I was recently reading an interesting article in the Denver Post that Saks Fifth Avenue is closing its store in Denver’s posh Cherry Creek Mall. The article goes on to point out that department stores continue to lose favor with consumers (likely due to lack of customer service and store disorganization) and that an increasing number of malls are replacing them with lifestyle centers that include more specialty retailers in an open air shopping center that encourages shoppers to browse and linger. The author points out that large, vacant department stores are more frequently being remodeled into smaller retail spaces and lifestyle centers like the Rosedale Center in Minneapolis and at St. Louis’ West County Center.

In the case of the Cherry Creek Mall, they have already developed Cherry Creek North, a collection of upscale and independent retailers in a lifestyle center that has been quite successful. One option for the mall’s survival is to integrate the two more by adding additional outdoor shopping and specialty retail rather than replacing Saks with another department store. So, if you’re considering becoming part of a mall complex, this trend could open up more location options for your business this year as more storefronts and opportunities are being created for specialty retail!

A few weeks ago I read about a mall in Australia playing Barry Manilow music to discourage teens (it might discourage a few adults, too!) from hanging out in the mall into the wee hours of the night. I've also seen articles on malls playing a high-pitched, irritating tone (indiscernible to adults, but not to babies) to keep teens from loitering. Today, I just read about a more controversial deterrent being used in the UK—pink fluorescent lights. The theory behind it is that teens will not want their acne/bad skin to stand out (the pink lights make skin blemishes more pronounced), so they'll choose new hang outs.

From the mall developer perspective, teens can create a big mess, cluster in large groups (thereby discouraging others from doing more shopping) and get very rowdy (which can quickly turn into fights). There are even some communities where malls are concerned about teen gangs.

On the other side of the debate, teenagers already have enough issues with their self esteem (leading to suicide AND fighting), so is this a good solution? Personally I hope we won't see malls in the US installing pink lights anytime soon. What do you think?