Danbury Fair Mall

[amesman]

As for Lord and Taylor vs. Macy's: pricier - yes. more upscale - no. They're the same thing. Same as when L&T was against the other May Company stores. All the same, just different names. Bloomingdales and Nordstrom are way more upscale, and again, they would not really work in Danbury, but like I said, it's not completely out of the question. The odds aren't really in favor for yes though. Boscovs would be a good fit. Or the space split between two stores.

[KyleRF]

Why is Lord and Taylor being suggested to move to another spot in the mall? Leave it where it is! As for Boscov's, that may fit well, but I'd say Borders, Best Buy, and some other stores might fit better. Danbury isn't too upscale, considering the only upscale store is Lord and Taylor, so Bloomingdale's or Nordstrom would not fit well. When does the mall company plan to fill the large vacancy?

I e-mailed Richard Baker, Chairman of Lord and Taylor, and he responded back by saying that Lord and Taylor plans to sell more upscale merchandise, renovate the current stores, and open new locations in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, particularly in lifestyle centers. He also said that other than Water Tower Place, no other Lord and Taylor stores are going to close, since they all do good business.

[Caldor1999]

lord & taylor was the may companys only differnt store and was not the same as filenes and if it was filenes wouldent have ancored in the danbury mall bloomingdaels i can see going there because of macys and the store woudl do well mostley because teh danbury mall acttrcts alot of people from new york and ct boscoves would also be a good fit and maby spilting it off into a target and filenes basment byt danbury already has target that and any outher type of bi g box store u can think of

and the stamford mall has Saks 5th ave in there mall a verey upscal store more so then nordstrom or bloomingdales and the mall stilll had macys and once filens/JC Penny so i can see nordstrom ro bliimngdales going in there

[KyleRF]

This may be a bit off topic, but what mall would you like to see Lord and Taylor at, and what mall would you like to see it leave?

For me, this is a tough question.

I would like to see Lord and Taylor go back to Providence Place, since Providence Place was upscale, and Lord and Taylor was replaced by J.C. Penney.

I don't know where Lord and Taylor should leave. Since it is leaving Chicago, possibly there, but if it isn't, I really don't know.

[JustinT]

Lord & Taylor is not leaving the Chicago metro, just the high-rent location in Water Tower Place. I believe they've got stores in the affluent northern suburbs at malls like the massive Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Northbrook Court in Northbrook, and Old Orchard in Skokie.

Some of L&T's stores could really use a facade improvement. The facade of the Natick store is only 13 years old but looks outdated and tired compared to the rest of the anchors at the mall. Their late-90's facades look pretty decent; L&T would really make a better impression in a tough retail market if they were to improve the exterior image of some of their older stores.

(Macy's is a close second for ugly facades at Natick, but at least the Federated CEO said they're working on it :) )

[Scrabbleship]

Originally posted by Caldor1999
only resin why i donr see broders and target and best buy going in there is because danbury already has thoughs stores

Regarding the idea that putting a Borders in part of the old Filene's space would be redundant because Danbury already has a Borders, let me share a story that takes place 120 miles to the Northwest.

Up in Albany, Borders recently opened a really nice location inside the former TJ Maxx at Crossgates Mall even though a mere 5 minutes away Borders has a successful 2-story location just north of Colonie Center. Why would they open the Crossgates location when they already had one, aside from the gaping lack of a bookstore Crossgates had? Two reasons.

1: There is an audience of people who comes from a sizeable distance to shop at Crossgates and ONLY at Crossgates and having Borders there is convinent for them. There's a similar audience at Danbury Fair that wouldn't want to deal with going on Federal Road just to go to Borders.
2: The two locations have different audiences and purposes. The Colonie Borders has a larger selection, a larger cafe and music section, and is more of destination, whereas the Crossgates Borders has the people who come to browse, get in, and get out.

