Saks Fifth Avenue isn’t just a store. It’s a statement. And for Beachwood Place, the upcoming closure of its original luxury anchor isn’t just a vacancy problem — it’s an identity crisis.
Today in Ohio podcast hosts had some ideas Thursday for solving the crisis.
When Saks Fifth Avenue opened at Beachwood Place in 1978, it gave the mall its DNA. Luxury. Prestige. A reason to dress up just to walk through the doors. Now, with only 13 Saks locations remaining nationwide after the chain’s dramatic downsizing, Northeast Ohio is about to lose its only outpost — and Beachwood Place is left scrambling.
“What is the answer, Laura, for a tony mall like Beechwood Place when it loses a one of a kind anchor?” host Chris Quinn asked colleague Laura Johnston. “This isn’t like losing a Sears. This is Saks Fifth Avenue.”
Losing a Sears or a JCPenney is painful, but those anchors had been dying for years and most shoppers had already moved on. Saks is different. Saks had cachet. Its customers were specifically choosing Beachwood Place because Saks was there. Replacing that is a branding problem at the highest level.
And the clock is ticking, because Beachwood Place didn’t just lose Saks. The mall has been losing ground for years.
“It’s been rough for Beechwood Place because Pinecrest opened,” Johnston said. “So they lost their J Crew, they lost their Athleta. They lost some of those high end home stores that went over to Pinecrest and, and so they’re trying to figure it out in a very saturated retail market.”
What’s the answer? Quinn offered one of the suggestion: experience-based retail. He pointed to a massive shopping center near his son’s home in Michigan that houses a Legoland and a full aquarium, drawing families in enormous numbers:
“If you put one of those Legoland indoor amusement things there, don’t you think that would draw huge numbers of people?” Quinn asked.
When families have a real destination, they come. And when they come, they wander. They shop. They eat. They discover stores they hadn’t visited in years. Quinn noted that this model creates an irresistible gravitational pull across the entire shopping center, with a packed food court near the attraction drawing even more foot traffic.
Johnston pointed out that the mall already has a Lego Store — the first in the region — that continues to perform well. The brand equity is already baked in. A Legoland Discovery Center in that footprint wouldn’t feel out of place. Johnston noted that Legoland isn’t a bargain-bin entertainment option either. It’s premium-priced, family-focused fun that fits Beachwood Place’s upscale identity far better than a discount retailer ever could.
Listen to the discussion here.
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