Two New Outlet Malls In Chesterfield Valley: Prestige Vs. Premium
This year two competing outlet malls opened in the Chesterfield valley, not far from each other. I had a chance recently to visit both by car, a rental. I’d hoped to visit one or both via MetroBus so I could have my wheelchair. Before you question the idea, the #258 MetroBus stops in the valley every 20-60 minutes weekdays.
The two opened three weeks apart:
- Taubman Prestige Outlets on August 2, 2013
- St. Louis Premium Outlets on August 22, 2013
There was debate about St. Louis being able to support two outlet malls just 4+ miles apart, in addition to the existing St. Louis Outlet Mall in Hazelwood that opened in November 2003. For now I’ll focus on the two new outlets by Taubman and Simon Properties:
Both developers are publicly traded companies with impressive track records in the retail world. But Simon, the largest U.S. shopping mall owner, has been in the outlet business a lot longer.
Linda Humphers, who tracks the outlet mall industry for the International Council of Shopping Centers as editor of Value Retail News, noted that Simon has more than 60 outlet centers in the U.S. compared to basically two for Taubman. (Taubman and Simon both have many full-priced malls in their portfolios.) (stltoday.com)
Taubman, the underdog, opened first. Like many, I tend to lean in favor of the underdog. But I knew that many shoppers more impressed by Chesterfield’s second outlet mall. With all this background I visited both, in the order they opened, on Monday October 28th. Again, I drove a rental car we had for the weekend because both would require using the shoulder for the mile from the closest bus stop.
Similarities:
- Highly visible from I-64
- Site was underwater during the Flood of 1993
- Primarily internally focused
- Upscale/desirable retail outlets
- Multiple entrance points from parking lot
- One level, open air design
- Indoor, centrally-located, food court
- Green design elements like rain gardens to handle water runoff
For the differences many have focused on the number & importance of stores, but I’m not going to debate Ralph Lauren (Taubman) vs Coach (STL Premium). My focus is on the layout, approach, physical design, etc.
Taubman Prestige Outlets
St. Louis Premium Outlets
My Conclusions
Both malls will do fine initially, but the smaller Taubman mall will fade out quicker. It feels smaller, less generous, since it’s shoehorned in between the highway and a levee. It won’t close for many years, it’ll just be the less desirable outlet mall, though still ahead of Hazelwood’s decade-old St. Louis Outlet Mall.
The St. Louis Premium Outlets area will get built up over the next 5-10 years, hotels, restaurants and other retail will be added. They’ve planned ahead so as it gets built out it’ll be connected by a sidewalk network. Nothing you’d call super walkable, but minimally acceptable. The location is right as you enter from St. Charles County, so it’s convenient to many.
— Steve Patterson
I’ve been to both and I agree with many of your design observations. It’ll be interesting to see how well their “green” parking lots function, in the long run. Maintenance will be more complex than just sweeping the asphalt and cutting the grass. The low, wet areas will tend to collect a lot of trash and grow weeds. But the real bottom line will be the tenant mix and how well they attract customers – people shop primarily for products, the surrounding built environment is secondary, as long as it is acceptably clean and inoffensive (as both are). But the one statement I’m going to challenge is that either mall is “convenient to many” shoppers. They both may be more convenient to residents of St. Charles County than many other retail options in St. Louis County and City, but they’re really no more, and probably much less, “convenient” than the other options available to St. Louis residents. Most stores have outlets elsewhere in the area, and their prices, here, don’t seem to be much lower than the “sale” prices at their non-outlet locations. New will be the attraction, initially, but what’s actually available, consistently, will determine their long-term success.
Isn’t the term Premium Outlet an Oxymoron? To me Premium implies scarce or higher priced, not overstocked, or worse lower quality. I guess a certain portion of the public is stupid enough to buy into the idea that they are somehow getting a bargain, which may have once been the case when retailers had only a few of these stores, but now they have become their own key marketing component and they are everywhere. I predict that these malls will go the way of the St. Louis Mills and be a wasteland in 10 years.
Why am I reading this? I hate shopping. I can’t stand outlet malls. The idea of head-to-head competition among trendy outlet malls is a horrid nightmare. And I loathe the commercial development of the Missouri River flood plain into the Chesterfield Valley. Steve, please get back to posting about urban topics!
Two points. One, you need to keep up on what the “opposition” is up to. You may “hate shopping, but many people do love to shop (and they will!). Unfortunately, most shopping today is happening / being built in non-urban situations. If you want “urban” to remain relevant, you need to appeal to all demographics – you can’t be the Tea Party. And two, hate it or just tolerate it, much of the city does have a suburban scale and much of the new construction happening in the city and the inner ring suburbs is of this scale. While the location of these two malls is truly anti-urban, many of their design elements could have applicability in the city, things like “green” parking lots and the interface of pedestrians and parking. Not everything new is going to be a 3-6 story mixed-use structure with hidden parking!
