Burlington Coat Factory to close at Uniontown Mall
Mike Tony/For the Observer-Reporter
The Burlington Coat Factory at Uniontown Mall is slated to close next month, making it the third anchor store at the mall to shutter in the past two years.
Mike Tony/For the Observer-Reporter
Mike Tony/For the Observer-Reporter
The Burlington Coat Factory at Uniontown Mall is slated to close next month after having been open for business at the mall for approximately a decade. Pictured is a sign that was on display inside the store Friday.
Another anchor store is preparing to close at Uniontown Mall.
Burlington Coat Factory is slated to close Jan. 18 and thus become the third anchor store at the mall to close since the start of last year.
Uniontown Mall General Manager Pam Moore said Burlington’s corporate office notified mall management that it would not be exercising its option to extend its lease, which she said expires in January.
Burlington Coat Factory opened at Uniontown Mall at the site of the former Value City following the latter’s closure at the end of 2007.
The mall’s Bon-Ton store closed this summer due to liquidation, and its Sears location closed early last year. The mall’s JCPenney, the closest anchor store in proximity to Burlington, remains in business.
Uniontown Mall has not been spared as traditional retailers continue to shutter nationwide as consumers turn to shopping online, at supercenters or at discount department stores.
“If (tenant) sales are not as projected, if they are downsizing or if they are just going out of business, those are issues totally beyond our control,” Moore said. “Many of our store closings can be directly attributed to the actual sales not meeting projections, which could be due to their marketing strategies or merchandise mix.”
From 2001 to 2016, electronic shopping establishments increased 460 percent, discount department stores climbed 64 percent and warehouse clubs and supercenters rose 34 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
But although the number of electronic shopping establishments in 2016 exceeded the number of department stores, warehouse clubs and supercenters, employment in electronic shopping remained less than employment in those other retail industries.
And amid this long-term electronic shopping boom, furniture stores, electronics and appliance stores, home furnishing stores, jewelry, luggage and leather goods stores, office supplies, stationery and gift stores, florists, bookstores and news dealers have plummeted, each enduring a drop of at least 19 percent or more in establishments from 2001 to 2017, per BLS data.
Additionally, the mall’s Payless ShoeSource is slated to close in February.
Uniontown Mall was sold by Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) in 2015 to Namdar Realty Group, a New York state-based real estate investment firm, for $23 million. Laurel Highlands School District and South Union Township representatives earlier this year noted financial hits for each taxing body – more so for the school district – coming from a mall tax assessment appeal settlement.
Attracting new tenants continues to be a challenge, Moore said.
“It is not that easy to convince a national tenant to locate into a market when the demographics do not make sense for them,” Moore said. “I am asked on a regular basis why the mall doesn’t have a particular tenant. There have been numerous tenants approached for this market, and not necessarily just for the Uniontown Mall. If the market isn’t the right fit, nothing will induce them to locate here.”
Moore posited the notion mall rents are too high was probably true back when mall space was in major demand and developers had prospective tenants standing in line for those spaces.
“We all know the reality today is that is not the case and mall rents have become very reasonable, especially to local entrepreneurs,” Moore said.
Moore noted that the mall continues to work with local organizations to support community events, including with the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce on Fireworks over Fayette and AG-ucation Day, Fayette County Community Action Agency on activities including its free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, 5K run/walk and volunteer fair, as well as other activities, including the Penn State THON, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Uniontown Rotary Club health awareness screenings.Moore said the mall is continuing efforts to lease vacant spaces and quashed rumors that the mall is closing.
“That is not true,” Moore said. “We are dedicated to keeping the Uniontown Mall a major player in the local economy.”