I wonder if this'll hasten the death of the Sears at both of the malls; I guess Sears at least still has appliances going for it but both of the Dayton-area stores have been looking pretty sad.

Not sure. Over the past 10-15 years it seemed that E-B turned into kind of an "old lady store" whereas that's not Sears' main demo.

Not sure. Over the past 10-15 years it seemed that E-B turned into kind of an "old lady store" whereas that's not Sears' main demo.

Can confirm. It's my 90-year old grandma's favorite store, she will be devastated.

 

I'm not convinced this is the nail in the coffin for E-B / Bon-Ton.

Washington Prime Group (formerly Glimcher) and the other mall owners on the original bid are still financially OK and would be taking a big risk by letting these anchor their anchor stores, each in a different mall, go under.

 

Even if they buy out the rights to Bon Ton and operate it at a loss it's probably smarter for them to do that than take the financial hit on their leases of devaluing their malls without that anchor.... unless they have the money to spend to demolish and repurpose all of the old Bon Ton stores.

 

Sears is an interesting and very different case because they own most all of their own stores, with the exception of their newer locations in places like The Mall at Fairfield Commons, Polaris Fashion Place, etc. which they lease.

 

Even Toys-R-Us had an offer submitted to purchase it by the billionaire majority owner of Bratz and Hasbro... it failed but the circumstances are different, toy makers won't be short sales channels but mall owners are short potential anchor stores. IMO Washington Prime and the other mall owners would be fools to let this slip through.... and the liquidators who are the top bidders know this is the case. They will end up getting top dollar for these stores IMO unless the mall owners are willing to throw in the towel and go bankrupt now.

 

Several mall ownership companies pooled to buy Aeropostale in that manner.

The ONLY reason I'm posting this is that I'm shocked there are no Ross locations in the state of Ohio.  That's unusual.

 

 

Discount retailer to open two Dayton-area locations

 

 

A California-based discount retailer has plans to open two Dayton-area locations.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2018/08/07/discount-retailer-to-open-two-dayton-area.html

Bowling and entertainment venue sets opening date for first Dayton-area location

 

An opening date has been set for a new bowling and entertainment venue at a local mall.

 

Round1 Entertainment, a Japan-based amusement store chain, will open its first Dayton-area location Nov. 23 at The Mall at Fairfield Commons. It will occupy the lower level of the former Sears store, which permanently closed in 2018.

 

The grand opening event will include special giveaways for guests. The first 200 customers will receive a free, limited edition T-shirt with any purchase, excluding food and beverage. Guests that stop by between 10 a.m. and noon will be entered to win one $250 game card and five $50 game cards.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2019/11/14/bowling-and-entertainment-venue-sets-opening-date.html

 

We've closed the Dayton Mall Super Game Team. 85% of the video game business is now downloads, DLC and free-to-play games which has made the industry tough for those who deal in physical copies. In addition, interest in retro gaming has dropped significantly since we opened in 2015. We are proud to have served the area and are very appreciative of the support we received from our customers and friends over the years. Come see us in Lancaster at River Valley Mall!

 

 

On 1/10/2020 at 11:17 PM, GCrites80s said:

We've closed the Dayton Mall Super Game Team. 85% of the video game business is now downloads, DLC and free-to-play games which has made the industry tough for those who deal in physical copies. In addition, interest in retro gaming has dropped significantly since we opened in 2015. We are proud to have served the area and are very appreciative of the support we received from our customers and friends over the years. Come see us in Lancaster at River Valley Mall!

 

 

 

That is sad to hear! Retail in any situation is a tough environment.

I'm a few months late, but wanted to provide a post-pandemic update.

 

I went to Dayton Mall, The Greene, the Mall at Fairfield Commons, and the Jeffersonville Outlet Mall as part of my errands today.

I have also been to the Monroe Outlet Mall post-pandemic, as well as Polaris, Easton and Kenwood.

 

The difference is stark.

Polaris is still at 95+% occupancy within the mall itself from what I can tell.

The Sears redevelopment will be interesting, and every store front was filled aside from one.

The outside area of the mall appears to be floundering. Lots of vacancies relative to the inside.

 

Easton was basically 100% occupied from what I could tell.

Kenwood was the same, but I didn't get a chance to go to the Collection across from Dillards.

The Monroe Outlets are starting to have some vacancies, most notably the former Saks Off Fifth.

 

All three of the Dayton malls had a healthy amount of foot traffic but also had notable vacancies.

I may be picking up on it more because I spend a lot more time at the Dayton-area malls, but it makes me wonder why when there's still plenty of people coming in.

 

Dayton Mall is the most worrisome of the bunch for closures, as it always has been due to its bare-bones architecture and haphazard development surrounding the mall.

