First Thoughts
“Suddenly the choices are obvious.” This blatant statement is plastered on the walls of Memorial City Mall in southwest Houston, forcing the shopper to think very hard what the choices are. Luckily, the average shopper does not have to think too hard since the choices are very obvious upon entrance. Just walking in any entrance of the mall, one finds their self bombarded by everything from kiosks selling cell phones to posh display store windows to snazzy cars on display. While Memorial City Mall appears to be the average commercial shopping center, the interior of this palace strives to prove the diligent shopper wrong. Nowadays, malls are emerging as sophisticated avenues. Featuring over 50 tenants, it screams prosperity and modernity.
First constructed in 1966, Memorial City Mall started out as a basic, run-of-the-mill shopping center. It strove to meet the needs of the people in the growing city. However, it deteriorated over time into a vast ghetto of ugliness and crime. Ten years ago, it was finally renovated into a clean-cut, modern mall. Its sales in 1995 exceeded well over $230 million. The surrounding areas around the mall quickly brightened up as well to match the mall’s attractive image.
Just from looking at the mall from Interstate 10, one can see the majestic, signature structure of Dillard’s and the sprawling Target that hugs the west end of the mall. Pulling into the parking lot, one is immediately faced with the daunting task of either entering from one of the mall’s anchor stores, Target, or Sun and Ski Sports. Another impressive aspect about the mall is the valet parking. This is still a very new concept to huge shopping centers and Memorial City Mall was one of the first to implement this feature. Most customers appeared to be happy with this service, though it does cost a small fee.
Choosing to go into Target is a temptation within itself. It is a huge, super-sized “mall.” Clothes that represent the latest styles beckon to the consumer on one end while an impressive grocery store tempts at another end. Luckily, the consumer has probably made it past all those temptations and finally entered the actual mall.
The mall is set up in sections. It does not curve, it has pathways that meet up at a“center.” There are the baby and kid sections, teen sections, women sections, and food courts. In the baby section, you will find The Children’s Place, Journey Kidz, Baby Gap, and the extremely popular Build-a-Bear. In the teen sections, stores such as Hollister and Forever 21 grace the mall. I noticed a strong surfer theme in the teen sections. Stores that reinforce this are PacSun, Aeropostale, Hollister, The Buckle, Beyond Image, and Uprise. In the women sections, there is Ann Taylor Loft, New York & Company, L’Occitane, and Sephora. Of course, there are the four anchor stores, Mervyn’s, Dillard’s, Lord & Taylor’s, and Foley’s.
Memorial City Mall is constantly improving their business by acquiring new deals to increase shopper enthusiasm. Over the course of six years, it has added new anchor stores, such as the likes of Lord and Taylor, Dillard‘s, and Target, shutting out Montgomery Ward. These are attempts to make it more high-class and less “working-class.” The mall has expanded from 1.4 million square feet, to 1.9 million square feet, placing it only second in size to the popular Galleria. The 250,000-square-foot Dillard’s recently opened in October of 2003, shutting out nearby Town & Country Dillard’s. Years of wear and tear have been replaced by more upscale stores such as Sephora and Coach. A carousel has been added in the last year as well as an ice rink in November of 2003. The opening of restaurants such as California’s Pizza Kitchen and Denis’s Seafood Restaurant have substantially increased revenue for the mall.