4 Ways British and American Malls Are Very Different

[@uncletoby-]

Oh now, Nephew you’re too big of a KZbin Sensation to ever fail.

[@MbisonBalrog]

LOL you really are his uncle.

[@SecretSquirrelFun]

My father used to call the local shopping centre the “indoor mall”. Makes total sense now. Thanks.

[@CanadaFree-ce9jn]

We call them malls, or the other types are American style strip malls (with sadly have no strippers) with outside access only.

[@R.M.MacFru]

There used to be open air malls until the late 70's. Then they began to put lids on them, and we were left with "indoor malls."

[@JoPerry-by3wd]

I always love the "Ooooooo Lawrence".😊

[@sofiabriones9221]

That's one of my favorite parts lol

[@privacyvalued4134]

Yes. This is precisely why some of us subscribed.

[@balancedactguy]

I think he also says "Don't judge me!" also a favorite!

[@catw6998]

Did we see Uncle Toby? I prefer Malls to those Strip Malls. Some fun stores/shops [I’ve used both], have been Sharper Image, Sports memorabilia, books/magazines with a coffee & pastry, decent clothing/footwear store for all ages & sizes, and a fun center for the kids. The only problem with at that was their pricing. It would have been nice if they had a decent locker system on all sides. That’s probably what I’d do differently if I was in charge. Maybe hire a band to come in the bar. Get a hotel or two bud and maybe some housing areas. A pet center (so no pet stuck in car on really hot days).

[@balancedactguy]

@@privacyvalued4134 Well, Laurence Does Say, with regard to subscribing "Do that NOW!" I guess we all listened!😂

[@cathywells5065]

The Mall of America is my local mall. I do a lot of shopping there because it's such a one-stop shop. Between there being no sales tax on clothes in MN, the mall having two hotels, and being 10 minutes from the airport, it is a tourist destination. Plus there's an Ikea in the adjacent parking lot. The indoor amusement park is actually not bad either. It's a great place to kill time if nothing else.

[@rainbowtropolis]

Hello fellow Minnesotan! I'm north of Duluth by about an hour 😊 Our malls up here are going bye bye now that Kmart and Sears are gone. Even Herbergers is on it's way out. Duluth mall is hanging on because it's starting to get more places to eat and less shops (Younkers and Sears left there too). Winter is coming 😳🫣

[@Dmasanz]

Southdale represent!!

[@honkytonkinson9787]

Pretty soon they’ll have to change the name to The Only Mall In America I haven’t been to a mall that doesn’t inspire depression in many years!

[@stephgreen3070]

@@rainbowtropolisI thought Miller Hill Mall was a goner after the roof caved in two winters ago, but it’s trying to hang in there.

[@saraevans9284]

Burnsville mall is nearly dead, so I go to MoA too!

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

Save the malls. Move the senor center and social security office into them. Malls here get the most use by senors walking laps in them. It is climate controlling, plenty of seating, and bathrooms.

[@annbrookens945]

Excellent idea!

[@MCmammajama]

Our 90% empty one got turned into a pickle ball court and an actual overflow court room!!

[@jimgraham6722]

Sears was a great shop. In the sixties and seventies their catalogue served people in even the most remote parts of the world. It was a sad day when they went under.

[@irenafarm]

Convert them to affordable mixed used communities. Imagine hundreds of small but elegant home units surrounding those huge airy indoor leisure spaces, with corner groceries and drug stores, professional offices and handcraft vendors, food carts and of course the food courts! Maybe athletic/rec centers with healthcare clinics in the anchor store spots? And churches/community centers/theaters ofc. It could be like living in a resort.

[@Croz89]

​@@irenafarmNot enough windows for that. Nobody is going to want to live in a windowless apartment. Better to demolish the mall and build proper apartment buildings.

[@aredub1847]

the sears Christmas catalog was THE THING.

[@MrDEWaters]

It is ironic that Sears started out as a remote shopping company. The Sears catalogue was used by people in small towns across the U.S. and purchased items were shipped to local catalog stores or by mail. The company failed to adapt when online purchases became common in the computer age. There are two malls that have recently been demolished in the St. Louis area, where I live. Malls that are thriving seem to be the more upscale ones.

[@ronsbookreview1010]

Hey Lawrence, you should have a branch segment for things distinctively about Chicago, like the food, the sites, and your perspective of the culture and history from the perspective of a person who grew up in something way different.

[@pameladonnelson2093]

I miss all the stores we lost😢

[@marshalltille7770]

Circuit City, Radio Shack?

[@monember2722]

​@@marshalltille7770yep. Sears, JCPenney too.

[@monember2722]

​@@marshalltille7770and Model's sports.

[@ZeroTolerance-tk9ce]

And the restaurants as well. We lost our Country Cooking restaurants.😪 A local chain, but I'm sure the same thing happened across the US.

[@maryannspicher]

I hate shopping online. Nothing ever fits right, you can’t feel the materials. How can you know what a perfume will smell like? Or a new candle scent? You can’t tell the quality of what you’re buying and the joke is always on us.

[@deanaaron8894]

Amen

[@BrenndaGibbs]

I have difficulty walking. Online shopping is easier for me.

[@tenaguin1054]

Agree

[@tenaguin1054]

Many items can be purchased online. But, anything that has sizing or fabric involved iscquestionable. I tried to order clothing and shoes but when received wasn’t quite what it appeared and sizing was off because of US vs other country sizing. Stopped using online for clothing or shoes . Miss the historic malls that are disappearing or closing and turning to ruins. Sad.

