40,000 to 150,000 people within a fi ve- to
six-mile radius or more. Lifestyle centers
have now become popular, which are open-
air shopping sites with upscale, well-known
apparel and home fashion specialty stores,
as well as trendy restaurants.
Regional shopping centers. These are
large centers that are often enclosed malls
with several shopping levels. They serve at
least 150,000 people and draw customers
from a radius of more than 10 miles. They
feature many stores and multiple products,
including one or more full-line department
stores and often 70 or more smaller stores.
Although regional shopping centers usually
have suburban locations, a few are “vertical
shopping centers” located in large cities. In
these, the stores are contained in one tall
building, usually with an enclosed parking
garage. Many factory outlet malls are also
considered to be regional shopping centers.
They target budget shoppers who are willing
to drive longer distances for an assortment
of value-priced goods, 13-23.
Super-regional centers. These are the largest
malls and shopping areas, also referred to
as “power centers” or “mega malls.” They
often cover an area of 100 acres or more.
Their millions of square feet of selling space
usually includes six to eight anchor stores
and at least 150 specialty stores, plus
eateries. They draw from 25 miles or more,
often attracting travelers from out of state.
In fact, bus trips are sometimes scheduled
to bring groups of people to these centers
because they have such drawing power. They
evolved in the late 1980s, built by commercial
real estate developers to take advantage of
the “retailing revolution.”
In many locations, shopping centers and
malls have reached their saturation point, with
too many stores competing for too few sales
dollars. Sales and profi ts have dropped, vacancy
rates have increased, and some centers have
gone out of business. Older malls are being
renovated to compete, and few new ones are
being built. The current trend is toward stand-
alone category killer power stores or smaller, less
expensive strip malls. Strip malls are comprised
of a line of stores connected by a walkway, which
runs along the front of the stores, 13-24.
•
•
13-23 This factory outlet mall has hundreds
of stores, eateries, and a motel that houses
visitors who come by tour bus or car.
13-24 Strip malls are less expensive to
build, and the stores are convenient for
shoppers to enter after parking their cars in
the adjoining lot.
Chapter13.indd 266 Chapter13.indd 266 3/21/2008 3/21/2008