Mall and sundry
The Hindu : The mall has become the mainstay of American life. Malls house retailers but they are not owned, developed or built by retailers. Malls are made by real estate development companies. The modern day mall is an American innovation. The largest mall inNorth America is in Edmonton, Canada — over 5million square feet and in the U.S., the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota is over 4 million square feet.I did a whirlwind tour of malls in three states of the U.S. — Wisconsin, Illinois and Texas. There could be about 144 stores in a mall. Befitting its middle class or upper middle class market there is a Versace and a Ralph Lauren, a Cartier and a Tiffany, a Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. There is also a Gap and Victoria’s Secret. The biggest single category is women’s apparel. There is a record store, a toy store, a video games store, Toys R’ Us, several stores selling sneakers. There must be at least 20 places to buy cosmetics if one were to include the department stores and boutiques that sell it as a sideline. There is a beauty parlour, a multi-screen cinema, an aqua massage and a couple of national chain sit-down restaurants. The food court, a vast high-ceilinged arena offers multifarious outlets mostly fast foods.My first visit to a mall was to the Kenosha original outlet mall in Wisconsin. It has jewellery, furniture and plenty of discount retailers. I bought a stylish London Fog summer coat at a bargain price. Gurnee mills outlet mall in Illinois, 45 miles north of Chicago has something for everyone. The main attraction for children include Reptile Zoo, Rain forest café, Disney store, Rink side sports and Cineplex. Next I decided to explore the vertical mini malls along the retail corridor of Chicago’s magnificent mile. “The 900 shops” has a robust and dynamic retail environment. The anchor store is Bloomingdales…More
