KCRag Forum

yeliab wrote:Something like Halls, as it has been re-designed at Crown Center could be successful on the Plaza. The Plaza store felt very stale, as did a lot of their selection, both of which I think have been modernized at CC.

I don't think Hallmark is interested in operating more than one store.

FangKC wrote: I don't think Hallmark is interested in operating more than one store.

Yeah I didn't mean Hallmark specifically. I'm just saying that I think the concept of a department store is not necessarily doomed in the Plaza, but past iterations haven't kept up with the times.

yeliab wrote:

FangKC wrote: I don't think Hallmark is interested in operating more than one store.

Yeah I didn't mean Hallmark specifically. I'm just saying that I think the concept of a department store is not necessarily doomed in the Plaza, but past iterations haven't kept up with the times.

These are the most valuable clothing brands. These are the brands that say upscale like Halls

Nike, H&M, Zara, Louis Vuitton, Adidas, Uniqlo, Hermes, Rolex, Gucci, Cartier
https://fashionista.com/2017/03/top-fashion-brands-2017
(the exact list is irrelevant, they're big name brands)

The plaza has the first two already

It's going to be hard to get all the best brands to open their own store. It's also not going to hold a modern full sized department store without the largest spaces emptying.

So a smaller outlet style for a chain is most likely.

That's why I picked Nordstrom Rack. It can be smaller, it is a brand that would pull sales from JoCo and sells high end brands

Having a Zara here would be amazing!!

A Nordstrom Rack would be a total downgrade. Nordstrom Rack cheapens the Nordstrom brand by selling cheap clothes. Most of it is not high end brands.

But it's not always so visible. Executives from Off 5th, which carries brands like True Religion and Alice + Olivia, told investors last year its products are 10% leftover Saks inventory, 25% private-label goods, and the rest mostly merchandise created for the stores by "brand-appropriate" vendors. While price tags on outlet goods may list a manufacturer-suggested retail price (known as an MSRP) or, a "valued at" price, that's little more than a number ascribed by the retailer and doesn't mean it was ever sold for such a sum in an actual full-price retail location. (Giant discounters like T.J. Maxx and Nordstrom Rack also label prices this way.)

https://www.buzzfeed.com/sapna/customer ... .xpVEjNEYQ

Zara - May never come here and don't have very nice views of us anyway. I do think they would be successful if they were to come here though, and is a brand I think can co-exist well with higher-end brands.
https://www.racked.com/2012/11/9/770423 ... -about-the
H&M - We already have one and usually its a wreck to shop in. Certainly not "upscale like Halls".
LV, Hermes, Rolex, Gucci, and Cartier - None of these are really that exciting imo. They honestly all kind of remind me of the early 2000s, a traumatic time for fashion (they were all really popular back then). I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to having one or more on the Plaza, they just don't scream current to me at all. It would be amazing (and incredibly unlikely) to see a Celine or something like that, but I would put Burberry in this category, which I think is a good fit for the Plaza.

I'd love to see some fresh, up-and-coming or smaller label designers come into the Plaza, rather than what is the "most valuable". I just don't see the kind of opulence associated with those brands remaining relevant, especially with the economy continuing to stall. When I think of luxury these days and looking forward, I think of exclusivity, uniqueness, ethically produced, craft, etc. There is a huge space between fast fashion (Zara, H&M) and the unattainable-for-most luxury (Hermes, LV). Shops with high quality products at price points in the hundreds rather than thousands seem more realistic for Kansas City, and I think luxury, as I have defined it, is quite attainable at those price points.

An online men's clothing retailer called Bonobos is coming to the Plaza. They are also opening a store at Leawood Town Center.

‘E-commerce showrooms’ for men’s clothing line expected on the Plaza and in Leawood

http://www.kansascity.com/news/business ... 74331.html

the 46 penn centre thread is here: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=19433&start=20

4400 washington discussion has been moved here: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=20406

Photo update on The Tudors Townhomes - one of the buildings is rising up. I think there will be 3 more like this. They are rather large structures for townhomes:





Across the street to the east, there is another lot that has been getting worked on concurrently with the Tudors. I thought it might be part of that project, but there was a permit posted and the project is titled "Legacy Crown Point" and is listed as 4 stories with 6 units. I can't find any renderings or much info on this. The foundation has been poured, but no work was going on today:

Williams-Sonoma is slated to close mid-January.

jbean3535 wrote:Williams-Sonoma is slated to close mid-January.

I have heard a lot about how the new owners of the plaza wanted to make the plaza more of a high end retailer again but I've yet to see any evidence of that. As much as I didn't like Highwoods, the new owners haven't really seemed to improve things on the plaza all that much. I've read that some of the retailers actually preferred Highwoods.

jbean3535 wrote:Williams-Sonoma is slated to close mid-January.

are they closing at TCP?

Highlander wrote:

jbean3535 wrote:Williams-Sonoma is slated to close mid-January.

I have heard a lot about how the new owners of the plaza wanted to make the plaza more of a high end retailer again but I've yet to see any evidence of that. As much as I didn't like Highwoods, the new owners haven't really seemed to improve things on the plaza all that much. I've read that some of the retailers actually preferred Highwoods.

Highwoods wanted offices, the new owners want pop up shops

nomadcowatbk wrote:

jbean3535 wrote:Williams-Sonoma is slated to close mid-January.

are they closing at TCP?

They have a sign that directs customers to the TCP location as their "nearby" location, so I'd imagine it's staying open.

Zoom is closing. Just another day, another vacant Plaza storefront. Man, sad to see what has become of the place.

An office building at NE corner of 47th/Main is going residential, luxury senior living. Would like to see some of the office spaces above Plaza retail also go residential.

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... enior.html

I hope they make it look nicer on the outside - such a foreboding building for such a prominent corner.

earthling wrote:An office building at NE corner of 47th/Main is going residential, luxury senior living. Would like to see some of the office spaces above Plaza retail also go residential.

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... enior.html

We will need to extend those pedestrian crossing times considerably at 47th and Main...

^Careful, chingon might call you out for stereotyping.

The building comes with a large garage, won't be surprising if most drive the two blocks to Plaza.

loftguy wrote:

earthling wrote:An office building at NE corner of 47th/Main is going residential, luxury senior living. Would like to see some of the office spaces above Plaza retail also go residential.

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... enior.html

We will need to extend those pedestrian crossing times considerably at 47th and Main...

let's narrow the intersection!