, but has since seen its businesses - drug stores, banks, bakeries, shoe stores, restaurants - depart for newer environs at the edge of town. It's not just that the landscape has changed physically, but what that shift evokes on an emotional level. Or, as David Wayne Evans, the mall's onetime promotions coordinator, said when I interviewed him about how he felt when he last visited Eastland, about four years ago: "I just turned 47, and when you see stuff from your life start to disappear, it's kind of a telling moment how life just changes."

At Eastland, people met their spouses, went on first dates, saw "Star Wars" for the first time, took their first, tentative steps onto an ice rink, got their first jobs, registered for their weddings, bought their first business suits - all life milestones that mean something. "It was a very magical place to go," Donna Ashcraft Pressley, Eastland's longtime marketing director, recalled last week. And no matter how the end came, that's worth remembering.

***The photos with this post are courtesy of Pat Richardson of Charlotte, who generously sent a selection of old Eastland pictures my way. He was 8 and lived two miles from Eastland when it opened, and remembered the excitement of visiting on opening weekend in 1975. "It was so new, exciting and different," he said. "SouthPark was only one level and didn't have a food court. For a teenager, Eastland was a dream come true." Even his cousins who lived near SouthPark would cross town to visit the newer, hipper mall.

Richardson fondly recalls Farrell's ice cream parlor, shopping at the Hub men's store and Spencer Gifts, taking the "up" escalator at the edge of the ice rink, watching his sister when she first got her ears pierced at Eastland and visiting the Record Bar. He also can't forget the distinctive interior design and bizarre seating at Gourmet Gardens, the food court: "It was like you were sitting on boulders." (Oh, the '70s.) Richardson also has a broader interest in Charlotte's dining, advertising and shopping history, and displays some of the very cool artifacts he's unearthed on his two blogs, Charlotte Ads and Charlotte Eats, which are well worth checking out when you have the time.

Tim Gunn: Making it work at SouthPark this weekend

This event was announced months ago, but I feel duty-bound to provide a reminder that wry, wise and ever-tasteful "Project Runway" guru and co-host Tim Gunn will be visiting SouthPark mall on Saturday for a spring fashion show and meet 'n' greet. The event starts at 1 p.m. at Center Court.

Previously chair of fashion design at Parsons The New School for Design in New York, Gunn has served since 2007 as the chief creative officer for Liz Claiborne Inc. The company is sponsoring Saturday's proceedings, which will feature several of its brands, including Juicy Couture, Kate Spade and Lucky Brand Jeans. Says a news release: "Guests will enjoy live style transformations, get invaluable fit and style tips and learn how to maximize their wardrobe!"

Reserved seating for the event is full, but standing room will be available. In addition, anyone who spends $125 or more at Juicy, Kate Spade and/or Lucky Brand stores this week will receive a complimentary gift and be professionally photographed with Gunn on the runway, whether or not they have a seat, according to the mall.

H&M? Not here, at least this year

If you're eager for Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M to finally open a Charlotte store, well, keep waiting. The only new U.S. market the sought-after chain plans to enter the rest of this year is Portland, Ore., says a story in today's Wall Street Journal that attempts to explain why H&M has been so slow to arrive in many areas across the southern part of the country. Short answer: It's the weather. Says the article:

"The chain's Swedish parent company, H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB, isn't sure how to sell clothes in cities that are always warm...It wasn't until 2006, when the brand had around a hundred stores in the country, that the company finally entered the Los Angeles area, its first foray into a U.S. city with year-around sunshine.

H&M now has nearly 200 stores in the U.S. But they are noticeably absent in areas that seem ripe for its colorful tank tops and floral dresses. Austin, Houston and Dallas are bare, as are Salt Lake City and New Orleans. The states of New Mexico, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina also lack an H&M, while Indiana boasts three.

In the few warm weather climates where H&M has ventured, its penetration is minimal. It only recently opened in Florida, in Orlando, and won't land in South Florida until this fall. It has only two stores in Las Vegas."

This seems a somewhat strange explanation to me, as H&M has stores in both the Middle East and the warm, Mediterranean regions of Europe. But even if that does hold true, it still doesn't entirely explain the lack of a Charlotte store - after all, we have four seasons here, and H&M opened a location in Raleigh earlier this year. The company also has stores in Richmond and Atlanta, neither of which is known for its frigid climate.