[@dw7704]

I prefer in person when possible, checking how sizes fit, and the tangible feel and quality, etc. Some products are okay to order without that, some aren’t, some it doesn’t matter. But online misses the social aspect, which has also declined.

[@hypocrisyhunter8919]

In the U.S. a shopping mall is enclosed while a shopping center, you must go outside to change stores.

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

There are at least 2 malls in Orange County, CA that are outdoor malls (non-enclosed): Bella Terra and Irvine Spectrum Center.

[@NotSoMuchFrankly]

@@MMuraseofSandvich Nearby we have the 'Galleria' and the 'Plaza' and a mall. The Plaza is an outdoor mall but they're all just shortenings of their full names. The Plaza used to be indoor so the names aren't really significant. It's just branding.

[@robertpearson8798]

Here in Canada (Southern Ontario) we call our outdoor shopping centres “PowerCentres”. I have no idea why.

[@irenafarm]

In California I never heard "shopping mall" until I moved East. The enclosed things were "shopping centers" or just "centers" ie Tanforan Center or Serramonte Center. Or just the name. Hollywood was the shopping center, not the place with the studios, to my central LA friends. (Btw it appears to be a stadium complex now RIP).

[@GeneCash]

Ooooooo Lawrence, where was the wind whooshing away the marshmallows from the "SUBSCRIBE"??? How will I know what to click on?

[@Del-Lebo]

I live in the Philadelphia suburbs about 15 minutes to the King of Prussia Mall. I went through an expansion 2 years ago and is always very busy. My local Exton mall is turning into a medical center and very quiet. At 58 years old, I was very lucky and happy to work in a record store at Christown Mall in Phoenix AZ from 1981 to 1986! That is when malls were the place to be! Great video!!!

[@OldMan_PJ]

The mall near me is basically a few resellers charging 3x the price you would pay anywhere else and a Gamestop that mysteriously remains open. No food court, no clothing stores, and no Santa. Edit - LOL, the Sierra Vista mall sign you used in your video is my local mall, the Sears store closed years ago, Target is outside the mall, and Kohl's keeps the steel gate closed that opens to the mall to reduce theft.

[@aniE1869]

The mall near me had a huge boom after the lockdowns. Now it's almost always packed if there isn't school.

[@longiusaescius2537]

@aniE1869 nice avatar

[@J3scribe]

The first fully indoor shopping mall in the USA was Randhurst shopping center in the Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect. The Chicago Tribune website has a photo essay about it. I grew up about a half mile away during the 1960s and '70s. At some point in relative recent history, developers tore it asunder and turned it into a large parking lot dotted by an archipelago of retail outlets. In doing so, they eliminated the ice rink (where I saw Rush perform in 1976 for $5), and the dual cinema, where I first saw the movie Jaws in 1974. The anchor stores were; Montgomery Ward, Weibolts, and Carson, Perry, Scott, ranging from affordable everything to slightly less affordable somethings. There was also an S.S. Kresge, the 5 and dime precursor to K-Mart. There was a food court, some other sundrie shops, and a sub-level that featured offbeat stores, like a magic shop.

[@JoPerry-by3wd]

Thanks for this bit of history. I can almost see it. Nice share.😊

[@jonofthehill]

Speaking of Malls, do you have a video yet on British vs American movie theaters/theatres? The theater in our Mall is its life-blood.

[@adamdparker]

(Cinema)

[@orange2pointo]

We call them “cinemas”

[@iandodds3218]

​@@orange2pointo or the pictures unless that regional

[@dannypipewrench533]

I live in Pocatello, Idaho. In the neighboring city of Chubbuck, there is a mall called the Pine Ridge Mall. The main bus routes all stop there, and that is usually how I get there, because I have no car. The Pine Ridge Mall is just about the exact definition of a ghost mall. Nearly all of the spaces for stores are occupied and operating, but every time I go there, the place is almost dead silent. I really have no business there, but it serves well as an over glorified bus stop.

[@theJohnGaltLine]

How dare you, sir? Jingle All the Way is a holiday classic for the ages.

[@Fadamor]

Here in the Washington DC suburb of Alexandria, VA, there was a large mall that opened back in the 1960s called Landmark Center. There were three anchor tenants: Woodward & Lothrop (later Lord & Taylor), Hecht Co. (later Macy's), and Sears Roebuck & Co. (later just "Sears"). It was originally an outdoor mall but they enclosed it in 1990 - changing the name to "Landmark Mall". The mall went through the typical rise and fall of most malls until by February 1, 2017, the "mall" had only one tenant still open for business - Sears. The only reason the mall owners, who wanted to re-purpose the land for something more profitable, couldn't evict Sears was because a clause in Sears' tenant contract stated that Sears couldn't be forced to leave - they had to decide to leave on their own accord. I sometimes wonder if Sears - who was definitely hurting financially by 2017 - was hoping the landlords would forcibly evict them, allowing them to receive some money via a breach of contract lawsuit. The landlords wouldn't comply, however, and us local residents would see a massive, empty parking lot leading up to the Sears anchor building with a huge banner saying "Yes, We're Still Open!". Eventually Sears couldn't justify the expense of paying the rent and employee wages for the small number of customers that still shopped there during COVID, In the middle of 2020, Sears announced that they would be closing their Landmark store as part of a 28-store closing. Thus ended the story of Landmark Mall, Alexandria, VA.

