Thursday, January 17, 2013

Pella on the Run From The Shops Around Lenox

Pella at the Shops Around Lenox will close at the end of February after 37 years in business.

The women's footwear, handbag and jewelry retailer has experienced sales declines over the past few years and opted not to renew their lease.  The boutique is currently offering most current inventory at discounts of at least 50%.  

Dallas, Texas based The Impeccable Pig will replace Pella and should open sometime in March.  The women's boutique began in Dallas in 2002, and today the chain has eight locations, six in Texas, and one each in Charleston and Charlotte. Though I have not visited the store, T.I.P. seems similar to existing women's boutique retailers already in the center. 

Personally, I'm happy to see the center be so quick to find replacements for exiting tenants but geez, how about a little variety?

Currently the center is home to fab'rik, Swank, Bill Hallman, DEKA and Tootsies; all targeting similar female demographics.  lululemon and Cosabella also both target females but in more distinct categories  workout/athletic gear and lingerie respectively.  Lululemon does features men's clothing, but is a largely a women's brand. 

Athleta, the "me-too" brand from Gap Inc., is opening in a portion of the current Roche Bobois space, but offers similar clothing and accessories to that of existing tenant lululemon.

Soon, Bevello will join the fold, another women's retailer, very similar to Swank and Fab'rik.  The one exciting addition will be Suitsupply, an Amsterdam based men's retailer specializing in quality made, affordable clothing. 

Bhojanic, slated to open in about a month, and Seven Lamps, which opened late last year, both make the center more attractive to a more diverse client base, but the addition of so many potentially popular amenities will make the already difficult parking even worse.

What are your thoughts?  Will you miss Pella?  Have you been booted in Shops Around Lenox or been unable to find a space?  Please share your thoughts. 

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this center! PaperSource and Ona are really nice shops. What is that wood building in front of the soon to be Bhojanic? It blocks PaperSource. Do you know if it is permanent?

Anonymous said...

Hate to see Pella leave but sounds like some great additions are coming to SAL. I don't understand why they are adding the wood trellis structure outside of Bonjanic. To me it completely ruins the entire center and blocks several shops.

Atlantan99 said...

@Anon,

Yes, that wood structure is permanent and is patio seating for Bhojanic. I agree that it hides Paper Source and Bhojanic for that matter. It will obviously offer additional seating for the restaurant but at the cost of visibility. Also, allowing for more diners will put an even further strain on already limited parking.

Thanks for reading and for the comments.

Atlantan99 said...

@Anon2,

The wood structure is for patio seating for Bhojanic. I totally agree that its rather out of place and hides multiple store fronts. It will be interesting to see it once furniture is set up. Having walked the center end to end recently, I can say that the path from Paper Source / Bhojanic towards lululemon is uber narrow and will have to be dealt with some how.

Thanks for the comment and for reading the blog.

Anonymous said...

Recently had an early dinner at Seven Lamps. The atmosphere and the service was great! However the food was a little disappointing. I do feel like they will do well. I hope so anyway, the owner was very nice. It took us several trips around the lot to find a parking place. I have heard complaints on the limited amount of spaces and they will boot your car in a heartbeat. Love your article.....thanks!

Anonymous said...

Shops Around Lenox needs a couple of small shops like maybe coffee/tea or even a FroYo to make it a little more of a fun place to stop by. All the retail is great but so serious and high end! Your thoughts please?

Atlantan99 said...

@Anon,

I totally agree it needs less shops but not sure that it could support coffee or froyo joints at this point. Parking is becoming a serious issue there and will only get worse with the new openings.

Thanks for the comments and for reading the site.

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