If you've never been to an H&M, you might be wondering what the big deal is anyway. But there really isn't an equivalent local option to the chain's stylish, affordable basics and trendier pieces - and when I say "affordable," I mean, at truly recession-friendly prices. Even when the featured styles aren't quite up your alley - a lot of the floral tops and dresses I spotted there during a recent trip to New York brought on unpleasant flashbacks to the early 1990s - the variety changes quickly enough that if you don't find something that interests you on one visit, chances are that will change by the next time you stop in. Though I've never conducted a scientific poll (or, heck, an unscientific one), I'd bet the chain tops the list of stores that people would like to see come to Charlotte - and that that scenario would repeat itself in other H&M-free cities across the South. Compounding the frustration: You can't buy the company's clothes online in the U.S., either.

In the five-plus years I've lived here, Charlotte has been able to check some big names off its retail wish list: Trader Joe's, Crate & Barrel, Neiman Marcus and Ikea. Even Whole Foods and Saks Fifth Avenue, which have pulled back on plans to open in Charlotte, at least at one point announced their desire to have a local presence (although with Saks, it's perhaps a good thing it didn't happen, because the company is now shutting underperforming stores in the recession). But H&M, which opened its first U.S. store in New York 10 years ago, has continued to hold out. Though I'm pretty sure it will arrive eventually, for a lot of local shoppers, it can't come soon enough.

Update: Here's what H&M spokeswoman Nicole Christie had to say today about prospects for a Charlotte store: "We don't have anything to announce yet, but we definitely believe in Charlotte as a very strong retail market and having great potential for our stores." 

The chain has received plenty of feedback urging a local store and is "by no means neglecting the market," she said, but will hold off until it can find the right space. 

"We're really secure that when we come to Charlotte, we're going to be well-received," Christie said. "But our priority is finding the right location. We know we have the customer base there."

Flip flops are tops at two planned shops

Closed-toe shoes need not apply at a new store aiming for its first Charlotte location this summer, with another to follow in the fall: Flip Flop Shops, an Atlanta-based chain where, unsurprisingly, flip flops are the focus. Local couple Jeff and Pam Burrus plan to open one at Carolina Place mall in Pineville on July 1 - on the second level, near American Eagle - and say they're scouting sites across south Charlotte for a second location they hope to open in October or November.

Flip Flop Shops, which has 14 locations thus far and 40 more in the works, says it's the country's first retail chain devoted specifically to the summery shoes. It sells leading sandal brands such as Reef, Sanuk, Flojos, Vans, Havaianas, Olukai, Rainbow, Cobian and O'Neill in a laid-back, beach-themed setting, with prices ranging from $20 to more than $100. "Once reserved only for poolside or beachwear, flip flops have grown to become the global youth uniform, as well as accepted footwear for anyone ranging from surfers to high-level corporate executives," the company says in a news release, although I am quite sure that the latter assertion would be news to my boss, and those of plenty of other companies.

The Burruses have lived in Charlotte for 18 years, said Pam Burrus, who worked in banking before having her first child 10 years ago. Jeff Burrus was previously in the mortgage business, spending 14 years at the same company before it went out of business in February 2009. Instead of looking for another mortgage-related job, Pam said, he decided to do something on his own, and the couple began researching franchises. They kept coming back to the flip flop store, as they liked the concept and one-stop shopping aspect. They're planning to provide a relaxed experience and good customer service, Pam said.

Visiting Eastland, before it's gone for good

As Eastland Mall twisted in the wind over the last decade or so, it became increasingly clear that its days were numbered - with the only question when, not if, it would shut for good. But with the news last week that the mall is, indeed, slated to shut down at the end of June, a couple of colleagues and I decided to stop by for lunch on Friday, not as reporters, but just as customers, to see it while we still could.

It seemed the venerable shopping center was more diminished each time I saw it over the last few years, sapped by uncertainty, shedding a couple of stores here and there. But even as recently as a year or two ago, there was a little life left in it. No more: Picture a final clearance sale on its last, weary legs and you'll have a pretty good idea of what the place looks and feels like now. An air of resignation hung over the whole scene, yet maybe also a little relief, because at least now the mall's fate is clear - and shoppers and tenants can plan accordingly. Signs in the mall listed "Operating hours through June 30," and said, "Thank you to the hundreds of millions of shoppers who have visited us over 35 great years!" ("Hundreds of millions"? Hm.)

