Monday, May 22, 2000
Nordstrom a magnet for Indianapolis
Upscale retailer sets tone for downtown mall
By Cliff Peale
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Nordstrom anchors Circle Centre in downtown Indianapolis.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
| ZOOM |
|
INDIANAPOLIS — Nordstrom Inc. has brought businesses and tax dollars to downtown Indianapolis, but most of all, the trendy retailer has brought style.
From the gleaming gold signs to the espresso bar to the business cards all employees carry, Nordstrom carries the elegance that city developers and suburban residents covet.
“They just do it different and do it right,” said Dave Lee, general manager of Circle Centre, the huge downtown mall that opened with Nordstrom as an anchor in September 1995. “You just feel compelled to follow suit.”
As officials in Cincinnati and Warren County's Deerfield Township ponder pending deals for new Nordstrom stores, Indianapolis officials are comfortable with their decision to pour $187 million in public money into Circle Centre.
The mall includes Parisian and 105 other stores, including such famous names as FAO Schwarz and GameWorks Studio. It attracts about 10 million visitors a year, and is part of $3 billion in new investment in downtown development projects since 1990, according to the marketing group Indianapolis Downtown Inc.
But for metro Indy shoppers, there is no question that Nordstrom is the primary draw, particularly for suburban shoppers looking for high-end shoes and apparel.
“If I come to this mall, it's because of that store,” said
Janelle Clifford of the northern suburb of Geist during a shopping trip to Circle Centre last week. She said she comes downtown about eight times a year, but wouldn't make the trip without Nordstrom.
“Before they opened, there wasn't enough shopping downtown to bring me down here,” Ms. Clifford said.
That's exactly the kind of shopper Cincinnati officials want to draw, and city council could vote as soon as this week on the final pieces of an incentive package approaching $50 million.
Nordstrom's agreement to open a store in Deerfield Township has some worried that Cincinnati shoppers like Ms. Clifford won't make the trip if they could shop in the suburbs. And the Nordstrom slated for Fifth and Race streets will not anchor a mall, but stand alone with skywalk connections to Lazarus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Some Cincinnati City Council members have said they might oppose the incentive deal without evidence of Nordstrom's economic impact on downtown.
Supporters of the incentive deal said Nordstrom's ability to attract other quality retailers to a city is justification enough for a heavy public subsidy. They also hope it will promote more residential development, more businesses downtown and more foot traffic on downtown streets.
In addition to the Indianapolis store, Nordstrom is building a store in suburban Columbus. It plans to add nearly two dozen new stores during the next three years, which would bring it close to 100 total locations.
Greater Cincinnati, Columbus and Indianapolis are similar markets. But Nordstrom has spent several years studying the Cincin nati market, and economic data indicates that the region probably could support Nordstrom as well as either of the other two cities.
For example, Greater Cincinnati has a higher per-capita income than Columbus, and more retail sales and more households with annual income of more than $50,000 than either Indianapolis or Columbus, according to Woods & Poole Economics Inc.
Officials in Indianapolis said Circle Centre and Nordstrom have helped spark activity downtown and produced an economic payback.
But the greatest impact, they said, has been adding a cachet to downtown that very few other mainline department stores carry. The Seattle retailer is notoriously picky about its locations, giving confidence to other retailers to follow.
“It's the little things,” Mr. Lee said. “Nordstrom just brings a different level of retailing to the whole atmosphere.”
Given Nordstrom's expansion plans, the store was the first major target of Circle Centre developers and city officials in Indianapolis.
“To look at it today, Circle Centre has done its job,” said Jim Snyder, who was special counsel to then-Mayor Stephen Goldsmith when Circle Centre was completed.
Construction had started on the mall and then stopped abruptly in early 1992 when Cincinnati-based Lazarus abandoned plans to build a store there.
“Nordstrom signing the lease was the key to getting the project re-started,” Mr. Snyder said. “Without Nordstrom, it wouldn't have happened. We didn't want another mall with the same stores that already were all over town.”
Since the 800,000-square-foot mall opened, 50 new restaurants have opened in the city's central core, said Terry Sweeney, director of real estate development at the marketing group Indianapolis Downtown Inc.
Attendance at the city's top 20 ticketed attractions — including things like the Indiana Pacers and the Indianapolis Children's Museum — has more than tripled, and the percentage of residents who said they have come downtown in the last six months for food or entertainment has increased by more than two-thirds.
“Nordstrom has got to be the driving force,” Mr. Sweeney said.
One criticism when Circle Centre first opened was that most of the activity was inside the mall. But the surrounding streets now are dotted with stores and restaurants that weren't there when the mall opened, including retailer T.J. Maxx and restaurants Hard Rock Cafe, Jillian's and Palomino's.
With its reputation for superior customer service and elegant selection, Nordstrom also helped to attract retailers into the mall that are unique in the region, Indianapolis officials said.
Some retailers in Circle Centre said they were driven more by the under-served market in Indianapolis and the overall development, rather than specifically by Nordstrom.
“It always helps to have that kind of anchor, but that wasn't the main reason,” FAO Schwarz spokesman Alan Marcus said. “Nordstrom, they're definitely a prominent, upscale retailer. But we try to look at the bigger picture.”
When Circle Centre opened, more than half of its tenants were new to the Indianapolis area and could attract people from a wider area.
Circle Centre officials still are trying to persuade well-known chains like Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel to open stores downtown, but the city's relatively small residential base downtown has kept those stores away, he said.
The Nordstrom store at Circle Centre has performed well. Store officials declined to comment, but mall manager Lee said the store's sales are the highest in the mall.
Not counting anchors Nordstrom and Parisian and the fourth-floor entertainment complex, Circle Centre stores average $354 per square foot, well above the national average, he said.
Nordstrom a magnet for Indianapolis
Weighing future of work force
Firms motivate workers
Daily grind
The Success Coach
Sleepy workers costing nation
Making it
