Halls buyer Julie Panborn (Her mother “dated” David Hasselhoff)
Location, location, location…
Make no mistake, the glitzy new Halls on Grand is a splendid proposition. One that would no doubt make Adele Hall – the deceased civic leader and wife of Hallmark chairman Don Hall – quite proud.
“It’s a lot nicer than what was here at Crown Center before and more modern than the Halls Plaza store that closed,” says local marketing exec Ann Thompson. “It’s just so much more open and more modern with clean lines.”
Haven’t been to Crown Center in a while? Take a number.
It may take you a while to find Halls third floor entry- and the garage parking is off-putting – but with new lines like Belstaff, Helmut Lang and Moods of Norway along with high end designers Jimmy Choo, Prada, Gucci and Tom Ford, it’s clear that Halls is swinging for the fences.
Of course high style doesn’t come cheap and you havee to drive to Crown Center.
There are $490 Prada nylon tennis shoes, $525 Joseph silk shirts, $2,700 bomber jackets and a $2,695 Lela Rose black dress.
“I saw a beautiful, layered cashmere sweater that cost $2,600,” Thompson says. “And it’s nice that they have all the high end designer lines – because they’ve got to be different than Nordstrom.”
The early returns have been quite positive, says Halls staffer Paula.
“And we have valet parking in front of the American Restaurant and the hotel.”
All of that said, Halls on Grand faces an uphill climb.
The official marketing tap dance stresses that Halls Plaza was closed because it no longer made sense having two stores 20 blocks apart. And sticking with Crown Center enables Halls to participate in the resurgence of downtown Kansas City.
Don’t believe that for a minute.
There’s no comparison between the calibre and number of upscale shoppers that frequent the Plaza and those that go to Crown Center. And owing to Crown Center’s location, retail mix and parking logistics, it’s unlikely to benefit from the foot traffic – let alone the demographic – of Power & Light and Crossroads.
David Beckham in a Belstaff jacket
The far more likely reason Halls chose Crown Center is that parent company Hallmark essentially owns the real estate, thus it was far less expensive to retain that location rather than choke out exorbitant rent and overhead on the Country Club Plaza.
The $64 million question:
Can the glitz and the relative hipness of the new Halls on Grand overcome logistical concerns that range from a serious lack of foot traffic, parking perplexities and the basic geographic undesirability of Crown Center?
“I would go there if I wanted to get something really nice for an event or a really nice gift for my husband,” Thompson says. “However I’d definitely go to the Plaza more often – and will go to the Plaza more often – because there’s more variety and overall, shopping there is more affordable. But the new Halls is definitely more luxe than anywhere else I’ve shopping in Kansas City.”
The honeymoon is on!
