For many years, Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa has been widely considered the top retail destination in the metro Milwaukee area with an impressive lineup of upscale stores. But the mall’s status atop the area’s retail heap has been challenged in more recent years.
A massive transformation of Bayshore Mall in Glendale was completed in 2006, creating Bayshore Town Center, which offered an upscale shopping alternative, especially for the affluent north shore area and Ozaukee County.
Southridge Mall in Greendale also increased its competitiveness in the marketplace with a major remodeling project, completed earlier this year, and with the addition of a Macy’s department store. Previously, Mayfair had the only Marshall Field’s store in the region, until all of the Field’s stores were converted to Macy’s stores, which some shoppers considered a slight downgrade. Then the addition of a Macy’s store at Southridge meant Mayfair no longer was the only mall in the region with that store.
Another potential competitor to Mayfair could emerge in the Town of Brookfield, where Marcus Corp. plans to build The Corners, a shopping center that would be built at I-94, Bluemound and Barker roads. It would be anchored by a Von Maur store, a Davenport, Iowa-based upscale department store chain, which would be its first location in Wisconsin. However the project has not begun construction and Marcus is still negotiating a tax incremental financing (TIF) deal with the town.
In addition, several fights and other disorderly incidents involving youth at Mayfair Mall have created a negative image for the mall in recent years. Mall management created a youth curfew at the mall, which appears to have dramatically reduced the problem. Nevertheless, some area residents worried that Mayfair Mall was in decline and that its best days were behind it.
But those fears should be put to rest if Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. moves forward with its recently announced plans to open a full-line department store at Mayfair Mall in the fall of 2015.
Nordstrom is one of the top upscale department store chains in America.
“I think it’s incredible that Nordstrom is committing to this market,” said Brian Riordan, principal for The Boerke Company’s retail real estate brokerage team. “It’s very, very exciting.”
For years, many area shoppers have been clamoring for a Nordstrom store to be built in the region.
“We’ve heard from customers in the Milwaukee area for years that they would appreciate a store in their community,” said Erik Nordstrom, executive vice president and president of stores for Nordstrom Inc. “We’re glad we have an opportunity to serve our customers, as well as those new to Nordstrom, in such a strong location as Mayfair.”
The Mayfair Mall Nordstrom store could become the top retail destination in the state.
“Clearly this is a coup for us,” said Mayfair Mall senior general manager Stephen Smith. “I’ve been here for 17 years and people have been asking for this store more than any other. It’s a tremendous opportunity for Mayfair to be able to bring this luxury store to the Milwaukee market.”
The 140,000-square-foot, three-level Nordstrom store will be built connected to the mall on a parking lot on the east side of the mall. To accommodate the additional shoppers that will be drawn by Nordstrom and to make up for the parking spaces lost by the construction of the new store, Mayfair will also add a new parking structure near the new store, Smith said.
The metro Milwaukee area is the largest market in the nation that does not have a Nordstrom store, Smith said. Many Nordstrom shoppers in Wisconsin travel to shop at Nordstrom stores in Chicago, he said.
“I think (Nordstrom at Mayfair) will keep a lot of shoppers in Wisconsin that might go elsewhere,” Riordan said.
“It was inevitable that they would (eventually) come to the Milwaukee market,” Smith said. “We’re excited that they selected Mayfair.”
Nordstrom could have chosen to locate a store anywhere in the Milwaukee area. The fact that the company selected Mayfair Mall speaks volumes about how the national retail industry views the Milwaukee market place. Mayfair’s strong existing upscale store lineup combined with its centralized location along Highway 100 near the Zoo Interchange makes it the best-positioned shopping center in the state.
“People from anywhere in the Milwaukee area have great access to Mayfair,” Riordan said. “It’s just a perfect spot.”
Nordstrom will help drive traffic to the mall, which will benefit the mall’s existing tenants and help attract future tenants, Smith said. Nordstrom joins a strong upscale store lineup at Mayfair Mall including Macy’s, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Abercrombie & Fitch, Williams-Sonoma and others. Other upscale tenants will likely come to Mayfair Mall before Nordstrom opens, Smith said.
Although the Nordstrom store will further elevate the status of Mayfair Mall, it will not necessarily hurt the other shopping centers in the region, Riordan said.
“I think all of the malls in the area offer something different,” he said.
The Nordstrom store should not hurt Marcus Corp.’s efforts to develop The Corners, Riordan said. The metro Milwaukee area should be able to support a Nordstrom and Von Maur store, he said. Those stores could attract shoppers from other parts of the state and could keep more Milwaukee area shoppers from shopping locally rather than spending their money in Chicago.
The addition of the Nordstrom store will increase the size of Mayfair Mall to about 1.3 million square feet of space. The mall is owned by Chicago-based General Growth Properties (GGP) Inc.
“Nordstrom mirrors GGP’s goal to provide an unparalleled experience for our customers and the community,” said Sandeep Mathrani, chief executive officer of General Growth Properties. “Their reputation, quality merchandise and exceptional customer service complements GGP’s retail strategy. We’re excited to provide shoppers with yet another sought-after option at Mayfair.” n