[@chitlitlah]

Sears and a few minor stores were all that were keeping the iconic Valley View Mall in Dallas going through the 2010s. I hear it was quite the hip spot in the 1960s, but the Galleria took over this century. I bought some tools at that Sears on a few occasions and walked around in the ghost mall. They finally shut it down around the time of Covid. Last time I drove by, the building still stood, but I think that's no longer the case.

[@irenafarm]

Sidebar: I knew the family who started Hecht's department story. The patriarch had retired to Danville VA and the family ran a wonderful farm supply store and a Harley dealership. I shopped for my sheep supplies at their store for many years. Very nice folks.

[@DaveRabbit-jr7ru]

I worked at the Tape World in Landmark during the 90’s and the Record Town in Ballston Commons.

[@Firestormlover]

You should read about Eddie Lampert's cannibalizing Sears. There must have been something in that contract that also kept him from adding that store to his Seritage list for so long.

[@elultimo102]

Being an ex-Chicago boy, a "shopping center" was a group of adjacent stores, requiring one to exit outside to enter another store. A "mall" was an enclosed center, sometimes with store entrances outside, but also rear doors which entered the courtyard. (A very convenient way to shop in Chicago, to avoid the blizzards or the sweltering heat and humidity).

[@IAmConorr]

Used to love Freshney Place back in the day as a kid, the shop with the life size Jerry Springer cardboard cutout was a personal favourite…

[@melliehelen8650]

Thank you for sharing that HG Wells quote.

[@Larry]

I would say UK malls don't really have anchor stores in the same was US ones do. US anchor stores are huge and are accessible from outside of the mall, whereas UK ones are just a regular store, maybe slightly larger.

[@richdobbs6595]

I've got an obligatory comment to make after watching any video on malls. The local mall where I grew up, and my mom worked when I was quite young, was Southdale, the first indoor mall in America. It was close enough that I could either catch a bus a few blocks from my house or ride my "English" 3 speed bike there, or my 10 speed when I got older. It wasn't until I moved out of state that I found out that malls could actually fail or not be thriving and successful.

[@JoPerry-by3wd]

💭 😊 You struck a pleasant memory. Of all my bikes, my favorite was a three speed. Some guy backed his car over it.😢 He paid for it, but they didn't make them anymore. I got a 10 sp which crunched everytime I changed gears. ❤ Thanks for the nudge to happy times.

[@wjstix]

My mother and brother worked at the Woolworth's in Southdale (seen @ 2:03), the first indoor shopping center, when it opened in Edina Minnesota back in 1956. "Shopping center" was the common term, and I think is often still used in the official names, although "shopping malls" is common too. I remember the indoor bird sanctuary back in the 1960s.

[@virtuous-sloth]

I am proud to say that one of our local malls in Calgary, which was slated for transformation from an indoor mall to one of the new-style strip-mall farms after years of decline, was used as the mall setting on the Last of Us series before being split up.

[@TerryTheNewsGirl]

To Americans: if you come to Sheffield, do not visit Meadowhall. It's pet-named Meadowhell for a reason. Visit either the Meadowhall retail park (strip mall) and Ikea further down the road or ignore them and go to Crystal Peaks. Much quieter and much nicer. I prefer stores with more variety like Home Bargains or the Range and sadly the now defunct Wilko.

[@MichaelJohnson-tw7dq]

Crystal Peaks sounds like a stripper name.

[@kieronparr3403]

Wilko went bust because of one woman's indecision and lack of leadership

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

So what's so bad about Meadowhell?

[@MichaelJohnson-tw7dq]

I still say Crystal Peaks sounds like a stripper name.

[@MichaelJohnson-tw7dq]

Still sounds like a name for an adult entertainer.

[@adamhall3344]

Is it a coincidence that I’m seeing this after visiting Sea Life Aquarium at the Mall of America today? 😃 Also just want to take a moment to appreciate your brief but highly appropriate tribute to Dayton’s department store and Southdale Center, the very first fully enclosed shopping mall in the US, located about a mile from where I grew up. Though, I was never a mall rat, this place does hold some nostalgia for me.

[@JillWhitcomb1966]

The West Acres shopping center in Fargo, North Dakota, is still thriving! There are only 1 or 2 empty store fronts, and 30 % of the stores and restaurants are locally owned. The mall regularly hosts things like indoor farmer's markets, beer & wine tasting, art shows, an artist-in-residence, and concerts. The interior is updated every month with different seasonal displays for those looking for an Instagram-type of moment, plus the food court area showcases art from local artists. Not to mention that the city of Fargo is the biggest retail destination in a 300-mile radius, drawing customers from Canada, South Dakota, Minnesota, and various parts of North Dakota.

[@JeanStAubin-nl9uo]

We have an awesome mall in Appleton, WI. We still have Target and Macy's and J.C. Penney anchor stores.

[@jasonlescalleet5611]

Our local mall is not quite dying, but it’s definitely different from when I was a kid. Lots more non-shopping things there, but it does still have people in it as of the last time I was there. On the other hand, downtown is *bustling* while it was a ghost town, except during office hours, back when I was a kid. For the most part, though, the people aren’t shopping in stores, because there aren’t too many of those. What there are is restaurants, bars, and coffee houses. Also a very popular (and historic) theater which is probably the biggest draw. On the other hand, there *is* a mall downtown-sort of. It’s called an “arcade” which really confused me as a kid because there were no video games there, but is apparently an old fashioned term for basically a mall because that’s what it is. It was really run down when I was a kid, and has become even more so but now it’s being restored and will probably be very nice when it’s done. Hopefully it will be popular with the people eating in our restaurants, drinking in our bars and coffeehouses, and seeing shows in our theater.

