Mall to lose anchor tenant

By Justin Cord Hayes, Staff Writer
Greensboro News & Record

HIGH POINT -- Oak Hollow Mall is losing one of its anchors as Goody's Family Clothing Inc. prepares to close its High Point store, citing poor performance at that location.

The announcement comes weeks before the mall's 10th anniversary.

Goody's is closing Aug. 27, and the company does not plan to relocate within High Point. The store's 20 employees will lose their jobs.

"Our lease is up at that location," Goody's spokeswoman Kristin Macht said, "and that store has not performed as well as we had hoped and expected it to."

The company would not provide data about foot traffic or sales at the Oak Hollow store. The company's Winston-Salem, Lexington and Asheboro locations will remain open. Goody's closed three underperforming stores in the Charlotte area earlier this year.

Goody's has been a tenant of Oak Hollow Mall since the shopping center opened in 1995. The mall's remaining anchor tenants are Sears, Roebuck and Co.; J.C. Penney Co. Inc.; Belk Inc.; and Dillard's Inc.

The 35,000-square-foot space should be filled soon, predicted Oak Hollow Mall General Manager David Pierson.

"We have two or three good candidates for replacement there. I don't think it will hurt us," Pierson said. "It will not be empty very long, I can guarantee you that."

Pierson would not name the potential tenants, noting only that they are specialty clothing stores.

Is it a blow to the mall to lose an anchor tenant during the mall's 10th anniversary? Not at all, Pierson said.

Goody's signed a 10-year lease with the mall, as did many other, smaller stores. Changes, Pierson said, offer opportunities.

Oak Hollow Mall has about 100 stores and about a dozen empty storefronts. Within two months, it will lose an anchor store. Nonetheless, Pierson focused on the positive.

According to mall-provided figures, overall sales at the mall were up 5 percent over last year at this time, Pierson said. Traffic counts have increased 11 percent over last year.

Pierson admitted he'd like to see even better mall traffic, and local tenants could be the answer.

"I'd love to see more local people in here," Pierson said. "I think they add a diversity to the mall you can't find in national accounts."