Gaffney outlet mall struggles under changing habits

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It’s 4 p.m. on a balmy Wednesday and a family of eight strolls along the storefronts of Gaffney Outlet Marketplace — fondly known as the Yellow Mall by residents — stopping under the pink sign of Justice that the girls of the group had pointed to a few minutes earlier.

The store’s empty magenta interior stares back with a scrawled “permanently closed” sign taped to the front door, and after some debate, the posse snatched toddler hands and moved on past at least four empty storefronts, some with rice paper boarding the windows and tall weeds poking up along the sidewalk.

The most recent fatalities didn’t even have a sign to signal their swift departure. Others held a scattered exhibit of empty clothes racks that fenced in a herd of naked mannequins. And with the Gaffney Outlet Marketplace gutted of almost one-third of its retail tenants — and all but two of its food court venues — Justice joins the ranks of bygones Ann Taylor, Wilsons Leather, New York and Co., Loft, Banana Republic, Dress Barn, Vitamin World and Kitchen Collection, among others, as national retail conglomerates file for bankruptcy, close underperforming stores or make the jump to online sales only.

“It’s been slow,” said Bobby Nagpal, owner of This and That, which moved into the mall about three years ago after national name brands first began to peel away from the development. “All of the shops have moved on. Not because of here, but because they have gone out of business everywhere, you know what I mean? They had to go out, because everyone is shopping online.”

And with a significant portion of Cherokee County’s sales tax revenue stemming from what County Administrator Steve Bratton calls a major economic development engine, concerns about the Simon Property development’s future may seem more critical than ever.

However, despite the almost two-month closure of the mall and nearby shopping magnets like Hamrick’s this spring, Cherokee County’s sales tax income has increased year-over-year from January to July, according to Bratton. Not accounting for sales tax revenue directed to the city of Gaffney or the school district, last year’s January to July income was roughly $67,000 less than this year’s $2.3 million total. 

He credits the bolstered sales of retail giants Walmart and Lowe’s and grocery stores for the spike in revenue — some of the few national stores deemed essential early during the pandemic — and the purchasing power granted by stimulus checks. Bratton also noted that while some outlet stores had petered out before the pandemic, others vacated the space en masse when parent companies like Ascena Retail Group, the umbrella for Ann Taylor, Loft, New York & Co. and Justice, filed for bankruptcy protection this summer.

Around the Yellow Mall, business owners and employees alike could only speculate on the future after its month and a half closure this spring. Most outlet representatives were unable to comment due to company policies, but others feared that the property would be sold off by the end of the year, some voicing a rumor that Amazon would be the next occupant. Still others hoped that Simon Group Properties would at least restore a wooden awning that had been removed about three years ago due to structural damage, according to a number of mall employees.

An absent awning had brought sun damage to storefronts and scared off customers that could, when the awning was still there, shop in the rain and heat.

And with a restored awning comes restored confidence that the Yellow Mall would still be the Yellow Mall by the end of the year.

Bratton said that, so far, there’s nothing to the rumors that the mall will be transformed into an Amazon distribution center, even though Simon has considered transitioning some properties in the Northeast to e-commerce hubs.

“We’re in constant contact with the Simon Group regarding that facility, because it has been here some 17, 20 years,” Bratton said. We’re talking to them all the time. We’re trying to make sure that that facility remains viable … we have some concerns, of course. Everybody would with a facility like that, but we’re keeping in touch with those folks.”

The Simon Property Group did not respond to GSA Business Report when asked for comment.

Still, with the fall of some retail giants even before the pandemic, local retailers have taken the opportunity to rise above the undergrowth.

According to Cherokee County Chamber Executive Director Frannie Stockwell, while all small businesses were impacted during the pandemic, most closures came from the financial woes of national chains, such as Gaffney’s local Olive Garden. Only four chamber investors, all national companies, have closed for good.

And after space at the mall opened up before 2020, several local companies moved in and remain optimistic that even as outlet sales move online, customers will still choose to visit a custom tailor or a personalized embroiderer in person.

Nagpal pointed to his wife who was preparing to hem a pair of dress pants in the back of the store, adding that she could make the alteration in less than an hour after consulting with a customer, something no online retailer could do.

“It hasn’t affected my business that bad,” he said. “It does, but not that bad.”