[@onceuponamelody]

I'm originally from Alaska - since shipping is always costly, malls still do pretty well there (with a couple exceptions in certain areas, but those ones have historically always been dodgy). I remember hearing about malls dying in the early 2000s, and as a mall rat teen, I was like "What?!" Now I get it - being in a state with same-day Amazon shipping makes a HUGE difference.

[@saraross8396]

While shopping online is convenient, I do prefer in-person whenever possible. It's much easier to check the quality, material, and especially size when it comes to clothing. You hit a memory when you mentioned Sears. I was surprised to see one still hanging on a few years ago in the Gardens Mall in Florida. It was a shell of its former self. When I was a kid, the lower level had appliances, and the upper level (it's a two story mall) had clothing and accessories, both brim full. When I visited a few years ago, all that was left was a small collection of clothes and purses. When I visited earlier this year, it had completely gone. The mall itself still seemed very active.

[@dougwalker4944]

I rember sears robuk catalog, tp in the little brown shack out back. circa 1965 ce.😺

[@dunebasher1971]

Many people in the UK would argue that UK malls built on the edge of towns in the last 40 years have sucked shoppers away from town centres ("downtown") and forced people to use cars rather than public transport to reach them, because even though most UK malls are served by buses, they aren't necessarily convenient or reliable.

[@stevieandthebarbies]

Also the remaining town centre shopping malls are generally suffering from the departure of the anchor stores, just as the high streets are. And some town centre shopping malls are complete no-go areas for anyone with half an ounce of self-preservation.

[@sharonsmith583]

Atlantan here. I lovrd Costa coffee when i visited UK. I was excited when one popped up next tu my office.

[@scottcampbell-vy2tv]

Pal Mall used to be a US cigarette brand.

[@markreetz1001]

Still are I believe.

[@adamb4639]

Without going to the store to look I'm pretty sure you're thinking of pall mall and they're still around.

[@ajwinberg]

It still is.

[@richardkammerer2814]

I think they were larger and stronger than Camels and just as filterless, but not as “good” as English Ovals.

[@YouTube.Is.Run.By.Terrorists]

Camel W I D E make a grown man's hands look like a 10 year olds.

[@Hollandsemum2]

As an older person, the term shopping center was used in the US before the enclosed mall. The earliest malls were open air. Loops of separate stores with covered walkways (Old Orchard in Skokie, and Short Hills in NJ - though I haven't seen the latter since around 1970). Once enclosed Malls came into being, the the open air Malls adopted the name leaving the term shopping center for linear strips of stores, which are now called strip malls. It's clear that the word mall is shorter and faster to use. The only time I can think of using the term today is generically for a variety of types together, as in 'this town has five shopping centers and that one has two' so you don't have to specify. The term shopping precinct just isn't used in the US, I'd guess because the word precinct as a geographic area tends to be used for defining your voting area & topics, and police coverage areas. Both are quite serious in the US, and I cannot think it would occur to anyone to apply the word to something as relatively common and sometimes frivolous as shopping. Btw, open air malls are interesting - like that time a tractor trailer hauling cows flipped over on the Edens in the middle of the night,, and some of the cows were found wandering through Old Orchard.

[@irenafarm]

Shopping center was what I learned in California growing up. Or just "center" for the enclosed spaces (ie Tanforan Center, Serramonte Center). Strip malls were nasty places they had in LA. 😂

[@prion42]

We had a mall that started open air but was then covered.

[@howlinhobbit]

tomorrow is my sweetie’s birthday and, thanks to an *extremely* generous donation from an online fan, I was able to splurge a large amount of money on her gift. here’s the tie in for your video. we drove to a reasonably nearby mall to shop for it. after more than 2 decades with her I’m pretty confident she’ll like it, but I can hardly wait for her to open it when we’re out for her birthday dinner.

[@wt9653]

I haven't been to the Mall since my 20s. That was 2005. I've only shopped warehouse stores like Costco for all my clothing, shoes, furniture, and appliances. Since 2020, I do 80% online shopping. The remaining 10% are for food shopping locally like Costco and Safeway. The other 10% goes to Home Depot, Harbor Freight, and Lowes.

[@Bugf1]

When I was young 1966 or so we had a shopping center called Glendale shopping center several stores like Sears LS Ayres Pennys and others not connected so you had to go outside to change stores. Not fun during a Indiana winter. Someone decided to put a roof connecting all the buildings after that it was called Glendale Mall.

[@BrenndaGibbs]

Oh darn. I thought you were talking about Glendale, AZ. We need the covered malls because otherwise it is too darn hot (110-115°F or 43-46°C) .

[@stevevasta]

And that's gone now, isn't it? I knew the Glendale Mall: for a nondriver working in Indy, it was easy to reach via the Broad Ripple bus.

[@sststr]

I was just recently reading a story, one of those from a hundred years ago, where the author used the word "Mall" to describe a location in London, and I had no idea what he meant by that. Now I do!

