Saturday, March 4, 2017

Emory Point No Longer Suits JoS. A. Bank

The former JoS. A. Bank store at Emory Point this week 
Men's clothing retailer quietly shutters.

The JoS. A. Bank Clothiers at Emory Point quietly closed early last month, according to a source at the property.  I was made aware of the closure via a comment on my post from the recent closure of BurgerFi at Emory Point.  The reader summed it up well saying "Looks like Emory Point no longer suits Jos. A. Bank." 

The  JoS. A. Bank store occupied a 4,512 square foot space in phase one of the project and was located beside LOFT, a women's clothing retailer by Ann Taylor, and across from The General Muir, the traditional "Jewish style" deli, easily the most popular tenant in the complex.  

JoS. A. Bank seems to have closed without any warning or signage explaining either its closure or directing would-be customers to other locations.  For those interested, the next closest Jos. A. Bank stores are in Buckhead at Buckhead Triangle near Phipps Plaza, and at Atlantic Station.  
The JoS. A. Bank store at Emory Point when it was open
I'm honestly shocked JoS. A. Bank stayed open as long as it did at Emory Point as the demographics of the area (tons of well financed Emory students live right above) seem better suited (pun intended) for a younger, more "hip" retailer.  

As a company, Jos. A. Bank dates back to 1905.  Over the years, the company has had a variety of owners and also been a publicly traded company.  Shocking to me was the revelation that for a short time (1981-86) Jos. A. Bank, along with Brookstone, were owned by the Quaker Oats Company. Quaker divested its retail holdings to focus on its core U.S. grocery and Fisher-Price businesses. (Quaker spun off Fisher-Price in 1991, after which it was purchased by Mattel in 1993).  Quaker itself was purchased by PepsiCo in 2001.  

In March 2014, JoS. A. Bank and Men's Wearhouse announced that they had agree to merge, with Men's Wearhouse acquiring Jos. A. Bank for $1.8 billion.  

That same month, Saturday Night Live (SNL) parodied Jos. A. Bank and their signature promotions (buy one, get three free) in using Jos. A. Bank suits to clean up a family's spills and messes, because they're more absorbent and effectively cheaper than paper towels.

Jos. A. Bank terminated its signature sales in October 2015, but the move backfired. "Our transition away from unsustainable promotions has proven significantly more difficult and expensive than we expected," said CEO Doug Ewert.

The combined company adopted the name "Tailored Brands" in January of 2016.  In March of the same year, Tailored Brands announced that Jos. A. Bank net sales plunged 32% in the fourth quarter which ended January 30th. As a result of the poor performance,  Tailored Brands said that it would close 250 stores, including 80 to 90 full-price Jos. A. Bank locations, all Jos. A. Bank and Men's Wearhouse outlets, and 100 to 110 MW Tux stores that fiscal year, which began February 1st.  

Given the reportedly "early February" closure, the Emory Point closure could very well have been part of the planned "250 store" closures.  

The former JoS. A. Bank occupied a prominent space in the complex, one that is not only highly visible, but is also currently featured on a variety of Emory Point leasing and related collateral materials.  

In addition to JoS. A. Bank and BurgerFi, a number of other tenants have closed in the center where businesses started to open in late 2012.   La Tagliatella, a full service Italian restaurant, closed in late 2014, replaced last year with Marcello's, which is currently for sale.  Bonefish Grill also closed and was replaced last month by Papi's, a local Cuban restaurant.  Sweet Monkey, a local frozen yogurt shop, also closed with its space now home to TGM Bread, the bakery expansion of The General Muir next door.

What would you like to see open in place of the former JoS. A Bank at Emory Point?  What retailer should the development add to either phase one or phase two to make it a more compelling complex?  When you go to Emory Point, where do you shop or eat?

Please leave your thoughts below.  

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Look for the Shoppes of Webb Ginn location in Snellville to close soon too. It barely escaped the last round of closures. Like many of the other shops there, it's now a hot ghetto mess. No customers.

judy3962 said...

Given its location, wouldn't something like Urban Outfitters or Anthropology better suit the area?

Anonymous said...

Yes Snellville is ghetto and crowded with broke folk driving new luxury autos and faking it. South Gwinnett is the new Dekalb and 124 will collapse under the traffic nightmare. Plenty of customers but they do not spend a lot if they do buy something they return a lot of it. Ask a person that works in one of those stores and this is the truth.

Coolio said...

Anon @ 3/5/17 at 11:30 AM: are these "broke folk" getting their luxury cars from buy here pay here stealerships, paying 25% APR and putting $2k down on model years 2010 and under? Do they have accounts at Aaron's and Rent-A-Center for their home furnishings? And are they also frequenting Family Dollar and Dollar General establishments in search of stupendous deals?

Anonymous said...

What's up with the thinly veiled racist comments on this site lately?

Anonymous said...

Coolio, Yes - if you look at their credit reports when they are buying said luxury auto or a home. As a creditor you even have the right to look at their detailed credit card billing statements.

Thinly veiled racist comments? No one mentioned anyone wearing a hijab.

Unclinch if you're uptight.

Anonymous said...

Community Q, or 4 Rivers bbq.
Jeni's ice cream.
Spillers or Starbucks. Yeah burger.
Some sort of seafood restaurant. Fast/casual, high quality! !

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