Like many spots in America, several retailers in Grant County have decided to lock the doors following what is being described as one of the worst holiday retail seasons in years.
While Five Points Mall lost anchor tenant Steve & Barry's partway through the shopping season, four smaller retailers are following suit in close succession: Piercing Pagoda, which closed immediately after Christmas; Osterman Jewelers, which had its final day of business in Marion on Saturday; Fashion Bug Plus, which is scheduled to close Jan. 24; and Underground Attitude, which will go out of business Jan. 27.
In addition, south-side retailer Goody's has announced that it is liquidating all of its locations nationally, including the Marion store at 3164 S. Western Ave.
"This is a nationwide trend," Tim Eckerle of the Grant County Economic Growth Council pointed out.
At the mall, 1129 N. Baldwin Ave., Osterman Jewelers manager Paula Miller said the business has closed in Marion, though she said she could not talk about specific reasons.
A call to a company spokesman was not returned.
An employee of Fashion Bug Plus on Monday confirmed the closing date but said employees were not authorized to discuss the matter further. Messages left for the store's district manager were not returned. Officials for Goody's locally and nationally did not return calls.
At Underground Attitude, assistant manager Randee Evans said the store is closing because of the parent company's decision to focus on its line of shoes and to eliminate its clothing retail business.
A call to the company's headquarters was not returned.
Jim McDowell, general manager at the mall, said in the case of stores like Piercing Pagoda, Underground Attitude and Osterman Jewelers, their leases expired and they simply decided not to continue.
He said he was also sorry to see Fashion Bug leaving the mall.
"Even though their sales are good, they have issues at their corporate level that we can't control," McDowell said.
McDowell admits that the economy will make it tough to fill the recently vacated spaces with new commercial tenants. But he thinks Five Points Mall is better situated to attract new retailers than other malls.
He cited the recent mall renovations, relatively low rent costs and a number of retailers who've been in the mall for a long time as attractive factors for retailers to consider.
"I think we're far better off in Marion, Indiana, than in large-city malls," he said. "We'll probably get some new tenants this year."
Replacing the fourth anchor store, which at 90,000 square feet is the largest retail space in Five Points Mall, will be a big task, McDowell said. He said he can envision another department store, an entertainment center or other possibilities for the former Steve & Barry's.
"It could really be anything," he said.
Eckerle said he hopes that retailers recognize that this is not automatically a bad time to invest in new stores.
"The economy always presents opportunities," he said. "One person's challenge is another person's opportunity."
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