East-side stirring suggest Best Buy
Retailer would join Target at Dawley Farm
Kelly Thurman / Argus Leader
It looks as though the Shoppes at Dawley Farm development on the east side could be in line for another tenant.
Ron Nelson, of Nelson Property Consultants, said he’s working with a retailer for another big box store north of the new Kohl’s store.
Nelson and Craig Lloyd, of Lloyd Cos. and one of the developers of Dawley Farm, both were mum on the details including the name of the company. But Nelson said the company hopes to open in spring or summer 2012, which means work probably would begin by June.
Of the retailer, all Nelson would say is that when people hear the name it will make sense because it’s a good use for the space.
That said, my money is on Best Buy.
The development has become a home for retailers looking to add a second store in Sioux Falls, and Best Buy fits that bill. The Minnesota-based technology and entertainment retailer at one time also was reportedly in talks for a possible store in Dawley Farm.
In the meantime, work on the new Kohl’s is progressing with the store scheduled to open this spring.
Lloyd said work on the Famous Footwear strip center, which will house three other retailers in the Dawley Farm area, should get started after Jan. 1. And negotiations are progressing for a number of other tenants ranging from restaurants to clothing and health stores.
Hard to get handle on holiday shopping
I’ve been keeping an eye on the sales numbers rolling in this past week regarding Black Friday, Cyber Monday and what not.
What’s becoming clear is this holiday season is a little goofy.
Black Friday sales at retail stores were tepid at best nationwide with a 0.3 percent increase over last year, according to ShopperTrak. Sioux Falls stores seemed to buck that trend with reports of sales increases coming in strong.
But the national numbers don’t seem to be the best barometer of how the season will shake out this year.
First, early sales this year got people shopping in early November.
ShopperTrak said retailers during the first two weeks of the month through Nov. 13 recorded a 6.1 percent increase in sales compared to last year.
Then there’s online sales, which are up tremendously this year. Black Friday online sales saw a nearly 16 percent increase over last year and Cyber Monday sales increased 31 percent compared to the Black Friday numbers, according to Coremetrics.
So what’s getting people online this year at such an extraordinary level?
I would wager that people might be getting sick of the holiday crowds during the holiday season.
But retail consultant Jeff Green said it probably has more to do with people becoming more at ease with and aware of Internet sales.
“I think what people are realizing is they can get the same discounts online as they can by being in the store at 3 a.m.,” he said. “That’s a huge ‘ah-ha’ moment by the consumer.”
Green also noticed more people buying for themselves while he was out on Black Friday.
So what does this all mean for December?
Green thinks sales could be lackluster this month, mainly because of the early promotions in November. Plus, people have one less weekend to shop this year.
“The whole issue of buying for yourself, coupled with one less weekend, tripled with the promotions coming so early have made it a kind of unique season,” Green said. “I don’t know if that word unique translates into good yet. But it’s certainly unique.”