Also, who said it has to be Borders? I'd be willing to say that if Macerich wooed Barnes & Noble to move into part of the former Filene's from their current location down the road, it'd be a win-win for all involved. Much more space and the possibility of more customers given that it's a pain to get there from Danbury Fair. Back to Colonie, the Barnes & Noble there is doing just that by moving into Colonie Center.

i could only see a dept store filling the old filens space i think target would work same with boscoves and lord and taylor is diffrent from macys with what they sell i also find them a lil more pricer then macys which is why i see them as an upsacl store thats why a bloomingdales or a nordstrom would fit maby they could split it in half witha target and a filenes basment

This is the kind of thinking that is keeping vacancy rates of anchor slots at some malls high. Back to Crossgates, right now the former Lord & Taylor space has been vacant for nearly 2 years with the former Macy's space just having joined it and Cohoes to follow. For a superregional mall that rakes in the dough, there is no excuse for letting such a thing happen.

[amesman]

A very valid point Scrabbleship. I've come to the conclusion also, that Borders put a store in Crossgates for all the Guilderland residents who didn't want to make the way to Colonie. Also, as for the whole scheme of things, you could even include the Borders stores in Clifton Park and Saratoga Springs. Those are fairly close together as well, and close by to the aformetioned two as well. Same thing goes for Barnes and Noble.

[Scrabbleship]

Originally posted by amesman
A very valid point Scrabbleship. I've come to the conclusion also, that Borders put a store in Crossgates for all the Guilderland residents who didn't want to make the way to Colonie.

I don't think it's the Guilderland audience as much as it is the far greater audience of people who come from all around to shop at Crossgates. No mall can compare to it for a pretty good distance around and the presence of a Borders lends it more to being a one-stop destination.

Back to Danbury, Danbury Fair is a destination for shoppers from a pretty large area coming out of that it's either the closest mall for a lot of people or is the closest location for upscale shopping that some malls (Brass City, Jefferson Valley, Poughkeepsie Galleria) lack. Having lived in part of the cachement area of Danbury Fair (and Crossgates), I can say that a fair amount of Danbury Fair's customers are there only to shop there and will be back on 84/7 in no time. That audience is one to pursue on top of the locals battling Federal Road traffic.

A personal aside. Prior to moving to Albany for college (and settling after graduation), I could count on one hand the number of times I ended up on Wolf Road or Federal Road. That's how often a trip to Albany/Danbury usually ended up solely to go to Crossgates/Danbury Fair. Of course, now when I'm in Danbury I end up battling the traffic to make it to Stew Leonard's or Trader Joe's:)

[XISMZERO]

Here's a large pictoral update from Danbury Fair Mall. There's also a bonus gallery of a vacant Grand Union in neighboring town, Newtown. Click below!

I'll be making a return trip in mid-May for more shots, particularly of the other anchors (Lord & Taylor, and JCPenney), and any renovation updates. Enjoy!

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/xismzero/album/576460762396242908

[XISMZERO]

Another renovation update with 99 new pictures! Check it here: http://thecaldorrainbow.blogspot.com/2007/05/danbury-fair-mall-renovation-updates.html

Oh yes, and I've also "added" this paper display to my collection...

[XISMZERO]

Danbury Fair Mall to possibly get Nordstrom to fill Filene's as future anchor. Story: http://thecaldorrainbow.blogspot.com/2007/10/nordstrom-to-become-succeeding-anchor.html

[dmx10101]

Update: Police say woman groped Santa
Danbury resident charged with fourth-degree sexual assault
By Eugene Driscoll STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 12/19/2007 10:42:46 AM EST

DANBURY -- A 33-year-old woman was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault Saturday after allegedly groping a man playing Santa Claus at the Danbury Fair mall.

Sandrama Lamy, 33, of Danbury, is charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, according to Danbury Detective Lt. Thomas Michael.

Two messages seeking comment were left on Lamy's answering machine.

Details leading up to the alleged fondling are sketchy.

