Last week’s announcement that a Walmart Super Center would anchor The Shoppes at Latham Circle was a relief to the project’s developers, but it may not be the saving grace they were looking for.
Ever since the old Latham Circle Mall was torn down late last year in favor of The Shoppes project, there had been speculation as to what would be the anchor store for it. Initially it seemed like JC Penney would remain as the anchor, but the company closed its freestanding store shortly after the wrecking ball took down the mall it was attached to. There had been rumors that Whole Foods or Wegmans would establish a store on the circle, but Whole Foods chose to take up part of the Sears location at Colonie Center and Wegmans never materialized.
Enter Walmart. Although it is the exact opposite of a high-end chain store, the Arkansas-based discount department store saw a niche it could fill by establishing a Super Center on the circle – one that includes a supermarket, which had been on the list of possible anchors for The Shoppes, as well as its usual array of clothes and home goods.
There is a catch, though. Walmart will close its nearby Latham Farms store – one that does not have a supermarket or the ability to add a supermarket to its footprint – in order to open its Super Center on the circle. That will create a huge hole for Latham Farms to fill, and one that likely won’t easily be filled by one retail store. Fortunately for Latham Farms, it still has large retailers such as Home Depot and Hannaford to continue to bring customers into its parking lots. The loss of a Wal-Mart won’t be felt as badly at Latham Farms as it might at a smaller strip mall area.
But, what does The Shoppes at Latham Circle gain from making Walmart its anchor? Granted, it’s Walmart. People will go there to buy their groceries, clothing and other goods in droves because they want a bargain. It’s what keeps Walmart thriving in today’s economy.
However, the original concept for The Shoppes was bringing high-end retailers to the circle – something the Latham landmark never had, even when Latham Circle Mall was thriving. Remember Caldor? That was one of the old mall’s anchor stores for years, and its business model more closely resembled Walmart than Lord & Taylor. Basically, this Walmart Super Center will act like Caldor, only with the added feature of a fully stocked supermarket. Definitely not the high-end retailer The Shoppes’ developers were searching for.
However, something big had to go into The Shoppes in order for the development to gain credibility in the business world. A Walmart Super Center won’t likely lead high-end retailers to consider establishing stores there, but it will lead other retailers to do so. In the business world, you go where your prospective customers go, and Walmart will draw customers. Other businesses will take note and fill the remaining available space at The Shoppes, thus giving the developers what they wanted – a thriving shopping area on the Latham Circle.
We may have to accept the possibility that The Shoppes at Latham Circle may never be what we expected when the project was first announced. But if we’re really honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that having a Walmart Super Center there as the anchor store will bring business back to the circle.