Contrary to the negative perceptions that have damaged the mall's image, our trip wasn't unsafe or sketchy - just really sad. Even on the way over, it was impossible to escape what had been and was no more - even the Red Lobster on nearby Albemarle Road, which had been open as recently as a few months ago, was boarded-up and closed. At the mall itself, the reminders persisted, down to the curiously unchanged '70s-style "Eastland" signs over the main entrances, showing that leaf-sun logo with the puffed-out cheeks blowing what must surely be a blast of bitter air at this point. The former Firestone car care center in the parking lot, on Central Avenue, was also closed.

Inside, the scene is arguably stranger, because the mall has been fairly tidily kept and still maintains all the familiar visual cues of a decent early-'90s mall, just with few shoppers and few of the stores you'd expect to find in such a setting. There are the shiny, neutral-colored marble floors, the neatly potted plants flanking stairways, the light flooding in from skylights, the greenery lining the balcony overlooks, all a bit of a time capsule, and not a decrepit one. A Charlotte native in our group could point to vacant storefronts and tell us what they used to be - Morrison Cafeteria, Hibbett Sports, Express, Sears, Dillard's, the Children's Place, New York & Co. (though through a window, wallpaper showing the Manhattan skyline was still visible), Chick-fil-A, Showmars. Even the off-brand Cinnabon-type place had departed. The old ice rink is now covered in a blue surface marked for soccer. Stores like Shoe Show and Champs Sports appeared to have left more recently, while Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker and FootAction USA were still open, among the few national-chain holdouts, along with Kay Jewelers. The retailers remaining were primarily jewelry and sneaker shops, though there were also a couple selling home decor and streetwear, and a nicer men's shop.

The former Belk end of the mall is particularly empty, because it lost its anchor in 2007, earlier than the other sides of the mall. On Friday, nothing seemed to be in business at that end, on either level. We stood there for a minute, listening to the elevator music that rang through the quiet corridors, the cheery, wordless sax tunes striking an ironically mournful tone. "Looking to grow your business?" asked colorful signs affixed to the boarded-off Belk entrances, on both floors."Plant yourself here."

Back at the food court, about five restaurants were still in business, at least nominally: A bourbon chicken place, a teryiaki place, a pizzeria, an ice cream shop and a Charley's Steakery. I'd really wanted a cheesesteak, and it was clear the steak shop wasn't permanently gone: The lights were on, the cash register was on, the soda machines were on and signs promoting sandwiches were standing by the counter. But there was no one behind the counter, and no sign that any food had been prepared there that day. I waited a few minutes, hoping the proprietor would show up, but nothing changed. So I asked the man behind the pizza counter: "Is the cheesesteak place open?" No, he said, he's gone today. As it transpired, the pizza place and cheesesteak place are not open on the same days anymore, the pizza owner said, because if they were both open at the same time, neither would make money. So instead, they alternate - when the pizza place is open, the steakery isn't, and vice versa, with the owners using their days off to search for new digs.

Why, I asked the pizza shop man, had he stayed at Eastland, given the upheaval? Because, he said, until eight months ago, he'd been making money - and had a lease obligating him to remain. The rent was reasonable; though the pizzeria could have done more business in a storefront on Central Avenue in Plaza Midwood, the man said, the more expensive rent in a location like that would have negated the benefits. Now, tenants are freed from their leases, so he's looking for a new home.

Our choices thus constrained, we opted for pizza - a greasy pepperoni slice for me - and sat down at the edge of the food court, looking out at the center court. A few other, scattered tables were occupied. As we ate, a man at a jewelry store across the way brought out a sign and put it up: "Everything must go - SALE - mall closing."

As we walked out, we passed the recently shuttered Burlington Shoes, where boxes were stacked inside and the gate pulled down over the door. An old Nike poster display rack stood outside, with a handwritten sign reading "FREE" taped to it. On the door frame, another handwritten sign helpfully noted, "Store is closed."

Through it all, I kept wondering about the mall's decline and how it happened. Obviously, that kind of slide doesn't happen overnight, but it's interesting to consider that as recently as four or five years ago, Eastland was still pretty much fully occupied, with Belk, Dillard's and Sears still in business and other national chains still there, and the ice rink still open. But then, the situation seemed to shift rapidly - hastened, no doubt, by the opening of Northlake mall in 2005, a 2005 Christmas-season shooting near the food court and the departure of anchors such as Belk. For people whose Eastland memories stretch back farther, the contrast is probably even starker and more painful.

