One of the few remaining original tenants of Crossgates Mall is leaving the shopping center after finding success a few miles away along another major shopping corridor in Colonie.
Hannoush Jewelers, on Saturday, Dec. 28, closed its original store in Crossgates after operating there since 1984 when the destination shopping center opened in Guilderland. The closing comes on the heels of the company opening its first freestanding store on Wolf Road in 2012. The 6,500-square-foot store in Colonie generated more sales during its first nine months than any of its other stores did in a year. Leaving Crossgates will save the business $20,000 a month in lease costs.
Brothers David and Albert Hannoush are co-owners of the family business founded by their father, Elias. David, 37, said he remembers working at his company’s Crossgates store with his brother, who is a year older than him, as a child.
“When I was 7 years old I was there polishing jewelry,” David Hannoush said. “We were young, but we were there cleaning glass.”
Hannoush said the business ended up competing with itself between Crossgates and Wolf Road. Their lease was also ending in May. The Pyramid Companies, the Syracuse-based company that owns Crossgates, agreed to break the lease early to make way for a “clothing realtor” to set up shop, according to Hannoush.
Even if the business stayed, he said it would have had to move locations and build a new store.
“The mall has been great to us and we had a lot of success there, but we have found tremendous success on Wolf Road,” Hannoush said. “My brother and I have been wanting to try something freestanding for a long time, but we knew location was going to be extremely important to success of the store. Wolf Road for so many reasons is the hub for the Capital District … you have to be at Wolf Road at some point or another.”
Hannoush said when opening its Colonie store, he and his brother had not thought about what would happen to its mall store. He admittedly said the new store took off “a lot quicker” than anticipated.
The retail world is very different from when Hannoush Jewelers opened in Crossgates, which at the time was one of the few major shopping centers for the area. Along with more competition from brick and mortar stores, businesses now face online competition offering more convenience.
“Competition has changed and margins are not what they used to be,” he said. “There is a misconception that jewelers make a ton of profit, but you can’t make a ton of profit and be competitive.”
Hannoush said Crossgates “has made great strides” attracting customers, but the reduced hours required at the new store allows him to spend more time with his family.
The business also closed its Colonie Center location five months after opening on Wolf Road. It also has another store located in Village Plaza in Clifton Park, which it plans to expand this year to capture projected growth from GlobalFoundries and other technology companies coming in.
“To be in a position to close a profitable store and walk away without looking back is a sign of confidence that we are growing and moving forward,” he said.
Hannoush Jewelers employs 29 across its two locations. Four of the eight employees who worked at Crossgates were reassigned to the Colonie and Clifton Park stores. Three of the four remaining employees were part-time, and one retired.
He said owning his own business with his brother allows him more flexibility than working for someone else.
“There are a lot of benefits working with family. I don’t think there is anyone I can trust more than my brother,” he said.