Justine Griffin / Herald-Tribune – I’ve been writing about the retail industry in Florida for close to five years now.

Being a Florida native, I also spent a good deal of my youth ambling around the malls of my hometown with friends and family. It seems that shopping centers have changed more drastically than my loyalty to store brands over the years.

Each week, I get a dozen or so emails from readers who really care about the shopping centers in this town.

Some are avid boutique-goers and love the mix of new brands and longstanding stores in downtown Sarasota or St. Armands Circle. Others enjoy the convenience of Westfield Group’s Sarasota Square and Southgate malls.