More Downtown Retail

[Eric_c]

http://www.freep.com/story/life/shop...roit/28761529/

[cmubryan]

http://www.freep.com/story/life/shop...roit/28761529/

Interesting...we go from beauty supply and liquor stores that accept EBT to high end retailers that are selling $10 t-shirts for almost $100! Skipping the middle road altogether it seems. Fine by me as this is what will attract the people with money and investment but "WOW!"

[dtowncitylover]

Huh, that's pretty neat that a store will have both a midtown and downtown store. Makes us sound like New York.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

From the article:

"Located at Merchants Row — in a part of downtown that is teeming with young office workers — the 3,000-square-foot Kit and Ace is to feature soft and often-seamless casual, but not sloppy, clothing for men and women who are hip, fit and toned. If you require a plus size, you won't find much to buy here."

I hope there are enough Millennials with the income - and without the all-too-typical Michigan girth - for this store to be a success.

[401don]

I click on the Freep article and up pops a banner article that Olga's has filed for bankruptcy! One in, one out.

[ParisianLesion]

I click on the Freep article and up pops a banner article that Olga's has filed for bankruptcy! One in, one out.

Not necessarily. Olga's filed Chapter 11 which is intended to reorganize debt and keep operating.

[Shai_Hulud]

From the article:

"Located at Merchants Row — in a part of downtown that is teeming with young office workers — the 3,000-square-foot Kit and Ace is to feature soft and often-seamless casual, but not sloppy, clothing for men and women who are hip, fit and toned. If you require a plus size, you won't find much to buy here."

I hope there are enough Millennials with the income - and without the all-too-typical Michigan girth - for this store to be a success.

Men's shirts top at XL. I wish them the best. Nothing there for me.

[Hermod]

Trade all those damn frou frou places for having a Hudsons/Crowleys/Kerns concentration in the city.

[Chicago48]

From the article:

"Located at Merchants Row — in a part of downtown that is teeming with young office workers — the 3,000-square-foot Kit and Ace is to feature soft and often-seamless casual, but not sloppy, clothing for men and women who are hip, fit and toned. If you require a plus size, you won't find much to buy here."

I hope there are enough Millennials with the income - and without the all-too-typical Michigan girth - for this store to be a success.

Did you go to the site? It's all plain clothing priced at about 80-100 for a T shirt and tops. All gray/white/black, no color. Dull.

[313WX]

Not necessarily. Olga's filed Chapter 11 which is intended to reorganize debt and keep operating.

That's a good point.

But more often than not, unless there's a merger or government assistance, companies that file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy eventually end up going through liquidation any way. Not saying that will happen to Olga's, but there's usually structural issues within the business that can't be fixed by a simple reorganization of debt.

[erikd]

Trade all those damn frou frou places for having a Hudsons/Crowleys/Kerns concentration in the city.

We don't have to make a trade for that to happen. We already have the same number of Hudsons/Crowleys/Kerns stores as every other city.

[Lowell]

Why should I pay $100 for a t-shirt when I can walk across the street to Varvatos and get one for $90? The competition should be good for all and soon we will have $80 t-shirts.

Seriously though, one gets the feeling that there is a secret or at least quiet attempt to transform Merchant's Row into an upscale shopping district. Moosejaw was a starter, Varvatos very loudly, now this. David Klein Gallery is moving into the Townsend around the corner and there are a couple other higher end retailers committed but I can't recall just now - an upscale hardware?

I believe Gilbert's goal is to create a critical mass tipping point by first securing it with his police then throwing his money at it. If enough shops are concentrated and walkable it will become a meaningful fun destination, worth the parking costs. And the value of Gilbert's holdings will soar.

This is happening in the Cass Corridor centered on the Willys-Shinola block. Remember when it was just Avalon Bakery? Now there are about 40 interesting venues all walkable.

[313WX]

We already have the same number of Hudsons/Crowleys/Kerns stores as every other city.

In the city proper? Where?

I know there are tons of Macy's/Sear's/JC Penney's in the suburbs, but none of these stores have locations within Detroit's city limits...

[Eric_c]

I think you're missing his point...nobody nowhere has Hudson's, Crowley's or Kern's. Hermod is being a fuddy duddy and erikd was calling him on it. All three of those brands started with small stores, anyway. We'll get there.

[313WX]

I think you're missing his point...nobody nowhere has Hudson's, Crowley's or Kern's. Hermod is being a fuddy duddy...

I disagree. If anything, you all missed Hermod's point.

