New Retail Development in Schererville (Merrillville, Highland: leasing, purchase, closing)

[Dr. Blish]

Gordmans and HH Greg will both be closing their area locations. What should replace them?

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by Dr. Blish

Gordmans and HH Greg will both be closing their area locations. What should replace them?

I thought that some of the Gordman's were going to be able to remain for now as far as the last update I heard since a company purchased them at a bankrupt auction? Anyway, if Gordman's were to close, the site would accomodate a store like Burlington. As far as the hhgregg, I feel that DDR (the manager of Highland Grove) may possibly knock the building down to build a multi-tenant building? Who knows. I'm hoping for stores like Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Trader Joe's (although that building is about 10,000 sq ft larger than they would need). Highland Grove usually remains almost fully occupied most of the time and rarely has issues keeping tenants as it is a solid area.

[knighthood82]

Is the Ashley furniture store in Schererville closing? I thought I saw a digital billboard stating "store closing" as I was driving, or is this just some kind of furniture store marketing gimmick?

[Daze55]

I haven't heard about Ashley Furniture closing, but unfortunately the Gordmans in Schererville is closing, which is a shame because I always found some great bargains there whenever I went shopping there. However, they are keeping the Valparaiso location open, so at least there's still one in the area.
Gordmans to remain open in Valparaiso | Northwest Indiana Business Headlines | nwitimes.com

[ta1064]

Originally Posted by Dr. Blish

Gordmans and HH Greg will both be closing their area locations. What should replace them?

Need an Apple store but both spaces are too big. Maybe divide the selected space to accommodate Apple store?

[Ned B]

I just don't see Apple going in the Shops on Main. It seems that they rarely open in strip malls, and when they do, they are looking to be around more upscale shopping than the Shops on Main currently offers. I could maybe see them taking up a spot at Centennial Village depending on how that development ends up panning out.

[ta1064]

Originally Posted by Ned B

I just don't see Apple going in the Shops on Main. It seems that they rarely open in strip malls, and when they do, they are looking to be around more upscale shopping than the Shops on Main currently offers. I could maybe see them taking up a spot at Centennial Village depending on how that development ends up panning out.

Very surprised an Apple store hasn't opened in Southlake Mall, of all places.

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by Ned B

I just don't see Apple going in the Shops on Main. It seems that they rarely open in strip malls, and when they do, they are looking to be around more upscale shopping than the Shops on Main currently offers. I could maybe see them taking up a spot at Centennial Village depending on how that development ends up panning out.

Originally Posted by ta1064

Very surprised an Apple store hasn't opened in Southlake Mall, of all places.

I'm not too surprised at all that a location has not opened at Southlake Mall. The offerings at the mall and surrounding area overall have just not gotten more upscale. Yes, popular stores like H&M and Forever 21 have opened in the past few years but these are also more affordable budget friendly places. A Coach store opened there in October 2011 and closed a few years afterwards. Part of this was because Coach, an aspirational luxury brand, lost a lot of customers to Michael Kors. They are not the most luxurious brand but are definitely at a higher price point than average consumers in the area spend. To add to this, those brands could be found cheaper at stores like Macy's and Carson's and even cheaper at the outlets in Michigan City. This did not bode well for this full-line store at Southlake. This could also happen with Apple as it is usually easier to get discounts at Best Buy on Apple products. I do think that Apple would fare much better at Southlake than Coach did and would likely be successful, but these days, retailers are being very careful where they install new locations. Stores like Apple are not just about buying items but about an overall experience. This is why they have reinvested millions of dollars in stores located in more upscale markets or within college towns. If Apple were to come to NWI, I could see them opening at Centennial Village in Munster because it would be in a more well-off area generally and close to Illinois for those shoppers looking to save on taxes. The only other region location where I could potentially see an Apple Store would be in the downtown Valpo area due to VU.

[knighthood82]

Ashley Furniture in Schererville is closing. I'm surprised that the news of this hasn't spread yet. This will be another large building footprint to fill.

[Ned B]

As we try to chase down the warranty information on some appliances that we purchased from hhgregg last year, we are reminded how terrible of a store they were. From uncaring and rude customer service, to incompetence running their warehouse and deliveries, it all seemed like a mismanaged mess, and I suspect that many who purchased from them once learned never to do so again. While it's unfortunate that it's a long time Indiana based company going under, and there are probably plenty of decent employees out of work, I think that their demise was only a matter of time.