Retail industry reeling nationally but malls holding on in Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs is bucking the national trend when it comes to the decline of shopping malls but other retail businesses apparently are following the trend.

The midtown Citadel Mall and the north side Chapel Hills Mall are holding on.
Recently, some East Coast investors announced they will acquire Chapel Hills and rescue it from foreclosure.

According to experts, hundreds of malls across the country have closed, leaving an estimated total of around 1,100 and a quarter of them could shut down by 2022.

Yet some shoppers, such as Veronica Molina, remain loyal to the malls.

“I have good memories of them while growing up,” she said. “The arcades, the shops, being able to see and feel merchandise and try it on, which you can’t do with Amazon or the other online stores that have become so popular.”

The closing of malls is just part of the overall decline of the traditional retail industry.

Within the last year, former retail giants Radio Shack and Kmart have closed their doors and Toys-R-Us is going out of business.

Eddie Lampert, the chief executive officer of Sears, which is also struggling to endure, bluntly described the stores’ situation.

“We’re fighting to survive,” he said. “That’s pretty clear.”

Lampert oversaw the Sears-Kmart merger in 2003 but experts said the move backfired, resulting in hundreds of stores closing and thousands of employees losing their jobs.

Lampert was one of the first retail executives to invest more in online shopping than in traditional stores, critics said, but the idea was either too far ahead of its time or was poorly handled.

In Colorado Springs, it’s fairly common to find vacant retail buildings and parking lots that have been closed and abandoned for years.

“They become eyesores to the neighborhood,” said Thomas Marino, who was at the Toys-R-Us store near Citadel Mall with his family. “What’s going to happen to this store when it closes? Will another retailer come in or will it just sit vacant?”

There are some exceptions, however, and two of them can be found beside each other not far from Citadel Mall.

The former location of a Target store is now occupied by At Home, a home decor store, and the space previously occupied by Circuit City is now the site of Conn’s Home Plus, a home furnishings store.

Two shopping areas that have become popular are the Promenade Shops at Briargate, in north Colorado Springs, and the Outlets at Castle Rock.

Both areas are known for having more exterior setting, what many customers say is a better variety of shops and some shops that are exclusive to the area.

Janyce Chmelka, Briargate’s marketing coordinator, said the businesses represent an eclectic mix of retail shops and restaurants, convenient parking and scheduled events that create a sense of community.

“I think that’s what people are looking for now,” she said. “We’ll always have traditional retail stores but the industry is constantly changing and stores need to change, just as shoppers’ trends are changing.”

Some shoppers believe the Briargate shops are too pricey and the discounts at the Outlets are too small.

But Angela Yaeger, who drives from Pueblo to shop at Briargate, said, “I don’t mind paying more if I’m getting quality merchandise, convenient parking and other amenities.

As a lot of people have, I’ve found myself shopping online more than I used to. But I still like going to a store to shop. And I like being outside in a nice atmosphere and mountain scenery. That’s what Briargate offers.”