Saturday, February 14, 2009

Little Dubai


Seems the Simon Property Group's expansion to the Camarillo Premium Outlet Mall is getting closer. With about 8 weeks they've leased 23 of 45 storefronts:

Neiman Marcus Last Call, Aldo, Charlotte Russe, Columbia Sportswear Company, Converse, Crocs, DC Shoes, Ecco, Esprit, Etnies, Journeys, Karen Kane, Le Creuset, Loft Outlet, Michael Brandon, New Balance, Papaya, Rack Room Shoes, Robert Wayne Footwear, Skechers, Tommy Bahama, Vans and Zumiez.

Okay, I'm an old fuddy duddy. I haven't heard of half of these. It will be interesting to see how the other half gets leased. I just don't see how an Esprit can survive what must be crushing overhead.

28 comments:

Sweet Cashback said...

I am in my best age and have not heard of more then 50% of these names either....."overpriced crap that KC would buy" feeling.

Oh and FIRST.

Unknown said...

Simon is opening a pretty high-end mall on Panama City Bch in NW FL - its levitating pretty nicely but the ritzier stores look weak. Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" and "Five Guys" burgers always crowded, and this is a summer resort.

Agent #777 said...

Interesting that it looks like at least 9 of those places sell mainly footwear.

Rob Dawg said...

Shoes? I'll take your word for that. It is in keeping with the rest of that useless monument to consumption. GGP may be dead in 5 weeks but SPG is gonna leave a crater that will reverberate around the planet.

Rob Dawg said...

D&D,
The only restaurant of the supposed 5 announced is a Johnny Rockets. I'm thinking without the glitz of the high end entire malls will fail.

Casey Serin said...

What, no Jamba Juice...?

Clearly they don't have their fingers on the pulse of Californians! ;-)

Pleather Murse said...

I remember back in the olden days ('90s and earlier) malls used to be places you could hang out for a while and actually shop for stuff or at least look at interesting things. From the list above this place isn't even worth a walkaround. My idea of a mall includes at least one bookstore and at least three coffee shops, maybe a nice hobby store and some electronics places. A Spencer Gifts doesn't hurt either, for checking out the joke dildoes and picking up on some Goth jailbait. Of course malls don't make much money off folks like me.

Pleather Murse said...

Some of the older people I've talked to don't like the trend towards the humongous outdoor 'mall' plan either. A Borders on one corner and a Best Buy on the opposite side of a football field-sized parking lot hardly constitutes a "mall." These people have a hard time walking that distance, and having to get into your car and drive from one part of an outlet mall to another is absurd (but typical planning.) These things are also a pain in the ass for folks in areas that actually get real winters, as navigating either the parking lot or the narrow sidewalks that cut through can be a treacherous and unpleasant experience.

Akira said...

F Dubai - that place is so f-ing entropic.

Mr. S said...

I can only dream that GGP goes bust just so I can read the snarky headlines riffing on The World is Flat.

I am similarly amazed that there are 9 shops devoted to shoes... including Crocs? Will 'Roos and Heelys be opening up shops soon?

H Simpson said...

Went the the NE Boat Show in Boston last night.

1. Picked up a buddy who is a general manager at a large Chevy dealership outside Boston. President's weekend. Perfect weather (38 degrees, no clouds, light wind). The dealership has ~300 cars on the lot. Total sales for day 1 of the big Presidental weekend? 1.
That is not a mistype. A single car was sold all day.

2. At the boat show, there were more boats than buyers. It was late afternoon, but this was rediculous. I have been to smaller shows during blizzards with more foot traffic. Talking to vendors ( lots to time to answer questions), they expected things to be bad and they are.

Got to an resturant about 8:30 that evening. Place was only 1/3rd full on Valentines day. Whole wing was shut down.

This economy is in a flat spin and the alarm bells are clanging..

h.

Mr. Outspoken said...

On the other hand, the wife and I couldn't get into a Cracker Barrel since it was so packed.

Rob Dawg said...

Homer,
Herb's Framingham-Natick Chevy or Imperial in Milford? Poor Natick is about to be creamed by the implosion of the upscale mall-condoplex.

You are right about the economy and it is sad how badly the Federal government is being in response. Every proposal involves more debt when the cure is the opposite.

H Simpson said...

