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Biggest Malls Rebound, Combine for Slight Sales Gain

Download the 2010 OC’s LLARGEST SHOPPING CENTERS List (pdf)

Orange County’s 25 largest shopping centers are bouncing back from the nation’s most severe postwar recession.

Taxable sales for the centers were up 1% to $6.1 billion for the 12 months through June, according to this week’s Business Journal list.

A year ago the centers on our list saw sales shrink 7%.

This time around, for the 15 centers with data availalbe five saw higher sales compared to a year earlier. Nine saw declines and one was flat.

Figures for most come from center operators or sales tax figures from cities.

Entries for 10 centers are Business Journal estimates.

A recovering economy and strong performance by several large malls helped eke out the slight sales increase.

Local malls appear to be continuing gains for the holiday season, with reports of strong sales on Black Friday. Those sales are set to be reflected on next year’s list.

South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa tops our list again this year as it has for years. Its sales were up 5.5% to $1.2 billion.

The center’s sales have been increasing for a year now, according to Debra Gunn Downing, executive director of marketing at South Coast Plaza. It expects to close out the year up by double digits, she said.

“People are opening their wallets a little bit more,” Gunn Downing said.

Jewelry has been a strong seller all year, she said. Electronics and clothing also are up.

Some of the stores that opened at South Coast Plaza in the past year: Intimacy bra boutique, Free People, Herve Leger, Prada and Teavana, a tea and accessory store.

No. 2 Fashion Island in Newport Beach saw an estimated 2% rise to $647 million in sales for the 12 months through June.

Irvine Company, which owns Fashion Island and other centers on the list, spent $100 million in 2009 remodeling store fronts and adding landscaping, signs and lighting, among other improvements.

Stores that opened at Fashion Island in the past year: Nordstrom, Michael Stars, a women’s sportswear boutique, and jeans stores True Religion and 7 For All Mankind.

Other Irvine Co. properties on the list include No. 4 The Market Place in Tustin and Irvine, No. 5 Irvine Spectrum Center, No. 23 Irvine Home Center and No. 24 Crossroads/ Westpark in Irvine.

Sales were flat at those malls.

No. 3 Brea Mall saw the second largest percentage increase in sales, up 7.7% to $501 million. Recent store openings included Urban Outfitters, the Loving Hut vegan restaurant, cosmetics retailer L’Occitane and women’s clothing stores Chloe and O.C. Designs.

The Block at Orange, No. 14 on the list, saw the biggest percentage increase in sales. The mall, which is planning a name change, boosted sales 8.6% to $142 million.

With many outlet and discount stores, the mall was well positioned for the retail downturn.

In 2009, shoppers cut back on nonessential spending and were more focused on bargains.

The Block at Orange increased its standing as a bargain center last year by adding H&M, a lower-priced fashion retailer.

The Block, owned by Indianapolis-based Simon Properties Group, will continue to bolster its stock of off-price and outlet retailers when Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. opens a 35,000-square-foot Nordstrom Rack there in 2012.

Simon’s other malls on our list include Brea Mall, No. 6 The Shops at Mission Viejo and No. 17 Laguna Hills Mall.

The biggest decliner was No. 10 Brea Union Plaza, which saw sales shrink 12% to $184 million.

Other decliners: No. 25 Fullerton Metrocenter, down 8% to $60 million; No. 9 Westminster Mall, off 7% to $270 million; No. 22 Mission Viejo Freeway Center, down 3% to $95 million; No. 11 The Village at Orange, down 3% to $177 million; No. 12 Metro Pointe at South Coast in Costa Mesa, down 3% to $172 million; The Shops at Mission Viejo, down 2% to $301 million; and No. 21 Anaheim Hills Festival, down 2% to $119 million.

No. 13 Buena Park Downtown, a big decliner last year, rebounded with a 2.5% gain to $155 million.

The mall has been filling up its empty spaces. It went from 83 tenants to 105 through June. John’s Incredible Pizza, a family entertainment center and buffet, has helped get the mall back on track. The mall’s Walmart store also has been a draw in the downturn.

The improved overall picture on sales has helped mall leasing in OC. Leasing began to pick up in the second half of 2009 and has continued into 2010, according retailers and real estate professionals.

Some malls, including The Shops at Mission Viejo, are full.

Download the 2010 OC’s LLARGEST SHOPPING CENTERS List (pdf)

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