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I shop at off 5th and neimans last call. I am far from hip though, and they have zanella, zegna, brioni, etc. there for the low low. If you want to be hip and cool and spend 180 on a tie, and 500 on a shirt be my guest.
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion
Why is Columbus a shopping wasteland?
[99 posts] [39 contributors]
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colinpperkins
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Well for starters, people that shop independent more than likely are hipper or more savvy.
Is that scientific?
Posted 2 years ago # -
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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I love how consumers think they are a better suited to judge a company's expansion plan than the people who have the market research, sales data, market forecasts, etc. I guess because I grew up in a small town and clothes shopping meant driving to Dallas or OKC I'm just used to it, but there's not many places in the country that you really have it ALL within a super convenient radius. A lot of the places people beg for are somewhat regional and we have the regional equivalent - other than the name on the store, what's the difference inside? Maybe because Columbus is so transient a lot of us have lived in other places and fallen in love with stores there because it's what was available, not because it's superior to what we have here.
Posted 2 years ago # -
colinpperkins
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No, the idea of shopping locally isn't elitist. The attitude that shopping locally equates to some moral high ground and that it makes one hipper or more savvy than others is not only elitist, it is completely insufferable.
This is exactly the point I was making.
Posted 2 years ago # -
KSquared
Literally Hell
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colinpperkins wrote >>
No, the idea of shopping locally isn't elitist. The attitude that shopping locally equates to some moral high ground and that it makes one hipper or more savvy than others is not only elitist, it is completely insufferable.
This is exactly the point I was making.And using the word "wasteland" isn't the best way to get the point across either. I think there is some culpability on both sides here.
Posted 2 years ago # -
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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KSquared wrote >>
colinpperkins wrote >>
No, the idea of shopping locally isn't elitist. The attitude that shopping locally equates to some moral high ground and that it makes one hipper or more savvy than others is not only elitist, it is completely insufferable.
This is exactly the point I was making.And using the word "wasteland" isn't the best way to get the point across either. I think there is some culpability on both sides here.
But she didn't mean SHE thought Columbus was a wasteland!!
Seriously, what other way could you interpret that? Lol'ing at the backtracking.
Posted 2 years ago # -
colinpperkins
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KSquared wrote >>
colinpperkins wrote >>
No, the idea of shopping locally isn't elitist. The attitude that shopping locally equates to some moral high ground and that it makes one hipper or more savvy than others is not only elitist, it is completely insufferable.
This is exactly the point I was making.And using the word "wasteland" isn't the best way to get the point across either. I think there is some culpability on both sides here.
Abolutely. But, again, I never took it that way. So it never even registered in my mind that that word might be drawing a lot of the fire from people.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Core_Models
Columbus
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Again...title of the post defines the entire city as a shopping wasteland, the post itself equates this to a lack of 1 store and 1 line of clothing really (as we have the other stores, just not in the quantity or specialty that was wanted).
If you want a better response in the future, try to save the doom and gloom and disparaging the entire city to ask a simple question about retailers in town.
Posted 2 years ago # -
colinpperkins
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It's not my post, but that's good advice for anyone.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Core_Models
Columbus
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ojdajuice wrote >>
Where can i buy Brioni suits in Columbus? Godfrey's Brioni selection is horrible, a few shirts and ties. Tigertree will your store carry Brioni please?I'd consider Astor & Black if I were you, pretty comparable including using the same fabrics in some cases. Meanwhile, I don't see anyone expanding the market for 4,000 dollar suits right now.
Posted 2 years ago # -
takeasiesta
Harrison West
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I think we need to point out that Columbus has the corporate offices some major retailers i.e. The Limited Brands, Abercrombie, Express etc. I think that might scare competition away since they have such a stronghold on the market. Also we need to look at where major cities are located in Ohio. Columbus is smack dab in the middle of Cincinnati and Cleveland. Retailers have to ask themselves do you put one store in Columbus or build twos store in Cincinnati and Cleveland?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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colinpperkins wrote >>
Well for starters, people that shop independent more than likely are hipper or more savvy.
Is that scientific?Well, sort of. It's the same point I already made. I guess it depends on your definition of hip though. I would define hip as ahead of the curve in regards to trends. So if you accept that definition then yes shopping independent stores would be hipper as we get the smaller lines before they end up at places like Saks or Nordstrom.
Posted 2 years ago # -
gramarye
In Exile
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Whether the OP was speaking for herself or just commenting on what she sees retailers doing, I would disagree on either count. If she herself thinks Columbus is a shopping wasteland, then I think other commenters have already addressed that, to the point it can be addressed.
As to whether retailers--and developers, a heretofore-unmentioned constituency in this market--see Columbus as a wasteland is something else entirely. As of 2003, Columbus had the fourth-highest retail square footage per capita tally in the nation. Yes, I know size isn't everything, but it isn't *nothing,* either. If you're trying to convince me that Columbus is a retail wasteland, you're going to have to convince me that all of these commercial real estate developers through 2003 (and it's not like construction slowed down a great deal for several more years thereafter) were misreading the tea leaves with respect to where their prospective tenants wanted to locate.
Speaking anecdotally, Columbus is considered a retail mecca, not a wasteland, for many in northeast Ohio, and we have a Saks and similar high-end chains up here (Beachwood). There are still people who plan weekend trips to Columbus, and yes, it's largely for Easton, and to some extent for Polaris. (I do consider a lot of the anti-Easton and Polaris sentiment on CU generally to be elitist, and I'm not going to shy away from using the term, unless I decide that "snobbish" would be more appropriate, a debate I sometimes hold with the various voices in my head.) OK, so we don't have a Zara, or the boutiques for Cartier, Prada, Brioni, Ermenegildo Zegna, etc. that you can find in larger metropolises. So frakking what?! Very, very few people are seriously interested in those kinds of luxuries, including many people who could afford them.
