Experts think the recent name change for The Block at Orange is appropriate.
The shopping center, which has been adding a slew of outlet and off-price stores including next year's opening of Nordstrom Rack, said last month that it has been renamed to The Outlets at Orange.
Changes at The Outlets, originally built in 1998, began when Simon Property Group, which also owns Brea Mall, Laguna Hills Mall, Westminster Mall and The Shops at Mission Viejo, bought it in 2007 from the Mills Corp. At 710,000 square feet with city approval to add up to another 105,000 square feet, The Outlets is one of the biggest shopping centers in Orange County.
Chiranjeev Kohli, a marketing professor at Cal State Fullerton, said the name change is "more in sync with the strategy. It makes perfect sense to me. It's a more descriptive name, so it's more meaningful."
Greg Stoffel, Irvine-based retail analyst, said: "The Block, as a center, was not particularly well patronized by the majority of O.C. consumers," he said. "It was so low on the O.C. retail shopping totem pole for so long that the name change has to help. The movement to include more outlets will likely expand the center's trade area. And the name change to include 'outlets' can also only help, especially with the visitor segment."
The Outlets' taxable sales for 2010 were $146.7 million, up 10.1 percent from 2009. Of the 14 biggest shopping centers in Orange County where 2010 taxable sales were provided by cities, The Outlets ranked 12 out of 14. In terms of annual sales growth in percentage, it had the second highest.
The Outlets said the "name change positively reflects the evolution of the center, which continues to be a popular destination."
Analyst Stoffel said now that the center has been renamed, it will "need to add more real outlet stores. If anyone can do it, Simon surely can. They have a great track record."
The Outlets said it has recently added many outlet stores including DKNY Company Store, Calvin Klein Company Store, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi's Outlet Store, Perry Ellis, Original Penguin, Carter's, and coming soon are Esprit Outlet and Nordstrom Rack, which is slated to open March 1. Some of the former regular-priced stores have been converted to outlets such as Old Navy Outlet and Hollister Outlet. Other existing outlet and off-price stores include American Eagle Outfitter, Ann Taylor Factory Store, Bose Factory Outlet, The Children's Place Outlet, Converse, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Nike Factory Store, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th and Warehouse Furniture Outlet.
"So we have a great roster of stores," according to a statement from The Outlets. "Our name change to The Outlets at Orange will help define the property to the local shopper base, as well as the robust number of tourists and conventioneers who travel to this unique area."
Last year when The Block first announced that it will change its name, Gregg Goodman, president of The Mills, the Simon Property Group subsidiary that owns The Outlets, said he likes the proximity to Disneyland. "We've been successful with our (outlet) properties in Las Vegas and Orlando. We know how much tourists like the outlet experience."
The new name has already been reflected in the center's website. The center hopes to have new signs up soon. The Outlets said it's "making a significant investment in the rebranding initiative." It did not give a dollar figure.
But these changes may be futile.
"People hold on to old names forever," Stoffel said. "No matter what it is renamed; a large percentage of customers will still refer to it as The Block."
And at the end of the day, the retail mix of a shopping center is more important than a name, he said. "Customers patronize a center for the tenants not because of any particular name it might have," he said.
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