[@omegamale7880]

Next video: 4 Ways British and American Mauls Are Very Different

[@missratner]

While in London last year, I visited two malls. One was where we were changing trains ( don’t remember the name), the other was at the O2 while we were waiting for Muse. I thought it was pretty smart to place a mall where you had either a large or captive audience.

[@klaatubob]

A shopping center is a strip mall with outside doors to each business. A shopping mall is an indoor center where the store entrances are from the inside except for the anchor stores.

[@CobraDBlade]

There are two malls near where I live. Both are only still open thanks to one particular business managing to stay profitable, otherwise they're empty. One is a Cabelas, the other a movie theater.

[@phrebh]

There are exceptions to the location in the States, too. There's a mall in downtown Chicago, which really surprised me when I got off the blue line in its lower level.

[@333rpd]

As a member of the boomer generation, I find that if I spend too long in a shopping mall or big box store I start feeling disoriented, I refer to this state as being malled, and it is an indication that it is time to go home. :)

[@seanpaula8924]

Dont go into IKEA! LOL I literally had to find someone to show me how to get out 😡

[@margotjones7168]

"malled"... LOL 😆

[@craigbenz4835]

@333rpd That isn't by accident. It was designed in.

[@irenafarm]

Boomers built the malls, though... Gen Xers like me are the ones who fueled the explosion of indoor mall complexes, but it was our boomer parents (we called them Yuppies then), who funded them, dropped their kids (GenX) off to wander around for eight hours, and did all the shopping there. GenX made the malls a second home, but Boomers paid for the malls. Today, it's mostly Boomers who walk those malls. Btw I loathe malls and always have. But I was still forced to spend hours daily at them, or else sit in an empty house in a bad neighborhood. Maybe the collective over-exposure of GenX to indoor malls, led to the distaste for them, of Millennials and younger.

[@irenafarm]

@@seanpaula8924IKEA literally gives me panic attacks 😂

[@VJacquette]

The U.S. has shopping centers, too. They're a different thing from malls. It's sort of like the difference between a motel and a hotel.

[@cliffcorson4000]

There have been a number of malls that have adapted over the years One I went to in NC has a 3 floor public library that they've had for over 30 years. Other malls are starting to integrate other types of businesses as well. What would be good is if they took some concepts and expanded on them Several malls I've seen having local post offices or package delivery hubs, others have placed classrooms for lobbyists in them

[@shaleenthepunk8568]

One near me ended up becoming a temporary casino while a bigger one was built on the site. Grand opening for the big one is right about now actually.

[@cliffcorson4000]

@shaleenthepunk8568 there are a number of items they could turn most malls into. Over the years quite a lot of stores did away with standard rolling gate and went to fancy doors and such so it could be turned into offices, classrooms, or other places. An average mall has 60-80 stores plus anchor stores. It could easily be turned into a school of sorts. The food court area could be a cafeteria of sorts

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

Just curious but where was the one in NC you mentioned? Iive near Raleigh.

[@cliffcorson4000]

@@Mick_Ts_Chick used to be the old North Hills mall, but looks like that closed in 2003 when the mall closed. it was an incredible library as well

[@Mick_Ts_Chick]

@cliffcorson4000 Oh yeah, we used to ride over there in college some. I went to NCSU.

[@donnaone1nine]

Come to southern California. South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island still seem to be thriving…based on hard to find parking. Anchor stores include Macy’s, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and Neiman Marcus.

[@bruknorx]

Our local mall, The Monroeville Mall, just outside of Pittsburgh and next to Trafford, Pennsylvania. Where the original Dawn of the Dead was filmed.

[@Llyrin]

Here in Maryland, it seems we used to call shopping centers what they now call strip malls-open plazas with lots of parking and stores lined side-by-side in a line, in L, or U shaped configurations. Malls here have always been the closed-in buildings with lots of stores/shoppes.

[@emilywagner6354]

I've never been to Mall of America, but my impression is that it's at least as much a tourist destination as it is a shopping location.

[@richdobbs6595]

As far as a shopping location, it is about as convenient or inconvenient as most. It has any of the routine shops that you would find in any mall, but it has all of them. And then it has a mediocre amusement park in the middle, but its all inside. Worth a visit if you are in the twin cities. But not worth going to the twin cities as a tourist destination.

[@jfwfreo]

In Australia the malls (which we call shopping centers) are doing well and I don't really know of any that would be considered "dead malls" in the American sense. A big part of the reason Australian malls aren't dying is that unlike the United States, Australia puts the stores you visit every day into the malls. Every mall regardless of size is going to have some kind of supermarket (with bigger ones having multiples). And pretty much any mall above a certain size will have a discount department store such as K-Mart (which used to be connected to the US store by that name but hasn't been for decades now), Target (no connection the US store) or Big W. So the mall is where you go to do your everyday shopping which ensures malls almost always have a stream of customers. Of course there are chains that are dying and leaving empty spots in malls but at the same time, there are other chains willing to take that space (just recently a full-line department store chain shuttered one of its stores and one part of the space was taken over by a place offering mini-golf and in the same mall a former Toys R Us store became a combination arcade and bowling alley)

[@MERollered]

Our few malls in my city are adapting. One of them is taking the anchor stores and splitting the space into multiple smaller stores. Like the Sears turned into one of those smaller Barnes and Noble's and a Nordstrom Rack. That same mall has redesigned so less people have to go into a "mall" and more parking lot faced stores. I find this easier for me, since I do a lot of shop and pickup from those stores. I have a horrible arthritis and I detest shopping with a passion. But at the same time the foot traffic can still bring in revenue to those who rent the same because something will catch my attention while I am picking up, or I will make a note of it before I go there. But having a pick up option could save companies a lot of money in the "overall" fewer package reports because of porch pirates. Then the mall in the downtown area, converted 2 anchor stores into apartments. The renters have access to two elevator areas on each end of the ground level and the rest of the ground level is store rentals and office space. They are doing that with a few other stores too now that Penny's closed.

