The Mall at University Town Center prepares for second holiday season
UNIVERSITY PARK -- Now that Mall at University Town Center has completed its first year in business, it's time for the mall to look forward and build on successes and to consider what hasn't worked so well.
The focus for now is on the mall's second holiday season and retailers are hoping its even better than the last.
General Manager of the Mall at UTC Octavio Ortiz said the mall, like last year, will be open on Thanksgiving Day from 6 p.m. until midnight. Other holiday season hours have not been released yet.
Last year the holiday season built to a crescendo when Frozen came into the mall with Santa.
The mall will welcome Santa Claus on Nov. 6 and mall management is still deciding what other events they'll plan for the holiday season, Ortiz said. A core group of managers will contribute to the holiday season by planning and promoting events for their own individual stores.
Planning for the biggest shopping season is well underway, even if all the details are not yet ironed out.
Anchor stores Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Dillard's decide on their own if they will be open on Thanksgiving, Ortiz said.
Macy's will be open more than 24 hours, from 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day until 10 p.m. on Black Friday. It will reopen at 8 a.m. on Saturday and remain open until 10 p.m., according to store employee Ania Paduch.
Saks Fifth Avenue is still determining its holiday hours. A store employee said they should know final hours for Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday by the first of November. Dillard's will not be open on Thanksgiving and will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Black Friday.
Store managers plan
Kandy Kaak, owner of the Oil & Vinegar store in the mall, gives the credit to Saundra Petty, store manager at House of Samsonite, for assembling manager meetings to plan for the holiday shopping season.
"She has been instrumental in trying to come up with ways to bring customers to the Mall," Kaak said.
Petty has been in retail her whole life and previously worked for Macy's and other department store chains. She's worked in malls before and said like the Mall at UTC management, most mall managers and staff hold quarterly meetings for managers. But she finds it beneficial to connect with other store managers more often.
When the mall opened, Petty collected store manager contact information and about six months later store managers began to meet monthly. At the meetings they discuss marketing ideas and plan events to get the word out about their stores.
Petty's experience shows her how difficult it can be to make one store stand out among the more than 100 retailers in the Mall at UTC.
"I know it can be difficult because you don't always have money to join every club or event," she said.
The manager's meeting group is also currently brainstorming ideas to boost sales during the holiday season and bring customers into their stores to buy Christmas gifts.
Overall, Petty thinks trends around Thanksgiving are changing, even though the are taking place slowly. She did midnight openings during her time at Macy's and House of Samsonite was open on Thanksgiving last year. She said her store didn't have a large crowd on Thanksgiving last year but she does remember the Macy's store at the Mall at UTC had lines waiting outside to get in.
But some retailers are thinking about giving staff the day off and having the full day to celebrate with family, despite what has been a trend to kick off black Friday on the holiday.
"The trend in the last few years was to open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving," Petty said. "Now maybe it is to be closed."
Janelle O'Dea, business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095 or follow her on Twitter@jayohday.
This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 3:55 PM with the headline "The Mall at University Town Center prepares for second holiday season ."