Some people refuse to shop online because they want to actually try on the shirt and see how it fits them, or they want to hold the camera, try out the zoom and feel its weight. Other people stay with the common brand-name store because they don't like to mail back returned items. Some people shop online because they hate malls; they hate the masses, the pain of shopping at one store after another and the waiting in line with everyone else for that one small purchase.
Regardless of the shopper, e-tailers are trying to win new business. In the new product showcase site at Newark, Delaware, 60-70 "companies and brands with limited or no previous store space will lease space for individual shops in an empty mall anchor location, according to developer Convergent Retail."
Internet consumers beware! Don't be fooled! This is really a mall!
The whole point of buying things online is to have no-hassle, 'one-click' shopping!
The problem here is that the new mall will have a ton of catalog companies, e-tailers and brands that have no pull. No brand recognition. While the idea definitely promotes companies who have little to no exposure in a positive way, I feel that this idea will ultimately be a bust.
Teens will not run to the mall because it doesn't have the latest Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) shirt or Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) dress. Many adults will not shop there because they're walking into an unknown establishment. The whole point of a mall is that you know what you're getting into. It's cookie cutter.
Sadly, I think Covergent Retail will fail in this venture. There's no anchor store, like a Macy's (NYSE: M), JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) or Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) to bring people in. These unknown stores are the anchor "store." While the division of Gordon Group Holdings have come up with some good ideas in the past, like The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and The Beverly Center in Los Angeles, I think Convergent should toss this idea overboard ... without a life raft.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-02-2007 @ 1:02AM
mesa Arizona Auto Insurance, Car, Home Owner, Life Insurance said...
Thanks for the heads up on this!