"I don't know what the deal was. It was just bizarre," the mall Santa told a reporter, referring all other questions about the incident to Cherry Hill Photo, the company that runs the Danbury Fair mall Santa photo setup.

Cherry Hill Photo did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

According to information provided by the Danbury Police Department, officers were dispatched to the mall Saturday at 8:45 p.m.

The mall Santa told police that Lamy touched him inappropriately while sitting on his lap.

"The security officer at the mall said Santa Claus has been sexually assaulted," Michael said.

Lamy was also charged with breach of peace.

"She must have caused a commotion over there," Michael said.

Lamy was released on a promise to appear Jan. 3 in Danbury Superior Court.

Danbury Fair mall spokeswoman Melissa Eigen called the alleged groping "an isolated incident."

"The safety of our guests and employees is a top priority, and we strive to create a safe and enjoyable shopping environment at all our facilities and Danbury Fair specifically,"
Advertisement
Eigen said.

2007 has not been a great year for mall Santas.

Earlier this month in Missoula, Mont., a mall Santa was assaulted with a pumpkin pie.

Meanwhile, a department store Santa in Australia claims he lost his job earlier this month because he said "Ho, ho, ho."

His bosses had asked him to say "Hi, hi, hi."

"Santa Tim" Connaghan is the president of RealSantas.com and teaches hundreds of people a year how to be Santas.

He said the Danbury Fair mall incident, if true, is one of kind.

Santas usually have to worry about kids tugging beards and teens throwing pennies from the mall rafters.

"I have been doing this 40 years, and I've never heard of charges being lodged either way -- by a guest against a Santa or a Santa against a guest," Connaghan said.

It isn't unusual for an adult to sit and pose with a picture with a mall Santa.

"I've had some very nice ladies sit on my lap," Connaghan said.

A harmless flirtation isn't out of the norm.

"Once in a while they'll say 'I hope Mrs. Claus isn't going to be upset.' You have to be discreet and kind and say 'Oh no, she'll be OK. You can sit here, but only for one photo.'"

[C. Fontaine]

Haha I saw this on Fox News, I was going to post it here!:insane:

[XISMZERO]

Strange I went to the site after I heard about the news and found Santa, who felt compelled to grope after the truth...

/congratulations to Andrew Meyer...

[Marc82]

Originally posted by XISMZERO
Here's a large pictoral update from Danbury Fair Mall. There's also a bonus gallery of a vacant Grand Union in neighboring town, Newtown.  

Sorry to Hijack the Danbury Mall thread, but I couldn't find a Grand Union Thread. The aforementioned Grand Union in Newtown is becoming Caraluzzi's an independent supermarket.

http://www.newtownbee.com/News/2008-02-07__11-56-49/Caraluzzi

[CTAmeshopper]

I wish I could go to this mall. :(

gas prices too high still.

[Caldor1999]

Originally posted by CTAmeshopper
I wish I could go to this mall. :(

gas prices to high still.

there alot better then they use to be gas around me is 2 55 but its still over 3 bucks in some ofthe rich towns by me

[ynkeesfn82]

New Stores Coming Soon:

Arhaus furniture - replacing H&M

The Lego Store - Mall hoping for a 2014 opening

Red Robin - Mall hopes it will open before November 2013.

The Burger Joint - Mall hopes it will open before November 2013.

[TRU7536]

New Stores Coming Soon:

Arhaus furniture - replacing H&M

The Lego Store - Mall hoping for a 2014 opening

Red Robin - Mall hopes it will open before November 2013.

The Burger Joint - Mall hopes it will open before November 2013.

Shocked about HM closing, they are like everywhere and never fail. Haven't been to this mall in a few years. I liked it, was nice.

[Caldor1999]

that h&m didn't have a good selection. Its too bad they didn't replace it with something worth going too

[Caldor1999]

Primark Will be lease approximately 70,000 square feet on the upper level of the two-story Sears store
http://www.newstimes.com/business/article/Danbury-mall-gets-a-new-anchor-6090330.php