But the center corridor is packed! Tons of foot traffic. I've never seen as many shops open on the second level as there are now. And halfway down the main corridor in each direction from the center the mall has good occupancy levels.

The JCPenney is in sad shape, it will go out of business like the rest of the chain soon. 

But the new Morris Home Outlet (in place of The Room Place) opened up at least.

The vacant-feeling but filled corridor it creates with the Dicks Sporting Goods is weird but easily solvable with some kiosks, pop-up food vendors or even allowing a local car dealership to display some cars there with a salesperson or two to staff it.

Even with the weirdness there are still plenty of people walking to Dicks.

"The Yard" concept they have going is not working.

 

The corridor down by Elder Beerman has changed quite a bit since the pandemic.

There's a lot more vacancies between Forever 21 and the old E-B... maybe a 20% occupancy rate over that part now vs. 70% pre-pandemic. It's a worry.

But if the Avis car rental is removed, everything west of Forever 21 can be combined into one common space with outside access.

 

Washington Prime took ownership of the former Elder Beerman earlier this year.

Even with the pandemic, I'm hoping for an announcement and some plans for redevelopment.

Sears will be trickier since it is a Seritage property, but there's also no At Home store nearby... and they have opened up in a lot of former Sears Holdings properties.

 

 

The Greene overall is pretty healthy but there's a lot of vacancies by Von Maur.

Basically that whole section behind Club Oceano has maybe a 60% occupancy rate.

The rest of the mall is probably 90% occupied.

 

I didn't do a full tour at Fairfield Commons but it's the only Dayton area mall that has Rose & Remington (plus a variety of sister stores) in it.

These together take up A Lot of space... probably ~15-20k square feet, or about equivalent to a H&M.

There's still a lot of vacancies, like the space where Forever 21 was going to go before their bankruptcy.

The food court will be 100% occupied once Agnes Grill opens... nice to see a locally owned small restaurant open in a mall food court.

 

Edited July 18, 20204 yr by SWOH

Do people actually shop at Von Maur? I guess I could see retired lawyers picking up Dockers there but I can't imagine it's a big regional draw. 

On 7/18/2020 at 5:19 PM, SWOH said:

 

That is sad to hear! Retail in any situation is a tough environment.

I'm a few months late, but wanted to provide a post-pandemic update...

 

 

Dayton Mall is the most worrisome of the Dayton-area malls, but it makes me wonder why when there's still plenty of people coming in. bunch for closures, as it always has been due to its bare-bones architecture and haphazard development surrounding the mall.

But the center corridor is packed! Tons of foot traffic. I've never seen as many shops open on the second level as there are now. And halfway down the main corridor in each direction from the center the mall has good occupancy levels.

The JCPenney is in sad shape, it will go out of business like the rest of the chain soon. 

But the new Morris Home Outlet (in place of The Room Place) opened up at least.

The vacant-feeling but filled corridor it creates with the Dicks Sporting Goods is weird but easily solvable with some kiosks, pop-up food vendors or even allowing a local car dealership to display some cars there with a salesperson or two to staff it.

Even with the weirdness there are still plenty of people walking to Dicks.

"The Yard" concept they have going is not working.

 

The corridor down by Elder Beerman has changed quite a bit since the pandemic.

There's a lot more vacancies between Forever 21 and the old E-B... maybe a 20% occupancy rate over that part now vs. 70% pre-pandemic. It's a worry.

But if the Avis car rental is removed, everything west of Forever 21 can be combined into one common space with outside access.

 

Washington Prime took ownership of the former Elder Beerman earlier this year.

Even with the pandemic, I'm hoping for an announcement and some plans for redevelopment.

Sears will be trickier since it is a Seritage property, but there's also no At Home store nearby... and they have opened up in a lot of former Sears Holdings properties.

 

 

 

The E-B end had become troublesome almost immediately after the E-B closed. Sure, the Chik-fil-A did fine, but of course there is a lag after a major change at a mall due to lease contracts and stores hoping they could still make it work. I don't feel, though, that if we moved somewhere else in the mall that we would have been able to save things due to the prolific competition locally in our sector, the aforementioned downloads/online only games and toughest of all, the fact that people didn't sell us anything there except Original Xbox games -- which are turds if you know the business.

 

I know for a fact that the T-Mobile has closed and that the watch/jewelry kiosk is supposed to be there through Xmas, but did Glitter, Brenda's and Treasure Trove also close or move upstairs? How about that craft collective in the old Rainbow? I assume CFA feels that they shouldn't sink a lot of money into the location since they have closed for a week two years in a row during retail's notoriously terrible 2nd week of November to fix water/sewage issue but did no other visible updates despite the interior being straight out of the late '90s. They probably suspect that they will move upstairs or to an outlot when it's time. I feel like if there were a critical mass of stores upstairs that it could come back to life.

