Thursday, March 30, 2006

SouthPark mall's latest tenant is local

DOUG SMITH
dougsmith@charlotteobserver.com

CHARLOTTE - SouthPark mall is getting a new tenant, but it's a well-known Charlotte name.

Paul Simon Co., a 31-year-old men's apparel retailer, will move its Morrocroft store to the new Village of SouthPark under construction at the corner of Sharon Road and Morrison Boulevard.

The new 4,000-square-foot store, about 1,000 square feet larger than the Morrocroft location, will be across from a Crate & Barrel to open this fall.

Paul Simon Co.'s men's and women's apparel stores in Myers Park Shopping Center will continue operating from there.

At the Village of SouthPark, owner Paul Simon will be facing a battery of national retailers, but he's not intimidated.

The SouthPark area store operated in the mall for 10 years before moving to Morrocroft. "We're excited to get a little more exposure," he said.

Paul Simon Co.'s advantage is personal service, Simon said. "We really hone in on a particular customer. We really know our demographic," he said. "Sometimes we have three generations, and we have had four shopping here."

The new store will have a made-to-measure department and include a coffee bar and lounge with amenities such as high definition television.

Fryday & Doyne Architecture/Interior Design designed the interior with elegant stone, glass and wood elements. It also includes high ceilings to increase natural light for selecting fabrics, colors and textures.

The Village of SouthPark store is to open in spring 2007.

2 comments:

  1. I walked in their store once. I think I remember that I liked what I saw (not quite my style but close), and then I noticed the pricetag. Yeah...I'll have to make about ten times the amount I earn if I want to go back. :)

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  2. I had one shirt from Paul Simon Co. that I bought about six or seven years ago on clearance. It was an awesome shirt, but it was cut funny for me, so I gave it away.

    Kevin and I used to go in there a lot when he was on his designer apparel kick in the late '90s. The salespeople were friendly, the store was beautiful, and their credit terms were great (90 days same as cash) but it was simply too expensive.

    I need to go back to Paul Simon (for ideas) sometime soon, and I also want to go to the relocated Taylor Richards & Conger at Phillips Place. Oh, and there's this new store called Old Dog at Phillips Place that looked awesome.

    I told you I was sick :-)

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