These small specialty stores are nice and all, but can we start working on recruiting the mainstream/larger department stores as well? A true shopping destination [[if that's the end goal like someone implied earlier) have a mixture of upscale, low-end and mid-range retailers, like Woodward during Detroit's peak had.

[Jason]

I think the suggestion is that Hudson's, Crowley's, and Kern's are all defunct, so Detroit has the same number as any other city, which is none.

Although that said, Sears is in a death spiral, JC Penney will probably be filing for bankruptcy soon, and department stores in general are closing stores, so it's only a matter of time and the rest of those stores will join the list.

[erikd]

Why should I pay $100 for a t-shirt when I can walk across the street to Varvatos and get one for $90? The competition should be good for all and soon we will have $80 t-shirts.

Seriously though, one gets the feeling that there is a secret or at least quiet attempt to transform Merchant's Row into an upscale shopping district. Moosejaw was a starter, Varvatos very loudly, now this. David Klein Gallery is moving into the Townsend around the corner and there are a couple other higher end retailers committed but I can't recall just now - an upscale hardware?

I believe Gilbert's goal is to create a critical mass tipping point by first securing it with his police then throwing his money at it. If enough shops are concentrated and walkable it will become a meaningful fun destination, worth the parking costs. And the value of Gilbert's holdings will soar.

This is happening in the Cass Corridor centered on the Willys-Shinola block. Remember when it was just Avalon Bakery? Now there are about 40 interesting venues all walkable.

I'm so thrilled to see all of this happening in our city.

There are kids in Detroit who will grow up with no memory of a vacant and dilapidated downtown. There are kids in Detroit who won't grow up hearing their city be compared to a war zone by the talking heads on the news.

To be sure, we still have a lot of work ahead of us, but I love the fact that I will soon be talking to kids who can't believe that the Cass Corridor was ever a bad neighborhood.

[erikd]

I disagree. If anything, you all missed Hermod's point.

These small specialty stores are nice and all, but can we start working on recruiting the mainstream/larger department stores as well? A true shopping destination [[if that's the end goal like someone implied earlier) have a mixture of upscale, low-end and mid-range retailers, like Woodward during Detroit's peak had.

I didn't miss Hermod's point, and my sarcasm was intentional.

Department stores sales have been in a steady decline for years. The retail growth sectors are in specialty stores, discount/outlet, and online. Asserting that Detroit needs to attract department stores in order to be a shopping destination is based on outmoded retail strategy.

[Eric_c]

And that's why I said fuddy duddy. Seemed to fit.

[downtownguy]

I believe Gilbert's goal is to create a critical mass tipping point by first securing it with his police then throwing his money at it. If enough shops are concentrated and walkable it will become a meaningful fun destination, worth the parking costs. And the value of Gilbert's holdings will soar.

Wasn't that the strategy at the Ren Cen when it first opened?

[[Just playing devil's advocate!)

[Pontiac6000]

Something mid-range, like an H&M would be a perfect neo-Crowley's substitute. Anywhere sidewalks are 2-3 people deep most of the day and there's plenty of restaurants, attractions around will do.

[Hypestyles]

No plus sizes, huh? Forget it. I'm not buying.

[401don]

I'm so thrilled to see all of this happening in our city.

There are kids in Detroit who will grow up with no memory of a vacant and dilapidated downtown. There are kids in Detroit who won't grow up hearing their city be compared to a war zone by the talking heads on the news.

To be sure, we still have a lot of work ahead of us, but I love the fact that I will soon be talking to kids who can't believe that the Cass Corridor was ever a bad neighborhood.

When I was a kid I could walk into lots of stores and buy items that I paid for with my allowance or the couple of bucks my parents gave me. I'm not certain a downtown full of nothing but $200 sneakers and t-shirts will make the average kid from the city's neighborhoods feel better about the city and certainly not about their lot in life.

[Lowell]

Wasn't that the strategy at the Ren Cen when it first opened?

[[Just playing devil's advocate!)

You got that right. Ren Cen walled itself from the rest of downtown literally with its giant berms and complicated access. If anything it accelerated the demise of Merchant's Row. Its labyrinthine maze confounded shoppers. Still does today. Being along the river it is a dead end. The other retail effort of that era, Trapper's Alley, met a similar doom and destroyed the charm of Greektown in the process.

The action now is a triangle along Broadway from Grand Circus Park to Greektown, Greektown to Campus Martius and Campus Martius up Woodward to GCP. I hope it takes hold and works this time but my jury is still out.

[Honky Tonk]

If enough shops are concentrated and walkable it will become a meaningful fun destination,

Hmmmm, So not only is it fun to blow a Ben on a $12 T, but it'll give my life meaning.... I'll have to try that one day.