Recovering Roseville Galleria counts down to Black Friday
Just hours after fire crews extinguished flames that damaged a broad swath of Westfield Galleria at Roseville mall on Oct. 21, people started counting the days until the Black Friday kickoff of the holiday shopping season.
They included the mall's owner, individual store operators, Roseville city officials, disaster recovery workers and area consumers.
With the clock counting down to this Friday, it's clear the arson blaze has shifted the dynamic of the area's multimillion-dollar holiday shopping season, altering the plans of perhaps thousands of consumers. Beneficiaries include Arden Fair mall in Sacramento and Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights.
And yet, judging from anecdotal accounts and claims by mall owner Westfield Corp., the Galleria and neighboring shopping/dining areas are benefiting from shoppers who feel compelled to support Roseville merchants during a trying time.
Stephanie Smith of Roseville was one of those determined to "shop local" as she strolled through the Galleria last week.
"I'm shopping here, at Fountains (at Roseville) or Creekside (Town Center) this Christmas, and that's it," Smith said, referring to the two shopping complexes bordering Galleria. "I feel like I should support the community.
"… This is where I live. I'd hope the community would help me if something bad happened to me."
Numerous Galleria shoppers expressed similar sentiments.
Even so, it was easy to find Galleria regulars during multiple visits to Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights and Arden Fair in Sacramento last week.
In the aftermath of the Galleria fire, Sunrise Mall reported a 25 percent spike in traffic. At Arden Fair, parking lots have been jammed with shoppers from late morning to closing time.
"I'll go back to Galleria before Christmas, but I'm trying to get most of my Christmas shopping done before Dec. 1," said Rose Ross of Carmichael. "I feel terrible about Galleria, but I don't feel I can wait, and I don't want to fight the crowds when the (Galleria) stores open later on."
At Arden Fair, Sacramentan Marybeth Brown said she was doing holiday shopping normally done at Galleria.
"I've driven out (to Galleria) ever since they opened their doors for the first time, but I've come back (to Arden Fair) now, because the stores here have a lot of the things on my family Christmas list," Brown said. "… No offense to Galleria. I'll go back when they're back to full speed, but I just need to get things done now, and (Arden Fair) has it now."
Some shoppers at Sunrise and Arden said they were not sure how many Galleria stores had reopened or what the timetable might be for them to reopen. Others worried about getting in the way of cleanup workers at Galleria, although the areas undergoing restoration are blocked off by barriers and massive sheets of plastic.
Peter Schaub, a New York-based marketing and branding expert, said the Galleria fire probably shifted shopping patterns for a relatively short time. He said it's likely that Galleria will reclaim temporary defectors over time.
"The components of mall shopping involve price, store mix and convenience," he said. "(Galleria) lost convenience through a fire that was no fault of its own, and just before the holiday rush. … If it gets things cleaned up and stores looking fresh again, I bet it gets its edge back."
Westfield Corp. officials privately insist that reports of mass consumer movements to Sunrise Mall, Arden Fair and other area shopping complexes have been exaggerated.
They point out that it was only natural for shoppers to journey to other malls in the days after the Oct. 21 fire. But since about 40 stores reopened at Galleria on Oct. 28, Westfield says its numbers have been impressive.
Through a public relations representative, Westfield said last week that "traffic at the mall since the reopening has actually increased when compared to this time last year."
Officials with Sunrise Mall and Arden Fair agreed it's virtually impossible to determine the amount of Galleria traffic they've received. They said early holiday shopping crowds appear to be up this year, a trend verified by the National Retail Federation.
Westfield declined to speculate on the cost of damages and lost revenue as a result of the Galleria fire. They said most of their energies are now centered on Black Friday and the shopping blitz leading up to Christmas Day.
Individual store operators said the same thing.
"The good news is that we are back open for the real height of the holidays," said Tim Lyons, a spokesman for J.C. Penney, which reopened its Galleria store two days ago.
Westfield said about 90 of the Galleria's 200 stores – including retail shops, restaurants and kiosk vendors – were open as of Friday. But stores still closed comprised a host of retailing firepower, including Sears, American Eagle, Bath & Body Works, J. Crew and many more.
It's expected that 30 to 40 more stores will be open by Friday, but a mall spokesman didn't want to speculate on exactly which ones.
Cleanup crews flown in from across the nation by disaster recovery firm Belfor Property Restoration said that estimate dovetails with its expectations.
The area of the fire's origin, however, will remain off limits to Galleria shoppers. Estimates for reopening of those stores vary widely, from a few months to nearly a year.
Many shoppers at Galleria last week said the barriers blocking the most severely damaged area did not diminish their shopping experience.
Some near the barriers said they could still smell smoke. Others in far corners of the mall said they couldn't tell there had been a fire.
Roseville city officials said they are pleased with Galleria's recovery to date, and the support of local shoppers.
"The community has rallied," said city of Roseville spokeswoman Megan MacPherson. She said the rebirth goes beyond shopping: "There's a great community spirit. It means more than some people might understand. A lot of special things happen in (Galleria).
