Of course, with so many malls in such a relatively small city, the question of competition is bound to arise, and it has been raised – loudly.
While a myriad of new stores can be found at Polaris, Limited, Inc. stores that are predictable presences in most shopping malls – such as The Limited, Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works – are conspicuously absent. When Polaris opened in the fall, rumors swirled that this was because Les Wexner, CEO of the Limited, Inc., refused to allow any of his corporation’s stores to set up shop at Polaris. He feared inclusion of his stores in the new mall would mean competition for his own Limited, Inc.-controlled Easton. Sure enough, not one Victoria’s Secret can be found at Polaris (at City Center, on the other hand, there are three).
Smith, however, insists that’s simply not true, and that the decision not to include Limited stores was Polaris’ choice.
“We wanted to offer new and different stores, and (Limited) stores are already readily available in Columbus,” she said.
The closing of Jacobson’s, a pricey department store that served as the third anchor to City Center in early spring, was also widely blamed upon the capitalistic arrival of Easton and then Polaris, though Rainey insists that’s not the case.
“Jacobson’s as a company filed bankruptcy and closed five of their stores,” she said. “Stores that have closed at City Center recently have been because of corporate problems, not a Columbus problem.”
However, longtime City Center shopper Blake believes the mall has gone downhill since it opened in the 1980s.
“City Center has lost so many stores,” she said. “And there’s not much downtown besides it. Once it goes out, downtown will really die.”
But the slow death of Northland Mall – located just a few miles west of Easton on Morse Road – is perhaps the most widely publicized and controversial effect that Columbus’s new malls have allegedly had upon the retail market. Last fall, all three of Northland’s department store anchors – Lazarus, J.C. Penney and Sears – closed their doors for the last time and relocated to Polaris. In January, the Limited, Inc. closed all seven of its stores there.
Smith pointed out, though, that Northland was already in deep trouble when Polaris opened. She emphasized that Polaris “has great relationships with the other malls.”
“We enjoy a healthy competition when all the malls are doing well,” Smith said. “It’s better for everyone when all are playing the game in the same way.”
Besides, what’s new isn’t always what’s best for all shoppers.
“I’ll keep shopping at Easton over Polaris,” said Easton devotee Dave Leonard, who journeys to the mall from Pataskala at least once a month. “I want to avoid paying the extra Delaware County sales tax.”
However, Tuttle Mall shopper Ethel Wander, a Westerville resident, perhaps sums it up the best.
“Every mall in Columbus has something special to offer,” Wander said.