[@Paul_Halicki]

An interesting example of a mall that has adapted and changed started out in 1962 as Seminary South in Fort Worth, Texas. By the time we moved here in the 1980s they had rebranded it Fort Worth Town Center. But... that didn't work and it continued to decline. In 2004, a company called Legaspi bought the property, which at the time had only a 10 percent occupancy rate. The new owners reinvented the property to cater to a largely Hispanic clientele, including the addition of El Mercado, a market for local vendors. It is now known as La Gran Plaza and is one of the most successful malls in the Dallas Fort Worth region.

[@Trifler500]

Lawrence: "We don't usually call them malls. We call them shopping centers." In the US, a shopping center is when the stores open to the outside, where a large central parking lot is located. A mall has the stores and the hallways indoors.

[@annbrookens945]

White Oaks Mall in Springfield, IL (the state capital) has had a couple of the former anchor store locations repurposed. One into a large indoor gaming business: bounce houses, laser tag, mini golf, etc. The other into state offices!

[@j.kristineemmons]

"Shopping center" is more general here. In Spain, it's called a commercial center.

[@Jaqaroo]

A beautifully put together video, as always, Lawrence. Splendid. Pease keep up the good work.

[@wintermute1943]

One thing people miss when talking about malls is that tons were build using tax breaks and other government pork spending projects. Meaning that the group building a mall could make money on the construction itself regardless of if it was successful in the long run. So it is speculated that the actual demand for and the long term economic viability of malls were not taken into account in an acurate way early on in the mall boom.

[@YellinInMyEar]

Etymology is fascinating. Old word "mall" meant a playing field for pall-mall, but since those usually are flanked with shops the U.S. adopted it to use on a new (then) complex without a name for.

[@Jp19557]

Pall Mall is a small town in Tennessee known as the birthplace and final resting place of Alvin York.

[@Hillbilly001]

Sure is. Sets in The Valley of the Wolf. Fentress County. Crossville is the closest large town. Been to his farmstead quite a few times. It's a lovely state park. Cheers from Tennessee

[@Sd12sx23]

And a brand of cigarettes.

[@StateMasterSubdivisions3795]

Happy birthday, Laurence!

[@namelessone3339]

2:07 - The wonderful regional department store Dayton's at the first American shopping center, Southdale, in suburban Edina, Minnesota. Sadly, now another depressing Macy's.

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

All three of the anchor positions at the mall closest to my home, are currently occupied by a health care services company that is called Avita, presumably because they hired a corporate naming consultant. Apparently, not everyone has yet switched to purchasing health care services from Amazon.

[@DakotaCelt1]

A mall where I live uses a couple of empty store fronts as a fine arts incubator.

[@juliemeanor6531]

At our local mall, the Sears was torn down and a 5 story apartment was built with direct access to the mall. It also has several big restaurants and an eight screen movie theater. There are many empty store fronts inside.

[@pamabernathy8728]

Ooo, Laurence, I do so enjoy your videos. I don't even fast forward through the sponsor info, because I admire your thespian voice! Love to Tarah & the 2, 4 legged family members. From an old lady in Southern California. P.S. We have a [Blank Blank] Town Center (I don't wish to disclose the city were we reside). We are in Southern California, & in 2008 there was rejoicing (think Monty Python) at the opening of the shiny, new, outdoor mall -- named above. It has a bit of a Mediterranean feel -- a tiny bit. We had anchor stores!! We had (far, far too many) clothing, accessory, unknown products, geared toward younger teens. A small food court, & at least 6 or 7 actual restaurants. And before Christmas, a HUGE Christmas Tree in the central plaza! Even "snow" falling in that area in the evening! Past tense, Laurence, past tense. At least 8 different owners. Once again, much rejoicing! A NEW owner has GREAT plans for the Town Center. Again. Blessings, all.

[@youdontknowme5969]

My hometown's mall opened in 1986 with 5 well-known anchor stores with much fanfare. It started dying around 2005. Now, non of the original anchor stores are there, 3 of them got suvdivided ibto 4-6 smaller spaces (and they closed-off access from the main mall corridor), about 2/3 of its spaces consist of non-retail (or even non-public) businesses now. I find it weird and rather uninviting now. You also need a freakin' 4x4 to traverse its horrible roads and parking lots because I'm sure those haven't been maintained since, again, around 2005.

[@Blondie42]

The area that I live in has 3 malls, the largest of which has shrunk, literally. Due to a high number of shops closing and none replacing them the owners did a major remodel that removed a whole section of the building. It also didn't help when Sears and Macys closed indefinitely. The two smaller malls were hit less harshly and one still has it's Macys store.

[@jeffdege4786]

Proper reference photo for the first standalone enclosed shopping mall, Southdale in Edina, MN. These malls were anchored by department stores. Southdale originally by Dayton's, Donaldson's, Walgreens, and Woolworth. Department stores have also declined. Dayton's merged with Hudson's, then with Marshall Field's, and then was sold off so the parent company could concentrate on its Target division, which had grown much larger than the department stores. Oddly enough, these malls are much more like what the original designer had intended, because as they try to fill space, they're brining in restaurants, health clubs, and even drivers license bureaus.

