Sizing Up Twin Cities Malls (the Big & Small of Local Malls) [Editor’s note: my regular gig is residential real estate, not retail or commercial. However, I do have a solid business background, plus a decades-long familiarity with the Twin Cities and local trends. Rough estimates of acreage, land value, etc. are exactly that.] It may not...Read More
Marketing Gone Awry There are parts of town where seeing “Lovesac” in big, bold letters in a storefront window wouldn’t make anyone raise an eyebrow. But Bloomington’s family-friendly Mall of America — on the 3rd floor near Nordstrom’s Closet and Pearle Vision — isn’t exactly one of those neighborhoods. The explanation? (apparent once you get closer to the store’s...Read More
My Kingdom for a . . . Winter Coat As a native Minnesotan, I honestly don’t know whether to attribute the phenomenon to retail “fashion-forwardness” (is that a word?), “mind over matter” denial, Scandinavian stoicism, or some other character/behavioral quirk. What am I referring to? My inability to find a winter-weight men’s overcoat anywhere in...Read More