Top retailers located in Tampa Bay mean big numbers for real estate - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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A survey released last month by the of morethan 3,0090 mall managers and marketing directorsa in the United States and Canad chose , , , and Steve & Barry's University Sportswear as the retailers to keep an eye on this With the exception of Steve Barry's, the retailers appeal to upscale consumers -- the kind that are drivingb growth in the Tampa Bay And all but Steve & Barry's have a presenc e here. The big winner is , wher three of the four hottest retailersare located. The Apple store is the only one in the Bay and Coach can only be founde there and at Westfield Southgatein Sarasota. For International Plaza is one of four locations inthe area.
Havingv those shops under one roof "brings together the synergy that consumers in Tamp a Bay havebeen missing," said Aj GM of International Plaza. Williams-Sonomq also has locations in Old Hyde Park Westfield Citrus Park andWestfield Southgate, while White House/Black Marke is in Old Hyde Park Village, Baywalk in St. Petersburt and on St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota. Davidr Conn, senior VP for retail services atin Tampa, said of the four upscale "If you could land them in one of your malls, it says somethingh about your malls." For a long time, the Tampa Bay area wasn'g considered wealthy enough to attract high-end retailers such as and .
"Oned day we crossed that magic Conn said. Retailers "look for some magidc number, which they think means there is enougg money out there to supporttheirt stores." Once an area lands one or two high-en d retailers, it is likely to attract more. "There'as a herd mentality," Conn said. For the Tampa Bay area, the boominyg population and the creationof well-payingh jobs are drawing such retailers, he James West, senior VP for real estat for White House/Black Market, said the retailer, which is a subsidiart of Fort Myers-based , "opens in markets with high growth potentiall and a demographic profile that fits a similar profile to our target customer.
" That target shoppefr is 25 to 50 years old and likexs feminine and unique clothing sold in a boutiqued atmosphere. Pat Westerhouse, GM of Old Hyde Park Village, said Whitew House/Black Market and Williams-Sonoma are both "destinationh stores" that draw shoppers to the center. Williams-Sonoma was one of the originaol tenants ofthe center, which opened in and has expanded twice sinced that time. Its first shop was about 2,500 or 3,000 squars feet. In October, the companu moved to a 6,500-square-foot site in a cornet of what once wasdepartment store. story," Westerhousee said.
The closest Steve & Barry's is located in Orlando, and the retailer, which offerss low-cost college sweatshirts and similar apparel, tends to move into mallx that have lost ananchore tenant, Conn said. Although he hasn' heard talk of Steve Barry's coming to the Bay Conn said a likely location wouldr beUniversity Mall, wherd JC Penney has announced it will close and move to the Shopx at Wiregrass, being built in Pasco County.
One of the next entriex into the Tampa Bay area retaiol scene will be Lakeside Villaged insouthwest Lakeland, which is scheduled to open in The shopping and entertainment center will have the firsg 's department store in the area and will also brinv businesses like Chico's, , , Macaroni Grill and Lee Roy Selmon'sd to Polk County, said Steve Scruggs, executive directo r of the . "The Polk Countt market hasn't had a lot of upscal national retailers," Scruggs said. "Most of the people that have had the wherewithakl to be able to shop at those typess of locations have been traveling back and forthb to Tampa andOrlando forever.
" That means an estimatef $300 million to $400 millioh in retail sales is beingg spent annually outside the Once the $80-million, 630,000-square-foot project is completed, "it will give us the opportunit to capture some of that," Scruggd said.