[@davidpumpkinsjr.5108]

I'm not far from the Mall of Georgia. It's thriving. Hardly any empty units and always crowded. In addition to the main building, it also has several outlots and the surrounding businesses are doing great.

[@rowynnecrowley1689]

We have shopping centers in the U.S. They're completely different than malls. A mall is contained in one giant building. A shopping center requires you to go outside between shops.

[@MinorLG]

My next to closest local mall is actually fully rented out. There is one empty unit and it's because a store is moving from their current unit to the new one. And so everything else is rented out. And both that mall and the closer mall are on the bus route, but my house is not on the bus route. I actually have to drive like 10 miles to get to the closest mall, ride the bus from there through its route. Probably a couple bus changes to end up at the other mall.

[@kenaikuskokwim9694]

Costa isn't the only coffee chain with odd outlets in Atlanta. Caribou, based in Minnesota and common around the Upper Midwest, put a few stray branches in the Peach State when they took on a CEO who happened to live there.

[@cynthiaoconnor7185]

Back in the 70's, me and a friend would stay all day and not spend over $5 on food. We would window shop and people watch. So fun!!

[@julianaylor4351]

I live in North West London, all the shopping centres near me are easily accessible by bus and train. The nearest one to me Brent Cross in Hendon, has existed since 1976. Cleverly the owners made sure that TFL, then London Transport, built a massive open air bus station outside, with buses connecting all of North West/ East and Central London to the centre. You can if you wanted shop in the John Lewis in Brent Cross, then take a bus to the Oxford Street branch. The only time I have come across ghost malls, was a failed one in Wimbledon and the abandoned Waterloo station shopping arcade, in the disused international terminal, that no longer runs Eurostar trains.

[@courtneypuzzo2502]

there are some huge malls in America such as the Mall Of America which has 560 stores the average mall has between 125-220 stores/businesses. there are usually a few stand alone Jewelry stores such as Belden's Kay Jewelers Hanoush Zales etc. and most major department stores usually have a Jewelry section

[@BlackPanthaa]

A fellow 'from Grimsby' KZbinr - I'm sorry

[@thexfile.]

Pall Mall is cigarettes in America.

[@stevew8513]

I discovered (thanks to KZbin) that the American Woolworth's didn't actually die, it's technically still alive. In the 1970s and 1980s they started all sorts of oddball branch companies just to see what would stick - they all faltered except one. One chain of stores was getting popular while the main company was withering, so when Woolworth's (and Woolco) couldn't keep going, all Woolworth's were closed and their corporate name was changed into the successful spin-off's name, Foot Locker.

[@stevevasta]

And, IIRC -- from another video-- an honest-to-G*d Woolworth's still exists in Australia.

[@stevew8513]

@@stevevasta But with no connection to the US or UK chains. Kind of how they have their own Target stores but unrelated, just a coincidence in naming. K-Mart is going strong in Austraila, after years of declining sales they managed to turn it around. They were started in the '70s as a 50% partnership with an Aussie company, but they sold the branch off. They started focusing on high quality knock-offs of expensive products, and sales took off. Too bad US K-Mart didn't think of that.

[@stevevasta]

@@stevew8513 U.S. Kmart was gobbled up by Sears, which should have been good for them, but it wasn't good for either company. The "Martha Stewart" licensing line had potential, but clearly not enough. Are the Australian Target stores really unrelated to the U.S ones? (The chain utterly failed in Canada, FWIW.) Seems to me there'd be trademark problems, at least.

[@stevew8513]

@@stevevasta From what I've read, Australian Target is unrelated even though they have the same red color scheme and logo. I wonder if they came to some kind of "gentlemen's agreement" situation where they just decided to leave each other alone.

[@matthewryan9323]

@@stevevasta You have that the wrong way around - Kmart bought Sears (which had been faltering already), and then, in a surprise that no-one could have seen coming (/s), it turns out that being run by yet another vulture capitalist did not improve business for either Sears or Kmart...

[@painetdldy]

Ooooh Laurence, Happy Birthday!

[@adamruff7013]

We have an old mall complex down the street that used to be really popular when I was a kid. Same story different store kinda thing where now there’s only a few stores that only have outside entrances. It’s so empty that the local driving school takes their students there to practice 😅😢

[@highping1786]

One major reason many malls fail is an increase in crime in the area that drives customers away.

[@seanpaula8924]

Yup.

[@CanadaFree-ce9jn]

Not really. Stand alone stores in downtown areas are getting stolen from because it is easier to drive away from.

[@seanpaula8924]

@CanadaFree-ce9jn There were roaming gangs of teens in the 90s attacking people in malls (at least in the US). LOTS of people abandoned them. Smaller towns got meijers or wal marts and that sealed the deal.

[@highping1786]

@@CanadaFree-ce9jn Not stores being robbed, customers being robbed in the parking lots.

[@CarlGorn]

I've seen 3 local malls succumb to becoming office spaces, low-rent dance studios, and finally, piles of rubble in the past 10 years. Granted, all of them were smaller malls, initially designed to survive on commerce from the surrounding apartment buildings, but online commerce slowly choked the life out of them.

