Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal • September 14, 2015 www.wbjournal.com Survival of the biggest drives shopping malls' futures port the kind of retail depth needed in a shopping location, Robledo said. Brian Nelson, a vice president for Simon Malls, attributed the Greendale's current situation to "the normal busi- ness cycle," he wrote in an email exchange, attributing the current state of the mall to changing shopping patterns. Nelson did not offer more specifics. But Robledo suggests that malls can continue to thrive if they make major changes, as many have by adding enter- tainment and dining options. Sea of stores Natick Mall has a strong mix of stores, as well as other stores in nearby plazas, such as Shoppers World. These stores can apparently benefit each other. J. Lynn Josephson, the marketing manager for General Growth Properties, which operates Natick Mall, said that, together, all those stores create a destination where shoppers from the immediate area and farther away come to shop because they know they can get most of it done in one contiguous area. "One of the reasons people come out to MetroWest is all of the shopping, because we have such a concentration of retail in a few square miles," she said. "Natick and this part of MetroWest (have) been really active with how … we boost the local economy, whether it's the shopping or the cultural options." The pull of this retail hub played into Wegmans' decision to locate its first mall-attached store, said Jo Natale, vice president of media relations for the Rochester, N.Y.-based chain. "We wanted to be in the Natick mar- ket. It's a great retail market because of the location and access and … density of population," she said. The Auburn and Greendale malls also have a huge problem – literally – in mas- sive outdoor shopping centers that have created the kind of retail heft previously reserved for indoor malls, Robledo said. These locations, such as The Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury, Northborough Crossing, which includes Wegmans, and the newly opened Cabela's Plaza on the Berlin-Hudson line, cover nearly a million square feet each and have the space to accommo- date numerous large stores. This creates the kind of critical mass in retail loca- tions that attract people in the same way malls traditionally have, Robledo said. "They created an outdoor open-air center that was different than any other outdoor center at the time because it had the size … that put a crunch onto Auburn and a crunch on Greendale," he said of The Shoppes at Blackstone Valley. The impact can already be seen at Auburn and Greendale he said, and will become more profound at Solomon Pond once the Cabela's Plaza is fully leased. (About 70 percent of that site is leased, and includes a Lowe's, BJ's Wholesale Club, PetSmart and Market Basket.) Robledo estimates that the Auburn and Solomon Pond are produc- ing slightly less than $400 in sales per square foot annually, which is the indus- try average. While these two malls are doing much better than Greendale, which he said yields under $200 per square foot, they're well behind Natick, which generates a whopping $600 per square foot. Nelson, of Simon Malls, did not respond specifically to Robledo's esti- mates. In an emailed statement, he would only say the company is "extreme- ly focused on managing and leasing Greendale Mall and our other properties within New England. We continue to look for new ways to redevelop, improve and attract new retailers to our shopping centers." Tight real estate in Natick insulates the mall from these outside competitors. Much of the land around the mall has been built up with big-box offerings. The decision by Wegmans to move in came partially out of necessity, with few other available options to build, said Wegmans' Natale. She said the criteria the company looks for in a site are ample parking, regional access and easy navigation in a densely populated area. In Leominster, The Mall at Whitney Field in Leominster, with shopping space less than that of Solomon Pond and more than Auburn's, lacks many of the pressures on other malls since there are no other major mall competitors nearby, Robledo said. That, he noted, will allow it to continue with a more traditional "big box" approach. New strategies Despite competitive pressure and other challenges, the future of shopping malls in Central Massachusetts can be bright, according to experts. A key to success is to give people more reasons beyond shopping to go, said Jesse Tron, director of communications for the International Council of Shopping Centers, an industry trade group. Entertainment options such as movie theaters that serve alcohol, pottery stu- dios, dueling piano bars, or trampoline parks have become extremely popular, Tron said. While each location must cater to its demographic, centering a non-shopping entertainment option helps pull people in and give them a reason to spend time at the mall, he added. "You're looking at basically becoming a destination … A lot of these successful properties recognize that and do things to draw the consumer in for things other than to shop," he said. Similarly, Tron added, dining has become a way to bring in people, with many locations adding restaurants out- side of the food courts. The pull of technology Technology is another way to enhance and boost the mall experience, both Tron and General Growth's Josephson said. Most consumers use an omni- channel shopping method, relying on both the Internet and in-store purchases, according to Josephson. Many will use the Internet while they're shopping to research their choices and narrow them, but ultimately buy them from a physical store, she said. Having Wi-Fi inside the Natick Mall facilitates that experience for shoppers, Josephson noted. Many malls have also developed their own mobile applications, Tron said. In conjunction with Bluetooth transmitters placed throughout the mall, these apps can detect where a shopper is and offer targeted discounts at stores or even din- ing suggestions. All these techniques could be enough to shore up the Auburn and Solomon Pond malls, Robledo said. And if Greendale could bring in more enter- tainment or a key restaurant, that would help, but it will always be challenged by its size, he added. If the Greendale Mall were to try to catch up to modern shopping habits, it would not be the only mall to make or contemplate fundamental changes. Tron said more hybrids of indoor and out- door locations are cropping up, combin- ing the destination shopping and enter- tainment experience of an enclosed mall with the outdoor and expedited shop- ping style of open-air shopping centers. "In the next five to 10 years, the defi- nitions are going to change," Tron said. "There is going to be a blending of retail types." n >> Continued from Page 1 The Sears store at Auburn Mall Natick Mall 1.71M 230 7,522 Solomon Pond Mall, Marlborough 885,000 120 4,234 Mall at Whitney Field, Leominster 656,877 75 3,300 Auburn Mall 575,000 58 2,431 Greendale Mall, Worcester 309,000 39 1,514 Source: Individual sites via WBJ survey Shopping under the roof Top 5 indoor shopping malls in Central Massachusetts Square Number Number of footage of stores parking spaces P H O T O / M A T T V O L P I N I

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