People in the city, we need to boycott these malls! Do not let the county build any more! Somehow shopping must be brought to downtown again.
Years ago, the Christmas decorations downtown at the different shopping centers were outstanding. Simply amazing. All of you on here that are old enough to remember know exactly what I’m talking about. It rivalled any major city in the US. The different Christmas scenes, the trains, and the manger scenes with baby Jesus were just like they have in Europe today. Somehow, someday, our downtown will come alive again like it was. Our downtown must be our priority in this city!
While I agree with your sentiments, it’s a chicken-or-egg situation. When it comes to shoes and clothing (the major attraction at any mall), most shoppers are looking for certain brands and/or certain stores. Few, if any, of the stores at the new outlet malls (listed below) have a presence downtown, so saying that “we need to boycott these malls!” is hard to do when there aren’t any options downtown!
Adidas
Ann Taylor
Armani Outlet
BCBG Max Azria
Brooks Brothers
Charlotte Russe
Christopher & Banks
Columbia Sportswear
Converse
DKNY
Eddie Bauer Outlet
Elie Tahari
G.H. Bass & Co.
Gap
Haggar Clothing Co.
HanesBrands
Hollister Co.
Hot Topic
J.Crew
Jockey
Jones New York
Jos. A. Bank
Kate Spade New York
Lane Bryant
Levi’s
Loft
Maidenform
MaxStudio.com
Michael Kors
Motherhood Maternity
Nike
Oakley Vault
PacSun
Reebok
Rue21
Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th
Sarar
St. John
Tommy Hilfiger
Under Armour
Van Heusen
Wet Seal
Wilsons Leather
Zumiez
Carter’s
The Children’s Place
Disney Store Outlet
Gymboree Outlet
OshKosh B’gosh
Stride Rite Keds Sperry
Adidas
Aldo
Asics
Clarks Bostonian
Cole Haan
Converse
Easy Spirit
Famous Footwear
Finish Line
G.H. Bass & Co.
Naturalizer
Nike Factory Store
Nine West
Rack Room Shoes
Reebok
Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th
Skechers
Sperry Top-Sider
Stride Rite Keds Sperry
Ugg Australia
Coach
Coach Men’s
The Luggage Factory
Samsonite
Wilsons Leather
Claire’s
Coach
Coach Men’s
Cole Haan
Fossil
Gold Toe
Icing Outlet
Kate Spade New York
Kay Jewelers
Michael Kors
Sunglass Hut
Sunglass Warehouse
Ultra Diamonds
Vera Bradley
Corningware Corelle & More
Kitchen Collection
Le Creuset
Bath & Body Works
Book Warehouse
Crabtree & Evelyn
Direct Tools Factory Outlet
Fragrance Outlet
Perfumes 4 U
Toys”R”Us
2B bebe
Abercrombie & Fitch
Always Spring
American Eagle Outfitters
Auntie Anne’s
Banana Republic
Bettie Page
Broadway
Brooks Brothers
Brookstone
Call It Spring
Cellairis
Chic
Christmas in St. Louis
Collective
Discount Wireless
Famous Footwear
Furla
Gap
Go! Calendars
Go! Games & Toys
Hickory Farms
J. Crew
Jewelry Box
Johnston & Murphy
Juicy Couture
Love Culture
Lucky Brand
Mark Anthony Collection
MindWorks Gallery
Nadoz Bakery Cafe
On the Ball Sports
Pacific Sunwear
Perfume Plus
Polo Ralph Lauren
Restoration Hardware
Scentsual Perfume
Solstice Sunglass
Spas and More!
Steve Madden
STL Menswear
Taviani Pizzeria
Teavana
The Bedroom Store
TokyoSAN
Treats Unleashed
Uno de 50
Vera Asian
There are plenty of shopping options between St. Louis and 270 so as to not have to drive to the middle of a drained swamp to buy shoes and clothing.
Agree, but Julia was saying shopping needed to brought back downtown, not just inside 270.
Julia is a bit naive, but her heart is in the right place!
I agree with Julia wholeheartedly! Shopping options do need to be brought downtown and back to the city in general. Hopefully the IKEA store will work out in mid-town. And hopefully we can also bring back the Christmas decorations as they once were. I used to love the train at Macy’s…
I hope these Chesterfield malls flop and that retailers consider downtown, and the city as a whole, worthy options again.