Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie, a consistent outlier in the trend of dying malls, has announced five major store openings for this year, including the first Louisiana location for leading women’s fashion retailer Aritzia.
Aritzia, a 42-year-old Canadian company with over 100 locations, will open later this year in a 9,200-square-foot space across from Kendra Scott, according to a press release from the mall. Also opening this year is footwear brand Clarks, scheduled for the summer near Pottery Barn.
Aritzia and Clarks join several other major retailers who’ve recently announced new locations at Lakeside: Coach, which opened its first full-price retail store in the state last week; Chicken Salad Chick, opening in the food court this spring; and gorjana, a California-based jewelry brand opening next to Café du Monde this summer.
That is, of course, in addition to the series of store openings that took place last year for Anthropologie, Vuori, Rowan, Garage and Alo Yoga.
“Years ago, we were asking retailers to consider Lakeside for their first store in the New Orleans market. Today, many brands are choosing Lakeside for their first location in the entire Gulf South,” said Tricia Phillpott, Regional Director of Retail Leasing for The Feil Organization, who owns the mall. “It’s a reflection of how the center has grown into a true regional destination and why we remain so optimistic about Lakeside’s future.”
In addition to the new openings, several other stores are undergoing renovations, expansions and relocations to meet demand, the mall said.
Foot Locker plans to expand into neighboring space currently occupied by Zumiez, which will expand Foot Locker’s footprint at the mall by about 70% as part of a full store renovation. Zumiez will then move into a portion of the former Royal Standard and Engraving Co. spaces.
The Royal Standard has already reopened next to Restoration Hardware, and The Engraving Co. has reopened in the P.F. Chang’s wing.
According to Phillpott, Lakeside Shopping Center draws customers from a 60-mile radius, over double the average radius for super-regional malls, which is 25 miles.
Phillpott said the mall carefully selects which stores they add to their portfolio based on the current tenant mix and consumer trends, with the primary mall demographic being women aged 25 to 34. Typically, the mall reaches out to retailers about coming to the mall, rather than vice versa.
“It’s about finding the best match for the center,” Phillpott said. “We’re really thoughtful about putting in the right tenant mix. We don’t just do deals to do deals, we’re trying to build a regional destination.”
The Feil Organization acquired Lakeside Shopping Center in 1968 and has since added other properties to its portfolio, including Lakeway Center and The Galleria. The mall has remained an economic powerhouse in recent decades as other malls nationwide face closures due to the e-commerce boom.