Though Eastland doesn't have the retail choices it once did - the biggest thing for sale there now is likely the mall itself, which is set to be auctioned at the Mecklenburg Courthouse on June 28 - you, too, might want to pay it a visit in its waning months. Though it might be easier to file it under "out of sight, out of mind," seeing retail decay firsthand can help you better understand what it means for our landscape, and how it ties into the well-being of an entire swath of town. But if that sounds like too much of a college lecture, approach it instead as a one-of-a-kind field trip to a fascinating 20th-century relic. Yes, it's our very own dead mall, here for a limited time only - and if we're lucky, we won't have another one to contend with for a long time, or ever.

Belk dives into social media

At 122 years old, Belk Inc. has been around a lot longer than your average Twitterholic (Twitterhead? Is this an actual term? I know not) or Facebook super-poster - but then, adapting with the times has helped the company endure in the first place. And it's with that in mind the Charlotte-based chain has launched a Twitter feed and Facebook fan page to further connect with customers, and broaden interest in the company further beyond store walls - trying a strategy that a huge range of retailers are trying across the digital landscape.

"Social media is an essential component of a company's communications arsenal today," Ivy Chin, Belk's senior vice president of e-commerce, said in a news release. "By forging an exchange of real-time information, we will be able to share our story and create consumer relationships that provide valuable feedback and information."

The Facebook page will provide information on fashion trends, product launches, sales and special events, with interactive features such as product surveys and commentary from Arlene Goldstein, vice president and fashion director. Goldstein is also the personality and force behind the Twitter feed, which features trendspotting tips and other observations. And, because we're talking retail here, the company is offering incentive for folks to sign up: Those that become a Facebook fan of Belk will receive a discount coupon.

Concord Mills adds two stores

Two retailers are planning to open their first N.C. stores at Concord Mills this summer, according to the mall: VF Outlet and Zumiez. 

VF, in the 23,000-square-foot former A.C. Moore space, will anchor Neighborhood Five, selling jeans, intimate apparel, sportswear, swimwear, outdoor goods and children’s clothing from names such as Nautica, Lee, Wrangler and Vanity Fair. 

Zumiez, a teen-oriented skate and surf store along the lines of Pacific Sunwear, will occupy a 4,000-square-foot space in Neighborhood Two.

Denim, shoe brands bring standalone stores to SouthPark

Several familiar apparel brands will be branching out in Charlotte in the coming months, opening new standalone stores at SouthPark mall. Though their products are already available at specialty and department stores across the area, companies can gain more control over the customer and brand experience - and, they hope, boost sales - by opening stores exclusively devoted to their products. Will the new arrivals catch on here? As always, consumers will be the judge of that, starting this month.

First to open will likely be high-end denim maker 7 For All Mankind, which plans to debut sometime this month in the former Intermix space, in the Nordstrom wing. Already available at stores such as Belk, the Los Angeles-based brand is best known for its detailed and distressed jeans, priced at about $150 and up for women's styles. However, it also makes a broader array of clothing, including tops and sweaters, and the store - its first in the Carolinas - will sell denim, sportswear and handbags for men, women and children. The decade-old company is expanding its retail presence nationally, with about 20 stores already and about 10 more projected to open this year.

Casual and athletic shoe purveyor Skechers also plans to open a store later this month, in the former Illuminations space in the Macy's wing. It will sell styles for men, women and kids. The company already has an outlet at Concord Mills.

By early summer, longtime shoemaker Rockport should follow suit, with a shop in the former Club Libby Lu, also in the Macy's wing. The store will be the company's first in the Charlotte area, as well as the first in the state that uses a new concept, according to a news release: 90 percent of the store's inventory will be on the sales floor.

Finally, in a move that relates to clothing only in that it will likely make it more difficult for people to even squeeze into those pricey Seven jeans in the first place, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is scheduled to open this summer in the former Lindt Chocolate space next to Aveda, at the mall's center court. Like the Rocky Mountain stores at Northlake Mall, Concord Mills and Charlotte Douglas Airport, it'll sell chocolate and other confectionery products. Employees will prepare a variety of caramel and candy apples, fudge, chocolate and other items on-site and in view of customers, using traditional cooking implements like copper kettles. 

