JCPenney to close big outlet

By Karen Talaski / The Detroit News

April 3, 2000

Hole

• AUBURN HILLS -- JCPenney Co. Inc. on Friday will begin going-out-of-business sales at its catalogue outlet store at Great Lakes Crossing, leaving a hole in a prime anchor spot at the Auburn Hills mall.

• The outlet, which sells JCPenney overstock and discontinued merchandise, is one of the mall's largest tenants at 106,000 square feet. JCPenney spokesman Tim Lyons said the store will close around June 1.

• Lyons described the location as a "poor performer" that caught the company's attention during an annual financial review of its store base.

Empty Storefronts• The closure of an anchor store like JCPenney will leave a significant

opening at Great Lakes Crossing, which is owned by Taubman Centers Inc., a Bloomfield Hills-based mall development company.

• Great Lakes Crossing has struggled with empty storefronts since it opened in November 1998, mostly because of turbulence in the retail industry and a general increase in retail chain bankruptcies.

• Most recently, mall operators have been hurt by the soft economy and the after-shocks of last year's terrorist attacks. And 4.5% of Taubman's tenants sought bankruptcy protection in 2001 compared to 2.3% in 2000.

• According to Taubman's annual report, 93% of Great Lakes Crossing's available space was leased as of Dec. 31. By comparison, Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, another Taubman mall, has an occupancy rate of 97%.

• Another anchor tenant failed to show at all. Famed chef Wolfgang Puck was supposed to open his first Michigan cafe at the mall, but financial troubles curtailed his expansion plans.

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