Hello everybody! Welcome to today’s Twitterview with @mallofamerica Exec VP of Biz Development, Maureen Bausch. Time to roll!
Good morning Joel!
Hi Maureen! Can you briefly explain what your role is so that we can understand your perspective & responsibilities?
Maureen: I am EVP of Business Development. My main responsibility is making sure @MallofAmerica always has something fresh & new for guests!
Sounds fun & rewarding! This year the mall hit the 20 years old mark. Congrats! How is it being celebrated?
Maureen: We are so excited to celebrate 20 years and we have so much in store for our guests!
So far every month we have done something special for our anniversary beginning with a passport of savings in January
Opening of Diana: A Celebration in Feb. as well as marrying 20 couples on the Ferris wheel!
7/8 We’ll celebrate with first outdoor concert at Target Field. We’ll be doing a Pepsi Golden Can promotion… and…
Aug. 11 is our real birthday and we’ll have a big cake celebration, Beerfest and culminate our 20 wks of giveaways.
Phew, that’s a lot of celebrating! We’ll have all the ways guests can participate on our website http://mallofamerica.com
Lots of things to check out for sure! In that 20yrs, there have been lots of changes. Care to share some history?
Maureen: Technology, social media, cell phones were not popular 20 yrs ago. This has changed the way we communicate with guests
Fast fashion – people want things now! Black Friday now starts on Thursday – all of these things have changed business
9/11 has changed the way we protect the building and our guests.
International retail is invading the U.S. in a positive way and many retailers have joined MOA!
Checks were king 20 years ago and today you pay with your cell phone.
A lot more ‘high-end” fashion has been brought into the mall too. How has the response been to that?
Maureen: Excellent response. People will either spend for investment they will wear for many years or they want fast fashion.
Luxury and fast fashion are exploding – opposite ends of the spectrum
The mall is well balanced then. Lets talk about food and restaurants. How has that changed over the years?
Maureen: Certainly sushi is king now – we’re excited to welcome Masu this summer! Sushi wasn’t very popular 20 years ago!
An onset of fast casual where you can sit down. Themed restaurants not as popular as the ’90’s.
One thing that hasn’t changed – it’s all about good food!
How about in the way of entertainment, beyond food and fashion. How has that evolved/changed over the years?
Maureen: Country music was huge when we opened (Gatlin Bros. Bar) , then it dropped in popularity, now it is popular again!
An insurgence in stand-up comedy – House of Comedy is doing well – people love to go and see a show!
We switched from Peanuts to Nickelodeon in ’08 which is #1 brand for kids and Nickelodeon Universe is very popular.
Lets look forward to the future of the mall. There’s something about a hotel being built right? :)
Maureen: 11 stories, 500 rooms, an upper-upscale hotel called Radisson Blu opening in Spring of 2013. We can’t wait!
We’re beginning construction next year on the north side with another hotel, medical office and add’tl retail.
Any brand associated with the north hotel yet? Isn’t the medical space going to be for the #MayoClinic?
Maureen: No brand yet for the hotel and yes #MayoClinic will be the medical space!
Any store openings that people should look forward to this summer? New details on the Bloomingdale’s space?
Maureen: Henri Bendel, Athleta, Juicy Couture, Masu Sushi and Robata and more coming soon! Forever 21 superstore in Bloomie’s.
Newly opened stores include Cotton On, Typo, Dr. Martens and Tilly’s.
Stil working on other details for the Bloomie’s space so be sure to stay tuned!
Fabulous! To close, please remind people the hours that the mall is open so they can see all of the new stores.
Maureen: We are open 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Mon. – Sat. and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday!
Joel: Thanks Maureen and the digital team at the mall for making this work out today! Have a great day & shop everyone!
Maureen: Thank you!! Be sure to stay tuned to participate in all the fun activities for the 20th!!