Holiday Retail Outlook Rosy
LOVELAND, CO – November 21, 2007 – Retailers at Loveland’s Centerra community are having a banner year and, despite predictions of a slow 2007 holiday retail season, are expecting ringing cash registers throughout the holiday season. The Marketplace at Centerra and The Promenade Shops at Centerra as well as neighboring Outlets at Loveland merchants are eagerly awaiting the traditional “Day After Thanksgiving” start to the holiday retail selling season and are expecting heavy traffic and significant sales increases.
One reason for this success is the combination of the Centerra area’s retail offerings creates a regional shopping destination. More than 30% of the retail sales at Centerra can be attributed to influx shopping. “Centerra offers a very strong regional hub and we see enormous traffic from out of the market,” comments Ted Avila, Manager, JoAnn Fabric & Crafts – which is located at The Marketplace at Centerra. “We have had a banner year, are already off to a fast start with our holiday merchandise, and are pumped to have an awesome season.” Loveland and all of Northern Colorado benefit from these visitors who come from as far away as Wyoming, South Dakota, and Kansas.
Rob Tittle, Manager at Barnes & Noble at The Promenade Shops at Centerra comments, “All of our stores in the Northern Colorado region are doing great. The book business has had strong stable releases this year and isn’t subject to weather conditions to help move sweaters off the shelf. Our traffic patterns are up and we’re expecting a great holiday season.”
One of Centerra’s newest retailers, Maurices, has also seen the benefit of having a cluster of retail offerings at the I-25/Highway 34 interchange. “This is our first store in Loveland,” comments Dawn Spencer, a store manager at Maurices. “We have established many loyal customers, particularly from Wyoming, who visit us regularly at this location. Already we are performing significantly better than our projected sales since we opened in late July. We are expecting a huge weekend and an excellent holiday season.”
Retailers also attribute the success to the “Centerra experience.” JoAnn Fabric & Crafts’ Avila cites how everyone at Centerra works hard for mutual success. Avila describes a sense of camaraderie between retailers, noting the team at a neighboring store who came in at 5 a.m. to merchandise. “We truly hope that all of our partner businesses at Centerra are having the same success we are,” says Avila.
The attitude that “together we all succeed” gives retailers an edge, comments Wendy Ellis, Vice President of Marketing, McWHINNEY. “That sense of team work and ownership in the entire shopping center shows to consumers. We work as a community to offer a great experience Centerra-wide, and visitors regularly comment to us that the Centerra experience makes a difference.”
The retailers recognize the value of experience, too. “I am extremely excited about how our store is doing as well as the center as a whole,” comments Angela Englehaupt, Manager, The Buckle. “The fact that The Promenade Shops at Centerra offers a positive experience for the entire family is a plus, and we’ve experienced strong growth this year and expect to end the year with a very positive result.”
The Promenade Shops at Centerra is a unique, outdoor shopping and dining environment found nowhere else in Northern Colorado. “We offer a more pleasurable experience for the holidays,” said Don Foster, General Manager of The Promenade Shops. “We combine an incredible mix of tenants with the convenience of store front parking to create an experience completely unlike typical mall mob scenes.”
Jared – The Galleria of Jewelry manager Mary Jo Taylor agrees, “The Centerra location has produced one of our best store openings ever – we are setting records. What we sell is about love, and the experience our staff provides has made the Centerra location among the top performing in the nation.” Jared recently celebrated their one-year anniversary at Centerra.
The Outlets at Loveland is expecting “one of the best holiday seasons in a long time,” says Peggy Ziglin, Regional Director of Public Relations & Tourism, Craig Realty Group. So much so that the center plans to open at midnight on Black Friday and remain open until 8 p.m., offering special discounts and give-aways to early bird shoppers. “We would not be hosting this kind of promotion, and our retailers would not be committing to these extended hours, if we were not expecting a great Thanksgiving weekend and a great season,” comments Ziglin. “Our new stores are performing very well and we are looking forward to announcing some new additions after the first of the year.”
The retailers and shopping centers at Centerra will all be offering extended hours during the holiday season as well as a host of holiday experiences throughout the season such as free horse drawn carriage rides at The Promenade Shops at Centerra on Sundays in December, trolling carolers throughout the season, special holiday discounts and promotions at the Outlets of Loveland and numerous in-store events, specials, and activities at The Marketplace at Centerra.
In addition, Centerra will be holding its first Holiday Jubilee on December 8th and 9th at the Chapungu Sculpture Park. Complete details about all holiday events and activities at Centerra can be found at www.centerra.com, www.outletsatloveland.com, and www.promenadeshopsatcenterra.com.
“All in all, we are expecting a very successful holiday season at Centerra and in Loveland,” comments Phil Hodgkinson, Vice President of Property Management, McWHINNEY. “Retailers at Centerra continue to shine, and we are happy to see them and the retailers at neighboring Outlets of Loveland thriving. Together we all create a shopping destination second to none in Northern Colorado.”
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About Centerra
Centerra, an award-winning 3,000-acre master-planned community located in Loveland, Colorado, is a McWHINNEY development. Centerra offers Northern Colorado’s first lifestyle center; The Promenade Shops at Centerra, in joint venture with Poag & McEwen Lifestyle Centers. It also is home to Medical Center of The Rockies, a state-of-the-art 136 bed cardiac and trauma specialty hospital that will open in February 2007 as one of only two LEED certified hospitals in the nation, and The Marketplace at Centerra, Northern Colorado’s largest contiguous power shopping center. Centerra, which was recognized by the National Association of Industrial & Office Properties (NAIOP) as the Colorado Chapter’s Development of the Year, embodies the company’s purpose of creating great places for people. For additional information visit www.mcwhinney.com or www.centerra.com.