"People walking through the mall getting exercise, moms getting together to push their strollers, kids being let loose in a pretty safe environment. I think that's where a lot of the community spirit is coming from."
They included the mall's owner, individual store operators, Roseville city officials, disaster recovery workers and area consumers.
With the clock counting down to this Friday, it's clear the arson blaze has shifted the dynamic of the area's multimillion-dollar holiday shopping season, altering the plans of perhaps thousands of consumers. Beneficiaries include Arden Fair mall in Sacramento and Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights.
And yet, judging from anecdotal accounts and claims by mall owner Westfield Corp., the Galleria and neighboring shopping/dining areas are benefiting from shoppers who feel compelled to support Roseville merchants during a trying time.
Stephanie Smith of Roseville was one of those determined to "shop local" as she strolled through the Galleria last week.
"I'm shopping here, at Fountains (at Roseville) or Creekside (Town Center) this Christmas, and that's it," Smith said, referring to the two shopping complexes bordering Galleria. "I feel like I should support the community.
"… This is where I live. I'd hope the community would help me if something bad happened to me."
Numerous Galleria shoppers expressed similar sentiments.
Even so, it was easy to find Galleria regulars during multiple visits to Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights and Arden Fair in Sacramento last week.
In the aftermath of the Galleria fire, Sunrise Mall reported a 25 percent spike in traffic. At Arden Fair, parking lots have been jammed with shoppers from late morning to closing time.
"I'll go back to Galleria before Christmas, but I'm trying to get most of my Christmas shopping done before Dec. 1," said Rose Ross of Carmichael. "I feel terrible about Galleria, but I don't feel I can wait, and I don't want to fight the crowds when the (Galleria) stores open later on."
At Arden Fair, Sacramentan Marybeth Brown said she was doing holiday shopping normally done at Galleria.
"I've driven out (to Galleria) ever since they opened their doors for the first time, but I've come back (to Arden Fair) now, because the stores here have a lot of the things on my family Christmas list," Brown said. "… No offense to Galleria. I'll go back when they're back to full speed, but I just need to get things done now, and (Arden Fair) has it now."
Some shoppers at Sunrise and Arden said they were not sure how many Galleria stores had reopened or what the timetable might be for them to reopen. Others worried about getting in the way of cleanup workers at Galleria, although the areas undergoing restoration are blocked off by barriers and massive sheets of plastic.
Peter Schaub, a New York-based marketing and branding expert, said the Galleria fire probably shifted shopping patterns for a relatively short time. He said it's likely that Galleria will reclaim temporary defectors over time.
"The components of mall shopping involve price, store mix and convenience," he said. "(Galleria) lost convenience through a fire that was no fault of its own, and just before the holiday rush. … If it gets things cleaned up and stores looking fresh again, I bet it gets its edge back."
Westfield Corp. officials privately insist that reports of mass consumer movements to Sunrise Mall, Arden Fair and other area shopping complexes have been exaggerated.
They point out that it was only natural for shoppers to journey to other malls in the days after the Oct. 21 fire. But since about 40 stores reopened at Galleria on Oct. 28, Westfield says its numbers have been impressive.
Through a public relations representative, Westfield said last week that "traffic at the mall since the reopening has actually increased when compared to this time last year."
Officials with Sunrise Mall and Arden Fair agreed it's virtually impossible to determine the amount of Galleria traffic they've received. They said early holiday shopping crowds appear to be up this year, a trend verified by the National Retail Federation.
Westfield declined to speculate on the cost of damages and lost revenue as a result of the Galleria fire. They said most of their energies are now centered on Black Friday and the shopping blitz leading up to Christmas Day.
Individual store operators said the same thing.
"The good news is that we are back open for the real height of the holidays," said Tim Lyons, a spokesman for J.C. Penney, which reopened its Galleria store two days ago.
Westfield said about 90 of the Galleria's 200 stores – including retail shops, restaurants and kiosk vendors – were open as of Friday. But stores still closed comprised a host of retailing firepower, including Sears, American Eagle, Bath & Body Works, J. Crew and many more.
It's expected that 30 to 40 more stores will be open by Friday, but a mall spokesman didn't want to speculate on exactly which ones.
Cleanup crews flown in from across the nation by disaster recovery firm Belfor Property Restoration said that estimate dovetails with its expectations.
The area of the fire's origin, however, will remain off limits to Galleria shoppers. Estimates for reopening of those stores vary widely, from a few months to nearly a year.
Many shoppers at Galleria last week said the barriers blocking the most severely damaged area did not diminish their shopping experience.
Some near the barriers said they could still smell smoke. Others in far corners of the mall said they couldn't tell there had been a fire.
Roseville city officials said they are pleased with Galleria's recovery to date, and the support of local shoppers.
"The community has rallied," said city of Roseville spokeswoman Megan MacPherson. She said the rebirth goes beyond shopping: "There's a great community spirit. It means more than some people might understand. A lot of special things happen in (Galleria).
"People walking through the mall getting exercise, moms getting together to push their strollers, kids being let loose in a pretty safe environment. I think that's where a lot of the community spirit is coming from."
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