 

It might not be a bad idea for the mall to be eaten all the way from E-B to the H&M plus the parking at that end for apartments. 

National outdoor retailer to open first Dayton location

 

One of the nation’s largest outdoor retailers is planting its first Dayton location soon. The opening will provide more jobs to Dayton residents and offer a new specialty store to shop at.

 

REI Co-op officially opens its new Beavercreek store on Friday, May 10. Its arrival provides another retail option, as well as creating new jobs.

 

Located at 2650 N Fairfield Road in the Beavercreek Shopping Center, the approximately 23,000 square-foot store features a wide assortment of outdoor gear and apparel for camping, hiking, cycling, running, fitness, paddling and more. A specialty bike shop will be staffed with certified mechanics to tune or repair equipment to help cyclists ride trails and streets year-round.

...

REI is a specialty outdoor retailer, headquartered near Seattle. The nation’s largest consumer co-op, REI is a growing community of 23 million members. There are nearly 29,000 members in the Dayton DMA and more than 405,000 members in Ohio.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2024/04/28/rei-outdoor-beavercreek-mall-fairfeild.html

 

Buc-ee’s aims for opening next year, awaiting final approval

 

The convenience chain die-hard fans have been waiting for is closing in on a groundbreaking, awaiting final approval from the city.

 

Buc-ee’s Huber Heights LLC hopes to receive approval of its detailed development plan and facilitate construction of a Buc-ee’s travel center at 8000 St. Route 235 in Huber Heights. The plan will go to the planning commission on Tuesday, May 14.

 

Construction likely will be underway in the coming months as documents submitted by the chain provided projections for a 2025 “opening year.”

 

The 74,000-square-foot development, noted as a “travel center," will occupy 39 acres of a 52-acre site. Alongside the main convenience store, plans designated space for 120 fueling pumps, 24 Tesla charging stations and almost 700 parking spots.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2024/05/13/buc-ees-ohio-opening-slated-for-2025.html

 

Mall at Fairfield Commons announces 4th new tenant since February

 

A popular retail store featuring popular licenses and collaborations is coming to the Mall at Fairfield Commons, reports our news partners at Dayton 24/7 Now.

 

MINISO is a global retail brand known for its toys, plushies, collectible blind box toys, stationery, beauty essentials, home goods, fragrances, electronics, and snacks, all at reasonable prices. The brand is known for its collaborations with iconic names like Sanrio, Disney, Care Bears, The Peanuts, Barbie, We Bare Bears, Pixar, and more.

 

“We are thrilled to welcome first to the market retailer MINISO to our lineup at The Mall at Fairfield Commons,” said Ashley Mays, general manager of the Mall at Fairfield Commons. “Guests are in for a unique shopping experience because MINISO is known for their high quality merchandise for the family at great prices.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2024/05/24/miniso-mall-fairfield-commons-beavercreek.html

 

You have to offer something different like they do. Everyone thinks that if you don't sell milk you can't be in business any more but that's not really the case. You have to offer people things that they wouldn't have just looked on the internet for on their own. And serve demographics that don't robotically buy everything on Amazon.

Academy Sports + Outdoors to plant first regional location in Springfield

 

An outdoor and sports retailer will make its Dayton-area debut in one of the region's largest shopping centers.

 

Academy Sports + Outdoors is planning its first regional storefront at 1690 N. Bechtle Ave. in Springfield. The sports store currently only has one other Ohio location in Zanesville.

 

The new store will reside in the former Dick's Sporting Goods in Bechtle Crossing shopping center - which houses other notable businesses such as Bath & Body Works, Kohl's, Marshalls and more.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2024/08/29/academy-sports-outdoors-springfield-bechtle.html

 

Dick's House of Sport sets opening date at Beavercreek mall

 

A concept created by one of the nation's most popular sports retailers is set to make its Ohio debut in a local mall soon. With the grand opening just weeks away, the store has announced a bevy of special guests and giveaways in advance.

 

Dick's House of Sport — an experiential concept by Dick's Sporting Goods — has unveiled its grand opening plans at The Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek.

 

The athletic store will open in March, occupying approximately 100,000 square feet of space in the former Elder-Beerman storefront. The shop differs from a traditional Dick's Sporting Goods due to its experiential components such as a climbing wall, multiple golf bays with TrackManTM simulators, and multi-sport cages that can be used for baseball, softball, lacrosse and soccer.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2025/02/21/dicks-house-of-sport-fairfield-commons-mall.html