Southdale’s Spillover Effect
If it’s true that a rising tide lifts all boats, then the coming of Gucci, Max Mara, and around 30 other retailers this year to Southdale Center seems to be stimulating a round of new store openings at malls across the Twin Cities.
Mall of America recently welcomed the NBA Store, Alo Yoga, and New Balance, and it’s getting ready to break out the superfan queues for Pop Mart, maker of Labubu, the plush toy of the moment. Kim Kardashian’s Skims shapewear will open there soon, along with Mango and Mavi. Rosedale Center just added a handful of new stores, including Kendra Scott jewelry and men’s apparel and footwear brand Johnston & Murphy. In Minnetonka, Ridgedale Center is also adding Alo Yoga, plus Madewell and a Lego store. And Galleria, which has lost a half-dozen top national brands to Southdale, is leaning into local with a new shop from Minnesota heritage brand Faribault and the first store for Mille, a Minneapolis-based women’s brand with a national following. Plus, two longtime Galleria retailers will debut spinoffs this fall: Pumpz Bijoux, a vintage jewelry concept from the women’s footwear shop, and Lodge 25, a holiday pop-up by Sweet Ivy.
“When the marketplace is stronger, it makes us all better,” says Jill Renslow, MOA’s chief business development and marketing officer. “Keeping local dollars here versus having that spending go out of state is important.”
First or exclusive to the market aren’t necessarily the key criteria for malls signing new stores, as hot brands like Alo, Madewell, and New Balance proliferate. Renslow points out that Alo’s success at Galleria prompted it to open an even larger store at MOA. “In my experience, the reliability of traffic a mall can expect to see for a retailer is determined by two things,” says Minneapolis-based retail expert Anne Mezzenga. “How well the store is operated (well-stocked, good service) and what other things can I accomplish at the mall while I’m there.”
“If back-to-school shopping was an indication, I’d expect strong traffic to the malls this holiday.”
—Anne Mezzenga, retail consultant
To that end, malls continue leaning into experiences that add to the draw, like BRKTHROUGH, a high-tech escape room concept new to Rosedale, and Super Neon, an immersive light exhibit opening this fall at MOA. Those sorts of attractions could be contributing to a slight increase in average visit time at shopping centers, according to the June Mall Index from Placer.ai, which tracks data from 100 top-tier indoor malls nationwide.
“If back-to-school shopping was an indication, I’d expect strong traffic to the malls this holiday,” Mezzenga says. But, she cautions, shoppers might be in for disappointment as retailers pull back on assortment and inventory due to tariff concerns. “The amount of revenue will be impacted by how well retailers are positioned to save the sale when people are in the stores” and find limited stock.
