Why Roanoke isn't attracting higher end retailers? (Richmond, Lynchburg: fit in, sale)

[roanoker 4]

An interesting, although confusing article on why Roanoke cannot attract better retail options.
For example, although Charlottesville has higher personal incomes but less population and it is closer to DC,
Richmond(which escapes me why that is a factor), the overlooked fact is that Roanoke pulls people from a larger trade area so I don't see why we should attract just Dollar Stores. C'mon, guys do your homework, listen to the people!

Making the Star City the right for certain retailers | roanoke.com

[Kreutz]

If people want the more high end clothing stores (Banana Republic, J. Crew etc.)....why not just shop at one of the several independently owned high end clothing stores in the area?

This area is already saturated with department stores and chains.

I'll take a Trader Joes though.

[theluckygal]

Why Roanoke isn't attracting higher end retailers?
Because the big retailers that are already here like Macys, JC Penney, Kohls, Burlington carry mostly outdated & expensive stuff. So people (like me) got tired & started shopping in bigger cities like Raleigh, DC, Richmond. You can easily compare the price & quality of clothes that the big retailers carry here to the ones they carry in bigger cities. Even Greensboro has so much better stuff at cheaper prices in these stores. These retailers chased us away by not bothering to update their clothes or offer sale prices. It is always a struggle to find latest fashions here. I never saw the clothes in the local stores that were advertised in their tv ads or catalogues. So going by their statistics other retailers started shunning us. Even Walmarts in bigger towns are far better & have tons of stuff at sale prices. These stores just want a presence here without having to actually keep up with latest fashions or offer good prices. Quality food & quality clothes are so expensive in this town. Its the big price we have to pay for living in a small town.

[sregorat3]

What developers say and the reality can be quite different. The numbers stated as Trader Joe's criteria are not correct or they are not followed very closely. Charlottesville doesn't have density like that anywhere in its metro area; the area where Trader Joe's has been built has almost the exact same population numbers as those that where noted for Roanoke. I think that development seems to expand outward from more populated areas, which has benefited Cville (along with some income figures that are skewed by a small but very wealthy segment). Case in point would be the Chevy Chase Bank branch that opened a few years ago in Albemarle County. We won't see one of those in Lynchburg or Roanoke anytime soon.

[titaniummd]

I'd love to see a big indoor flea market, myself.

[Kreutz]

Originally Posted by titaniummd

I'd love to see a big indoor flea market, myself.

Happy's. Its a cool place.

[roanoker 4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest..._United_States

Hey folks, Roanoke is not exactly poor. According to this report of over 280 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. Roanoke ranks at 77, not a shabby finish, plus we are a trade area of about a million people.

Little Winchester in Frederick County, near DC(where all of the money is in this country)has only 79,000 souls
but the household income is $69,155!! BTW, Costco and Whole Foods is located in Winchester.

I guess the thinking among these companies is to forget the fact Roanoke draws a huge amount of people from far flung distances who have money to shop at a Whole Foods or a Costco. Valley View Mall draws people from all over SW, Central VA and West VA and beyond.

Its a fact these better stores would do well here!

[Watchful]

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest..._United_States

Hey folks, Roanoke is not exactly poor. According to this report of over 280 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. Roanoke ranks at 77, not a shabby finish, plus we are a trade area of about a million people.

Little Winchester in Frederick County, near DC(where all of the money is in this country)has only 79,000 souls
but the household income is $69,155!! BTW, Costco and Whole Foods is located in Winchester.

I guess the thinking among these companies is to forget the fact Roanoke draws a huge amount of people from far flung distances who have money to shop at a Whole Foods or a Costco. Valley View Mall draws people from all over SW, Central VA and West VA and beyond.

Its a fact these better stores would do well here!

Costco would be a great fit in the Tanglewood area - or perhaps along I-81 near Salem!!

We are moving from a one-grocery-store town to Roanoke so just having the options of the Fresh Market, the co-op and the farmers' market has me pumped up!

[Scott94]

I was hopeful that the new ownership of Keagy Village would be able to bring in some of these stores, but as of now it appears they aren't doing much better. The new Bridges development off Jefferson Street would be a good fit for a lot of these stores, being located next to VTC and Carillon, and down the road from South Roanoke. Work on the land across from 581 near Valley View should begin within the next few years and also offer some new space. That said, Kreutz is right in that there are a number of locally owned businesses here, and whether or not these upscale stores find their way to Roanoke, we still need to support them.

[ClemsonTiger45]

What is considered the premiere grocery store in Roanoke? Kroger? I was surprised they don't have Publix.