ROAM No More: Millennial-Focused Retailer Fails to Find Audience at Ponce City Market

ROAM by Mori, the millennial-focused concept store from Mori Luggage & Gifts, has closed after about two years in business at Ponce City Market.  The store, located on street level of the mixed-use development, opened in late November 2015, and closed abruptly earlier this week. 

A store employee at a local Mori Luggage store indicated that a memo was sent to the other stores earlier this week regarding the closure and that the reason for closure was that the store "did not meet the company's expectations."  There are reportedly no current plans to reopen it elsewhere.  

ROAM, which featured a decidedly different feel than a typical Mori store, was largely merchandised with re-purposed or reclaimed materials in an "industrial chic" setting. The local craftsmen at Reclaimed by Demant designed both the store's signage and cash wrap and also worked on the furniture and fixtures for other PCM tenants.  

Created by 3rd generation luggage retailer John Mori, ROAM by Mori is a curated collection of travel gear for the modern traveler with a distinctive industrial feel.  The store carried typical Mori products from such companies as TUMI and Briggs & Riley as well as more moderate priced goods from makers such as Jack Georges, Herschel Supply Co., Sip by Swell, and YETI. 

While most Mori stores are located in traditional malls and lifestyle centers, the ROAM concept was meant to appeal to a new generation of shopper, a new generation of traveler: millennials.  Most people consider millennials to be those who were born in the early 1980s to early 2000s.  These consumers, now in their 20s and 30s, are a highly sought after demographic for just about every business, but have themselves made some businesses nearly extinct.  Despite millennials literally eating up the food hall at Ponce City Market, retail at the development has not reportedly not fared as well. 

Jean Mori and his wife Betty established Mori Luggage & Gifts in Atlanta in 1971 with their first store at Northlake Mall. 

Last April, Mori closed its store at Peachtree Battle shopping center after 32 years in business.  Mori previously closed locations in Northlake Mall in Tucker, and near Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, as well as stores in Columbus, Georgia and Spartanburg, South Carolina. 

Mori continues to operate Atlanta area stores in Vinings Jubilee, Lenox Square, North Point Mall, Town Center at Cobb, The Avenue East Cobb, Phipps Plaza, Perimeter Mall, Mall of Georgia and The Forum on Peachtree Parkway.  The company also has two locations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and a few locations throughout Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.  

Did you ever buy anything from ROAM by Mori?  Where did you purchase your last piece of luggage?  What would you like to see open in the former ROAM space?

Please share your thoughts below