Dawg

Just outside of town on the North Shore. Rather not give name as I don't want to get my buddy in trouble.

One other tidbit. Back in July, a junker was worth 300 bucks because of the shortage of steel worldwide. Price is now down below 100 for a scrapped auto.

High Tech (what is left of it) is getting hammered. Had 3 buddies get laid off last week.

Just west of Natick, the hurt is bad from both high tech and Financal job cuts.

Coming back and seeing the lack of activity downtown, I remarked

"We spent billions of tax dollars to save financal folks 15 seconds on their commute from the North Shore only to find the jobs disappear just as the big dig comes online."

Oh the folly.

Kasey S said...

ESPIRIT is still around? People stopped buying their clothes in the late 80's.

H - working at a financial institution, it's scary how bad we're going to be in a few months, yet the general public seems think it's going away. It's like the Titanic. They know it's coming - they can see it, but they think the boat will maneuver around it at the last second.

My early prediction was Q1-Q2 of '10 before we saw the bottom. Now I say Q4 of '09 and the media will start accepting that we're in a depression.

sm_landlord said...

All of those shoe stores, and yet shoe stores around here are closing down. Maybe they are trying to build a mecca for shoes?

I'll bet they made some "sweet deals" to fill those stores, and would imagine that the merchants in the mall next door are a mite upset that their competition will be getting a better deal on rent.

The strip malls in Oxnard will have to fill up with Jamba Juice and Starbucks, or sit empty - they certainly won't be home to clothing stores any more. Maybe it will once again be practical to operate a used book store in devalued retail space.

wagga said...

Had about 10-in-a-row favorite used bookstores fold. Sigh! Maybe things will get better.

TJandTheBear said...

No budget deal yet, and Cox & Maldonado are making taxpayer friendly noises.

Man, I'm really getting conflicted. Would it be more fun to (a) see the state government crash without a budget or (b) see the citizens burn down the Capitol in the first major tax revolt of the 21st century?

The clowns in Sac-Town just don't seem to realize that the outcome of passing this budget could be a new tax-limiting proposition that makes 13 look absolutely tame by comparison.

Rob Dawg said...

SM_L,
West VenCo is so massively over-retailed I can only hope the idjit City Councils get kicked out in favor of a new industrial base orientation.

Wagga,
Wait for the Kindle™ used outlets. CDs, DVDs, digitexts, etc.

TJ,
I owe you an email tonight I promise.

The Sacto knownothings are acting just like I predicted. You are right about Super 13.

sm_landlord said...

Dream on, Dawg. It will be years before the Venco voters wake up. Venco is not about industry as far as the voters are concerned, and I do not know what it will take to change that.

I am watching with interest the machinations in Sacto, but it's hard to get news, since most news outlets have closed their Sacto bureaus. Guess I may have to wait for the the Tuesday papers to see what (if anything) happened this weekend. I'm not optimistic about a "Super13" since the populace is so disengaged and in the dark at present. May have to wait for the evil to kick in before the sheep realize that they are being shorn.

Mr. Outspoken said...

How can California reorient to an industrial base? The Midwest industrial heartland has been absolutely torn down, and our living costs are way better than California. If we can't compete, how can the coasts?

Sun said...

"How can California reorient to an industrial base"

I assumed this was metaphorical, but I missed the translation?

w said...

Actually Sun, we are waiting for the motherships before reorienting to an industrial base on the far side of the moon.

Rob Dawg said...

For once I don't have an answer. I know we need to reorient away from consumption and growth for the sake of growth but how? Very few ideas. One thing I know; there is no future in passive income. That's a huge statement in 6 words.

Casey Serin said...

One thing I know; there is no future in passive income. That's a huge statement in 6 words.

That's 7 words, you corpulent Walrus. ;-)

Rob Dawg said...

That's 7 words, you corpulent Walrus. ;-)

I defer to the trailblazer who proved my point.

Property Flopper said...

How can y'all be so negative? I mean it's a new mall, that's a positive thing these days - expansion! Yes, there are 9 shoe stores there, but look at your feet, we're all wearing shoes, it's a needed object!

I'm sure all 9 stores are needed. I'm sure everyone with no money will be lined up to get new shoes. I'm sure the economy will be just fine. I just need to get my head deeper into this sand...

jony said...

Great place for the trip. I like Dubai for the trip specially
Rent a yacht in Dubai