A couple of other additions are also shaking up the mall's food scene, as my colleague Helen Schwab has previously reported: Cowfish is aiming for a "wild and weird" burger bar-sushi fusion, while San Antonio's Modern Mexican will move into the former Morton's steakhouse.

Do SouthPark's comings and goings signal anything more?

Last week I wrote a short story about some new stores coming to SouthPark - but what's just as telling is the flip side of that equation: The merchants they're replacing. Yes, stores turn over all the time, even during a boom, but just about all malls have been wrestling with increased vacancy in the recession. Luxury-oriented centers like SouthPark aren't exempt, and it looks to me like the downturn is bringing a somewhat wider economic mix of stores into a mall known for its concentration of high-end tenants.

The last time I was at the mall - about a week ago - the former Bob Ellis Shoes space near Nordstrom was filled by a artisan crafts-type store that looked like it might be a temporary occupant. Bath and body products purveyor Crabtree & Evelyn, which closed stores in the wake of a bankruptcy filing, will be replaced by a Yoforia frozen yogurt location. The former Cache Luxe, next to Aveda, will soon become home to Charlotte's first True Religion jeans store - granted, not exactly a bargain-basement outlet, what with jeans selling for $200 and more. (Cache, which still operates its namesake store at SouthPark, is thinning its roster of the Luxe stores nationwide, not just here.)

The closing of Carlyle & Co. jewelers, a Greensboro-based chain that went out of business entirely, and upscale women's boutique Intermix have also left vacancies at SouthPark recently; it's as yet unclear what will fill them. Intermix was an interesting case - a high-end, fashion-forward store that's well-established in other cities, it came to Charlotte in the spring of 2008, not long before - well, you know what happened in the economy.

Does it mean that SouthPark's luxury luster has dulled? I don't think so. But it does speak to the ways that the recession has dampened high-end spending and hit mall-reliant retailers across the country and locally, leaving newer, smaller high-end markets on the bubble.

Merchants' December sales results: Comparatively jolly?

A host of chain retailers released their December sales results today. The overriding message: "Better than our really low expectations!" Of course, that was merchants' hope going into the 2009 holidays - that they'd be at least a little better than woeful 2008, the worst holiday shopping season in 40 years. The sales results - at least thus far - appear to bear it out, suggesting that shoppers spent at least a little bit more than in 2008, if not a lot. A fuller sense of how the season stacks up both nationally and locally will emerge in the coming weeks and months.

It still seems unclear precisely what this means heading into 2010, other than perhaps "shop-pocalypse averted." Others were taking a somewhat rosier view; MarketWatch had a story today headlined "Santa delivers for U.S. retailers." How did your favorite stores fare? Well, see for yourself in this report from consultants Retail Forward - and tell me if it squares with what you saw and spent last month.

Among the highlights and lowlights: Aeropostale (10 percent), Ross (12 percent) and T.J. Maxx (14 percent) saw the biggest gains in year-over-year December sales among apparel stores, at stores open a year or more. Charlotte-based Cato saw same-store sales rise 7 percent. Among department stores, the biggest gainer was Saks, which operates the Off 5th outlet at Concord Mills and has its closest full-line store in the Triangle. Its same-store sales rose 10 percent. Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Kohl's also saw gains; Macy's was up 1 percent, while Dillard's and J.C. Penney saw December same-store sales declines. Charlotte-based Belk doesn't release monthly sales.

Laggards on the list included teen mall-punk staple Hot Topic (same-store sales down 10.9 percent, in part due to more competing stores selling "Twilight" merchandise) and pricey preppy purveyor Abercrombie & Fitch (down 19 percent) which has been socked for months amid more value-oriented competition.

On another interesting note that speaks to the variety of competition stores face beyond other bricks-and-mortar outlets, more than half of all households shopped for holiday gifts this season at Amazon.com - an eight-percentage-point gain from 2008, according to Retail Forward. Of course, Amazon has long since gone far beyond books to offer a vast range of merchandise, making it fairly easy one-stop shopping - and far from a challenge to meet the $25 threshold for its free shipping offer. Semi-indulgent case in point: My Amazon order this Christmas included two pie crust shields, two CDs, an architecture book and a book of crossword puzzles (hi, mom!) - all ordered and paid for at one time.