[@corn677]

Off topic but something I've always wondered. The British accent disappears in song. British performers suddenly have an American accent when they sing. John hardly sound english when singing "When I'm 64". Roger & Pete sound as American as I do when they sing in "Won't Get Fooled Again". Do other Yanks notice this? Do American bands lose their American accents when you Brits listen to them in song?

[@shanepark16]

Is nobody going to say anything about the way Lawrence pronounced "inventory" during the Odoo ad? Haha

[@kyrataylor2035]

Yes, I caught that, too... and immediately thought of a snarky remark: "Oooo, Laurence, what are you inventing," but I decided to be big about it and say nothing. 🤣

[@stevemcgowen]

Malls here in Prague are booming. In Merica and the Uk crime killed shopping malls.

[@michaelisaacson9735]

#3 on the list, King of Prussia Mall, King of Prussia, PA, had been my mall from around 1968. In high-school, when we had cars, my friends and I could take ourselves there. It used to be interesting, with some stores indoors, some outdoors. There was a bakery with the best chocolate-chip cookies. There were...uhhh....I actually can't remember anything else. There were full-retail stores where I never bought anything. Except chocolate-chip cookies. I know we looked through record shops, probably had a burgers somewhere...really nothing else. In 1980 or so, it was enclosed and many of the really great stores of which I have no recollection at all and never shopped in went away and expensive, new stores appeared. I never shopped in those, either. About 10 years ago, due to the success of driving away the buying public, a new section combining the two separate sides of the Mall was built, connecting the two. It was then filled with stores so expensive that no one was allowed to shop there. I walked through recently. You will get a loitering citation for looking in the windows of those stores without a Amex Centurion Black card. Malls in the 1970's became the place for kids who had no safe basement or garage in which to hang out. Teens love junk food so food courts evolved. Clothing is typically worn, so Gaps and such appeared. Vinyl records were big business and record stores multiplied like mushrooms to fill the demand. Kids were everywhere. The Mall was the place to be. Then, somewhere in there, someone started selling hot pretzels for $1.25 and it all collapsed. CD's replaced vinyl, digital replaced CD's, nice, new blue jeans were disgusting, no one read books, Sears realized it had no reason to exist. Only Sbarro's pizza, very similar to cockroaches, continued to persist. Also those hot pretzels, which are now $3.25 each, maybe more. The dead spaces that once housed pointless stores became occupied by very expensive pointless stores. These days, only rarely do I ever find myself back at the King of Prussia Mall but I hope that, someday, when it all fails and is swept away like so much construction refuse, something useful will take its place. Like a bank.

[@2Plus2isChicken2013]

I miss when malls were a big deal. Going to the mall during Christmas time with my family is actually something I remember fondly along with looking around in Electronics Boutique or Funcoland back when classic video games didn’t cost $Arm and $Leg. Also, Dillard’s is great for clothing so they better stay around.

[@susanunger2278]

Your beard is back

[@darkdevil399]

Nature is healing. Also, winter is coming.

[@youdontknowme5969]

need ballcap back 🧔🧢

[@CJWJR]

I've never met your Uncle Toby, but it feels as though he were an old friend by now! 😄

[@JoPerry-by3wd]

Sometime, Uncle Toby should make a Skype appearance. 😊

[@davideboos]

I've been to the American Dreams mall a couple of years ago. At the time, I said it was a bit pricey (probably because of NYC) but has potential. It was fun watching people go skiing indoors.

[@jamiesuejeffery]

In the late 1990's, when I was in graduate school, my then wife, while a licensed public school teacher, worked for one of Les Wexner's companies. He has since retired and sold off all of his stores which consisted of stores like Lane Bryant, and Victoria's Secret (and a whole host of others). As an employee in one of the call centers, she earned stock and we got an annual stock report. So being the curious kind of guy I have always been, I read through the report. He predicted the fall of malls and how the company was going to move away from that model. His prediction was correct.

[@d.jensen5153]

Was flying from the Canadian High Arctic to SLC once, and had a layover in Edmonton - just long enough to visit the West Edmonton Mall. I loved Freefall, or whatever they call the ride up north. Rode on it with a businessman from Toronto. That's about all I know about big malls.

[@erakfishfishfish]

It’s something of a miracle that the American Dream mall in New Jersey even exists. Groundbreaking started in 2004, but after an endless string of bankruptcies and rotating ownership, construction was halted and restarted several times. The place finally opened in 2019 after 15 years of construction. Another reason why it’s odd the place even exists at all is it’s located in the Meadowlands*, which isn’t the most convenient location. Considering New Jersey has the highest concentration of shopping malls in any state, there really isn’t much of a reason to go out of the way to go to American Dream when there are several other malls closer to home. *For you non-sports fans and/or non-Americans, it’s the same complex that houses the Meadowlands race track, the stadium where the New York Giants and New York Jets play, and the arena that used to house the New Jersey Devils before they moved to Newark and the New Jersey Nets before they moved to Brooklyn.

[@AddieDirectsTV]

American Dream and the MoA have common ownership groups. MoA is also adding a water park. As for transit… MoA is a popular interchange spot. Several of the BRT lines, as well as the Blue Line LRT, share a station there lol.

[@EVILBUNNY28]

In some other universe there’s an alternate timeline where Sears IS the Amazon of the world. They had the perfect business model. A database of their catalogue with pictures and descriptions, all they had to do was whack it all on a website and then bam. But no. They insisted on in-store and phone catalogue orders only.