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YouTubeI've always wondered if any of our local chain retailers (A&F, Express, Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, DSW, etc...) would ever have any interest in showing support for their community by being pioneers in a Downtown retail setting. They might not be opening a store with record-breaking sales, but I imagine they could break even and show some community pride in the process...
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion
Target Considering Smaller Stores to Expand in Cities
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leftovers
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^ A lot of those chains and others were represented at City Center (a pioneering development in its day). I think it is combination of stores being downtown and people willing to change their shopping habits. Obviously a big issue with City Center was that it closed itself off from the street, but it also suffered from lack of weekend and evening business. Ideally, there would be some kind of customer loyalty that kept people from running to the next shiny new shopping mecca. I think a lot of those stores discovered that by moving to the burbs they could get the suburban shoppers who avoided downtown and they could get the downtown shoppers as well.
Posted 5 months ago # -
jpizzow
580 N. Park St.
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I am sure that an Express would work in the Short North area. The neighborhood is definately their target market. However, I would only want to see a couple of chains and mostly keep the independent boutiques. It's what makes the Short North unique. But, one cannot deny the amount of people, especially from campus, that would frequent an Express in the Short North, right along a major bus line at that. That one store alone would create a massive amount of extra foot traffic, which is good for all stores around it. It would make it easier for me to get clothes for work as well, which makes up the bulk of my work attire.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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leftovers said:
I think a lot of those stores discovered that by moving to the burbs they could get the suburban shoppers who avoided downtown and they could get the downtown shoppers as well.True, but I think that's slowly not becoming the case as much anymore. Many students don't have easy ways to get to the suburban malls, many alternatives to the malls can be found in the local shops in neighborhoods like The Short North, German Village and Grandview, and with a growing visitor demographic coming to the Convention Center and staying in Hotels, there's a growing need for more centralized places to spend money on non-food retail.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Asch
OSU Campus
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columbusmike said:
Why do we need a Target downtown? There are several just a short drive away.Keyword there is "drive". With all the new housing popping up downtown (including student housing) and people with disposable income moving to the nearby neighborhoods, There will, in a few years, be a market for people to walk or take the bus to a CityTarget downtown, instead of heading up to the Lennox.
Posted 5 months ago # -
NEOBuckeye
Ohio At-Large
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Twixlen said:
That Target suffers from the same issue that Kohls has... with the addition of being anchored by a tremendously crappy Kroger. They are trying to angle their products to a perceived clientele, which in turn alienates the clientele they have. Some people stop shopping there, preferring the larger selection at other Targets, so the W Broad store stops carrying as much stock, and the snowball effect grows. That Target hasn't remodeled since it opened, so it also appears old and outdated. Really, if that Target did what the Olentangy Target & the Grove City Target did, they'd get a *ton* more business, even with the Kroger being right there, since that Kroger blows.It's a shame - at one point I remember that Target touting it was the highest grossing Target in the state... those days are long gone.
My understanding is the West Broad Target Greatland was slated to be closed when the first Hilliard/Hilliard-Rome area Target store opened. For some reason unknown to me, the company has opted to keep it open. Maybe as a museum or case study of sorts? Maybe it is still profitable, even if not nearly so much as before? A remodel seems unlikely in the foreseeable future, however, given the general declining state and appearance of the surrounding area.
I remember the first time I visited there a couple years ago. It looked very dated even then--like a time warp to the late 90s back when super-sized Big Box stores were apparently the future of retail. That was back when Target had first unveiled the Target Greatland store concept as an intermediate stage between its traditional stores and SuperTarget stores. I always hoped they would build one in the Akron-Canton area where I lived at the time. Its apparent now, however, that the time for Greatland has passed and that the company has opted to move forward mostly with variant models of its traditional store format. Oh well.
I do think the CityTarget format could work well in Columbus and in many other cities' downtown communities and similar urban settings. It may very well be what keeps the company afloat in a few years' time.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Pickerington_Kyle
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Build street car down Broad street, and spur new development or remodel?
Posted 5 months ago # -
columbusmike
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Asch said:
Keyword there is "drive". With all the new housing popping up downtown (including student housing) and people with disposable income moving to the nearby neighborhoods, There will, in a few years, be a market for people to walk or take the bus to a CityTarget downtown, instead of heading up to the Lennox.I understand...but I'd rather big corporate chain stores stay out of downtown. Let small business thrive downtown.
Posted 5 months ago # -
the_linotypist
Olde North Columbus
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cbus11 said:
I stopped in that West Broad St Target for the first time in several years and it felt like I had walked into a Kmart. It had a sense of impending doom and I was told to look for some items at other Targets. It is really discouraging to see what has become of the Broad Street retail corridor over the last 10 years.My daughter and I were in there the other day, doing some early Christmas shopping and walking off our Hometown Buffet meal. The place was a ghost town--the only thing scarcer than shoppers was employees!
Posted 5 months ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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BuenaVista
OTE
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Why do they have to be small stores? I love the full service target in Chicago, with a Whole Foods and Best Buy attached. It has an escalator for your shopping carts because it is two stories. Very "urban" but also full size.
Posted 5 months ago # -
buckeye54
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BuenaVista said:
Why do they have to be small stores? I love the full service target in Chicago, with a Whole Foods and Best Buy attached. It has an escalator for your shopping carts because it is two stories. Very "urban" but also full size.Although I would love to see that downtown or in the inner core it would be much more likely for target,best buy, big box stores etc.. to put in a smaller store to test the waters first so to speak. It takes ALOT of revenue to make big box stores profitable especially with the larger floorplans. The exceptions would be if it was to be a flagship of sorts to showcase the companies presence in a city or if it was a walmart sort of mentality in which they can go into an area afford to take losses as they run out the competition. More of a "We'd rather lose money than let our competitor have it" thought process.
Posted 5 months ago # -
bman
New Albany
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buckeye54 said:
Although I would love to see that downtown or in the inner core it would be much more likely for target,best buy, big box stores etc.. to put in a smaller store to test the waters first so to speak. It takes ALOT of revenue to make big box stores profitable especially with the larger floorplans. The exceptions would be if it was to be a flagship of sorts to showcase the companies presence in a city or if it was a walmart sort of mentality in which they can go into an area afford to take losses as they run out the competition. More of a "We'd rather lose money than let our competitor have it" thought process.Good luck with that!
Posted 5 months ago # -
cheap
Westgate
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Walker said:
I have to imagine we'd see a dozen new small businesses thriving Downtown if they could set up shop next to a chain anchor store like a Target.yeah,and if sales suck,and Target wants to close,city council can buy the store with casino winnings,and lease it back to Target for $1 a year so they don't close the store.
without any voter input,of course.
we are saving a dozen small businesses which is over 8000 jobs,right?Posted 5 months ago # -
buckeye54
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bman said:
Good luck with that!With what? I was responding to the likelihood of target putting a 100,000sq ft superstore in an urban are like columbus. It certainly is much more likely that they could put a smaller store in dt columbus.What exactly are you referring to? Columbus is no different then alot of other cities that have urban big box retailers. If the conditions are right companies will come. Retailers are concerned about their appearance and profits and most could care less if they are in the burbs or in urban areas as long as they make profits. Nationally, the perception of the majority of retailers with the exception of a select few (walmart) is that all things being equal they would enjoy a more urban location because it gives them more publicity and notoriety then suburban locations. Being in a central city or hip neighborhood gives them much more of a cool factor then being in a lifestyle center or suburban sprawl.
Posted 5 months ago #
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