Posted 2 years ago # -
colinpperkins
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gramarye wrote >>
Whether the OP was speaking for herself or just commenting on what she sees retailers doing, I would disagree on either count. If she herself thinks Columbus is a shopping wasteland, then I think other commenters have already addressed that, to the point it can be addressed.
As to whether retailers--and developers, a heretofore-unmentioned constituency in this market--see Columbus as a wasteland is something else entirely. As of 2003, Columbus had the fourth-highest retail square footage per capita tally in the nation. Yes, I know size isn't everything, but it isn't *nothing,* either. If you're trying to convince me that Columbus is a retail wasteland, you're going to have to convince me that all of these commercial real estate developers through 2003 (and it's not like construction slowed down a great deal for several more years thereafter) were misreading the tea leaves with respect to where their prospective tenants wanted to locate.
Speaking anecdotally, Columbus is considered a retail mecca, not a wasteland, for many in northeast Ohio, and we have a Saks and similar high-end chains up here (Beachwood). There are still people who plan weekend trips to Columbus, and yes, it's largely for Easton, and to some extent for Polaris. (I do consider a lot of the anti-Easton and Polaris sentiment on CU generally to be elitist, and I'm not going to shy away from using the term, unless I decide that "snobbish" would be more appropriate, a debate I sometimes hold with the various voices in my head.) OK, so we don't have a Zara, or the boutiques for Cartier, Prada, Brioni, Ermenegildo Zegna, etc. that you can find in larger metropolises. So frakking what?! Very, very few people are seriously interested in those kinds of luxuries, including many people who could afford them.Great post.
Posted 2 years ago # -
ZHC
101 East Main Street, Downtown
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galleywest wrote >>
I'm lin's sister. Yesterday she was telling me about the reaction to this thread and how perplexed she was by it. She was, as someone else pointed out, asking why RETAILERS often seem to overlook Columbus when setting up shop (i.e. THEY see it as a wasteland--NOT HER). ... What retailer wouldn't see OSU and salivate at that market? Or IKEA, touting their simple, affordable (though I think they've gotten pricey lately!) homewares? All those dorms and apartments need furnishing, after all--but they opened a store close to Cinci.... It's trends like these that we have noticed and just wondered if this was coincidence or if there was some kind of reasoning behind it.I think there are several reasons for why this used to be true but is becoming less and less true all the time. Some good some bad.
The first being, many upscale retailers like to maintain an air of scarcity and are very conscious of where and how often they locate. Nordstrom's used to be famous for this. So they are very very picky about how close together they locate stores and the reputation of said locations. E.g. You'll never see a Tiffany's set up shop in an up and coming neighborhood. These stores prefer neighborhoods full of mature wealth with name recognition.
the second is that Columbus still lacks a lot of brand recognition nationwide as a first tier city. Even weather maps still feel the need to differentiate us from Columbus, Ga. I'm always continually amazed when I get to travel by how little outsiders know about our city. I have had people I kid you not ask me "where in Iowa is that?".
I think most of it comes from our historical economic standing and geographic location in Ohio. For an extremely long time we were a second tier city in Ohio. Cleveland and Cincinnati were much much larger and had more national exposure in their heydays than we have ever had. Cleveland was once powerful enough that it considered New York City an equal rival.
Cleveland is also surrounded by several mid level sized cities such (akron, canton, youngstown etc)
Cincinnati also has lots of exposure to small to medium sized in kentucky.
Columbus doesn't really have this and even today our Metro remains smaller than either of theirs.Pittsburgh and Indianapolis also surround us. So in all four cardinal directions Columbus is surrounded by cities of equal or greater standing
For a very very long time we helped feed those cities whether it be sports, entertainment or shopping. In fact those cities businesses counted on it. Until City Center opened in 1989, national retailers just assumed they could get Columbus shoppers in Cleve and Cincy which were larger and deeper pockets of "old money") whereas they didn't think if they put a store in Columbus that cincinnati/cleveland shoppers would come here. Federated department stores (now known as Macy's) even though it started here in the 1800's Columbus moved their HQ to Cincinnati around WWII partly because of this.
However when Marshall Fields signed onto City Center it changed this perception nationwide. The first five years of City Center were enough to show national upscale brands that they were missing sales by not being here. I think this one of the reasons locals hold such fond memories of the place because it got Columbus-ites thinking they didn't have to settle for Cleveland's cast-offs anymore.
I don't think it's unfair to say in those other Ohio cities there used to be an element that looked down upon our city as well, so there was a decent reason for retailers to think that their residents wouldn't shop here as well. The cultural biases still remain to some degree and there still is a ton of old money in Cincy and Cleve so it does make sense for an Ikea to look at Cincy and say "we can get both Columbus and Cincy shoppers in Cincy" whereas they might not think it as likely here.
I think it's only a matter of time before that completely changes though. As Gramarye mentioned it largely already has especially in the medium sized cities.
Now the economics clearly favor Columbus as pretty much all other cities in Ohio have been shrinking for two decades now. And it doesn't hurt The national prominence helped driven by newer local successes like DSW, the Limited brands etc, gives a us rep for having voice in fashion.
Ikea is bit of oddball company anyway despite their targeted income brackets (if you ever want a brain teaser examine their tax status). In many ways they seem to like to play the scarcity game that upscale brands do. I don't know why that is, but they are well known for it. Ikea's decision if you ask me is now becoming more the outlier than the norm.
Posted 2 years ago #
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