Bon-Ton, which opened Elder Beerman in 1977 as one of the mall’s three original anchor stores, will not renew the 3-year-lease. The closing will affect approximately 65 employees at the location, which will remain open until the end of its lease Jan. 31.
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
“Closing this store was a difficult decision,” Kathryn Bufano, president and chief executive officer for The Bon-Ton Stores Inc., said in a release. “We would like to thank the loyal customers who have shopped with Elder-Beerman over the years, as well as our devoted store associates for their dedication and friendly customer service to this community.”
Retail expert Howard Davidowitz wasn’t surprised to hear of Bon-Ton’s decision.
“That business is a very questionable business going forward,” said Davidowitz, chairman for Davidowitz & Associates Inc., a national retail consultant and investment banking firm headquartered in New York City. “Bon-Ton loses money. They’re a company based in middle markets. Will Bon-Ton survive five, six years from now? I wouldn’t bet on it. That’s a tough bet. They’re not making money. They owe a lot, got big debt. They were in bankruptcy before.”
But Elder-Beerman closing at Towne Mall Galleria is not all Bon-Ton’s doing, he said.
“Middle level malls are in trouble in America. Lots of them are going to close,” Davidowitz said, citing recent news of Sears, Macy’s and JC Penney closing hundreds of stores on an annual basis and expanding through discount divisions and online sales instead.
Towne Mall Galleria has been making slow, but steady, progress in renewing itself since being purchased in 2012 by California investment group SA Mary Ohio LLC. Although several mall tenants called it quits waiting for a turnaroundBurlington opened in March 2015 after signing a nearly 11-year lease, followed by discount retailer Gabe's in October 2015 with an 11-year lease and Planet Fitness in January with a 20-year lease.
“That tells you that people are committed to this location,” George Ragheb, vice president of Towne Mall Galleria LLC.
Buffalo Wild Wings and Aspen Dental opened in October in newly constructed buildings on the outskirts of the mall property.
Ragheb said he is “not the least bit worried” about filling the Elder-Beerman space.
“We have an excellent broker … and (they) are working to bring us tenants to replace that box, and we feel very strongly that with the tenant mix that we’re talking to right now, we should be able shortly to announce that we will have replacement tenants and fill that space,” Ragheb said. “We were successful in filling the Dillard’s box with Gabe and Burlington, and we feel very strong that we will be very successful in filling up that box, as well.”
Ragheb said he could not disclose when Bon-Ton informed him that they did not plan to renew that lease.
The affected associates in the Towne Mall Elder-Beerman location will be offered the opportunity to interview for available positions at stores in the area or receive career transition benefits, including severance, according to established practices and state employment service support.
The retailer’s departure is actually better for Towne Mall Galleria, Ragheb said.
“Remember, I inherited Elder-Beerman. I did not recruit them,” he said. “I owned this mall when it was empty. We recruited three large tenants, we can do it again.”
The mall is interested in “strong national tenants,” Ragheb said.
“This is at the city entrance,” he said. “The location is very good. We don’t need to throw the space away.”
He said he is optimistic because of the apartments being built in the area, as well as AK Steel’s Research & Innovation Center just off I-75 and expansion efforts at Atrium Medical Center.
“This is the best time that I get to inherit the box back to fill it up,” he said.
Middletown Mayor Larry Mulligan said he was disappointed to hear of the store’s closing, but “not totally surprised” given the trends in retail and that the retailer closed its Hamilton location several years ago.
“Big box and large retail chains have difficulty in today’s marketplace with online and specialty retailers,” Mulligan said. “With close access to regional malls in a number of directions, Middletonians have several choices.”
Mulligan said the mall’s owners are successful in attracting new uses for the space at the mall and will continue to work to promote the area.
“The city has partnered with Buxton to target various retail companies that fit our profile,” he said. “That effort should help in attracting new stores to Middletown.”
Rick Pearce, president and CEO of the Chamber Serving Middletown, Monroe & Trenton, said Elder-Beerman will be missed, but its closing will give the mall’s owner an opportunity to do something different with the space and possibly recruit a new business or businesses to serve the needs of the area.
Bon-Ton operates 267 department stores in 26 states in the Midwest, Northeast and upper Great Plains. Besides Elder-Beerman, its brands include Boston Store, Younkers, Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Carson’s and Herberger’s. In October, it announced the January 2017 closings of an Elder-Beerman in Hamden, Conn., and a Bergner’s in Machesney Park, Ill.
Other Elder-Beerman locations exist at the Dayton Mall or Kettering Towne Center or The Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek.
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