J. B. Ivey & Company (later Dillard's), Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina. Ivey's chairman George M. Ivey, Jr. poses in front of the soon to be completed Ivey's Eastland store, 1975. (courtesy Pat Richardson)Previously on LiveMalls
Ivey's (Dillard's), Eastland Mall
The Ivey's Archive
I like this photo because the building is so-1970's. It's actually really cool--love the clean look to it.
ReplyDeleteIs George still alive? I don't think any of the Ivey's still reside in Charlotte.
Ivey's stores from the '70s were really cool looking. Some of them did not age well, but most had clean lines and abundant windows.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this shot. What a great design!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'll bite -- the SouthPark Ivey's wasn't really Dillardized until 2007. Eastland, though, was at some point prior to 2003 (my first, and only, visit). So does anybody know when Eastland was remodeled, and why SouthPark took a relatively much longer time?
Matt
Dillard's Eastland was remodeled in 1995-96 and reopened in April 1996, according to the Charlotte Observer. An expansion was proposed in 1993, but it's unclear whether the store was actually expanded or not.
ReplyDeleteDillard's SouthPark received some interior renovations around the same time Eastland did (jewelry, women's shoes and home store), and a few changes were made in the early '90s as well.
But the recent major renovation/expansion at Dillard's SouthPark was held up by the mall expansion. Dillard's could not begin construction until the mall and other department stores finished their renovations because it would impair the mall's parking and vehicular access.
I had also heard that Dillard's Southpark missed their initial date to start to remodel and was forced to the back of the line until everyone else was finished. The story was Dillard's was weighing the option of closing vs remodeling which is why they waited.
ReplyDeletePat,
ReplyDeleteThey considered closing SouthPark??? When was that and what were the circumstances?
Dillard's periodically reviews their operations like most stores do, but I can't imagine them closing that store. I wonder what the circumstances were that led them to consider such a move.
ReplyDeleteHere's some info I confirmed today--Belk's has been talking to Dillard's about buying a group of their stores. This group includes the Southpark store.
ReplyDeleteI think the last time Belk's and Dillard's talked, they swapped some Dillard's stores in Fl for some Belk stores in Va.
I hope they're not planning a Belk double-header at SouthPark. It'd be an incredible store, but too much of the same.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I just don't know enough about the retail business, but if that happens, I would chalk it up in the "dumb" column...
ReplyDeleteOne of the stores is the Dillard's in Knoxville Center here in Knoxville, which Dillard's is set to close next month. Belk will likely vacate the former Proffitt's, which has zero visibility from the interstate for the up-front former Dillard's/Hess'/Miller's.
ReplyDeleteMatt: It's all about leverage. If Belk controls the two biggest spaces in the mall, they have the option of occupying both themselves (unlikely), selling one to a friendly in-mall competitor like Macy's that needs more space and visibility (very likely), or bringing in a new store that would take over the extra space like Bloomingdale's (not entirely out of the question).
ReplyDeleteBrian: More than likely, Belk will move to the old Dillard's at Knoxville Center. That's probably one of the stores on the list.
I was told yesterday by a local business reporter that Dillard's may not close/sell the Knoxville Center store after all. Macy's made an offer for the store within days of the closure story hitting the paper, as Dillard's owns the building that it occupies. Macy's also, according to this reporter, has informed Simon that they would lease and expand the current Belk space if Belk were to vacate. Belk has no desire to go with a dual-store setup at KC, and Dillard's and Belk are so deathly afraid of having Macy's enter the market, one or both may be willing to operate a clearance center or a full-line store in the red to avoid the Death Star entering the fray.
ReplyDeleteMacy's is desperate to enter this market, but has gone on record as saying that they will not do so with just one store, preferring to operate atleast one "A" store and at least one "B" store. They already have a space and an agreement to build a store in Turkey Creek, contingent on finding a space for a second store. With no anchor pad available at West Town Mall, the primary retail destination in East Tennessee, (after Belk shot down Macy's bid to acquire the former Parisian), they are still looking for a second store to open.
Belk and Dillard's have a lot to lose if Macy's makes a big push into the market. I can understand why they'd want to keep Red Star out of East Tennessee: the results cold be disastrous.
ReplyDeleteA similar situation happed in the Raleigh-Durham market. Hudson Belk and Ivey's pretty much owned that market until the early '90s, then Hecht's made their major push into the area, blanketing the market with new stores.
Both Dillard's and Hudson Belk retrenched as Hecht's grew, and neither has many opportunities for growth right now. Belk is shoring up its best stores, but Dillard's is pretty much stuck.