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Walking the mall..
Dec. 8th, 2004 09:44 amWe're dreadfully behind on our Christmas shopping so yesterday afternoon we took Matt to the Temple to American Consumerism er.. Arundel Mills mall and got started. It was productive for the long term (Christmas in general) but we weren't as successful for a couple of friends whom we'll see before the holiday itself. That's a bit of a shame, but we'll work on it.
As a mall review, I'd have to say that AM is a heck of a lot easier to navigate with a stroller than the Towson Town Center is. Forgetting the levels issue, TTC is four staggered floors so it's hard to even get an elevator that hits them all, while AM is a bloated one long narrow ring, the larger store spaces make for less cluttered floors and wider aisles.
But AM, like most malls these days, seems to have a dearth of "gift stores". All the stores are a) media (video games, music, books) b) clothing, c) home items (Bed Bath & Beyond) or d) sporting goods. Well that and the option to puchase a custom made stuffed animal. But I don't know that my friends would be thrilled with that as a gift.
What happened to stores like the Nature Company, or even a decent gaming store? Perhaps I've answered my own question. They're seasonal, they only sell a lot during holidays and are weak the rest of the year. There's no regular business.
Now if you run a seasonal business, you run a seasonal kiosk, like they are at the Columbia Mall and TTC. Both of them have a boardgame/card game etc. kiosk place. But the selection is so limited, so mainstream, that I can't even find small games from the major manufacturers, like Skip Bo. I can, however, find thirty different kinds of Monopoly.
Do people really need a Scooby-Doo monopoly, a NFL monopoly, or a Dance Dance Revloution Monopoly? Okay I made the last one up. Though I might have bought that one for someone.
Someday I have to figure out how to do the HTML link aliasing my friends do.
As a mall review, I'd have to say that AM is a heck of a lot easier to navigate with a stroller than the Towson Town Center is. Forgetting the levels issue, TTC is four staggered floors so it's hard to even get an elevator that hits them all, while AM is a bloated one long narrow ring, the larger store spaces make for less cluttered floors and wider aisles.
But AM, like most malls these days, seems to have a dearth of "gift stores". All the stores are a) media (video games, music, books) b) clothing, c) home items (Bed Bath & Beyond) or d) sporting goods. Well that and the option to puchase a custom made stuffed animal. But I don't know that my friends would be thrilled with that as a gift.
What happened to stores like the Nature Company, or even a decent gaming store? Perhaps I've answered my own question. They're seasonal, they only sell a lot during holidays and are weak the rest of the year. There's no regular business.
Now if you run a seasonal business, you run a seasonal kiosk, like they are at the Columbia Mall and TTC. Both of them have a boardgame/card game etc. kiosk place. But the selection is so limited, so mainstream, that I can't even find small games from the major manufacturers, like Skip Bo. I can, however, find thirty different kinds of Monopoly.
Do people really need a Scooby-Doo monopoly, a NFL monopoly, or a Dance Dance Revloution Monopoly? Okay I made the last one up. Though I might have bought that one for someone.
Someday I have to figure out how to do the HTML link aliasing my friends do.
