Von Maur in Grand Rapids, Mich: What This Means for National and Local Retailers

Even in this volatile economic market, fashion department store Von Maur is growing across the midwest. Just this fall they opened in Dayton, Ohio, and Kansas City, Kansas. As The Kansas City Star put it, “Consumers are cutting back. So retailers are, too … Then there’s Von Maur."

This is good news for Grand Rapids. The addition of a great store like Von Maur to the Village of Orchard Hills will help attract other great national and local tenants to join the project. This will spur much needed economic activity in the region.

Here’s a quick bit of Internet research to demonstrate this fact:

Von Maur opened a new store on September 13th, 2008 at The Greene, a lifestyle center in Dayton, Ohio developed in 2005 by Steiner and Associates.



In an August 18th article in the Dayton Business Journal, Steiner president Barry Rosenberg argued that the store will give the project a strong fashion anchor and make the project more attractive to other potential local and national tenants. Rosenberg said, “It’s kind of a stamp of approval.”

As Von Maur’s president, Jim Von Maur, told the Business Journal, “We compete with Nordstrom’s. We compete with Macy’s. So it works.”

True enough! As reported in the Dayton Business Journal's September 19th follow-up, the Von Maur opening made a big impression on other retailers. Here’s a clip from that piece:

“Beau Arnason, executive vice president with Steiner and Associates said nearly a dozen (local and national) retail stores will be opening before Christmas, bringing the center to more than 80 retail tenants …

These new tenants (including Forever XXI, Fossil, Espressionne, DorAnne’s Gifts and Gourmet, and JennaClaire Handbag Studio) come on the heels of Von Maur opening at The Greene this month. As the lifestyle center’s only true anchor, Von Maur brings a new level of shopping to The Greene. The new tenants are hoping to build off of the buzz Von Maur has been receiving.”

We think that Van Maur will enhance our leasing program at the Village of Orchard Hills in Grand Rapids like it did for the Greene in Dayton.

Stay tuned!