People are shopping at ROSS! Also Target has very fashionable clothes shoes etc.at a fraction of the cost , that you would pay at the mall. And in cities with alot of rich people. The Goodwill stores have Designer clothes, cheap. And in excellant condition, some with tags on them.

GAP is closing because the rent is too high! It's that simple. I'm sure Dillards will follow-recently a sales lady commented to me that thousands of dollars are stolen from her department weekly. She said that sometimes when she walks into the dressing room, it looks as if a confetti parade came through because so many labels have been popped and left on the floor. GAP was an awesome place to shop- great sales and quality clothes. I'm really disappointed and will most likely drive else where in the future.

Hole, thanks for the recognition, but have you visited the place lately? I have and stand by my comments regarding it's condition and am quite familiar with the enormous rent paid by retailers there.

As for the "mall model" other posters have pointed out how other similiar (or even bigger, better, and sexier) units are flailing in metro areas, not just Victoria.

As for your opinion of my sunny disposition, let it be known that I live in Victoria by choice, unlike many who constantly act as if they are serving a life sentence without parole. If VISD and the City of Victoria aren't successful in taxing me out of here, I plan to stay in this community without all the trappings of true "metro" areas, and the short coming of small towns.

Has anybody noticed the " Boots and Sands" billboard that Port Lavaca has placed north of town? Have they stolen our "thunder", or did Victoria copy our smaller cousin?

Lowes is selling large boot planters...I think Brigette should go buy 'em all up & place one on each street corner.

Somethings missing in this article, where is the quote from VEDC claiming credit?

vox, you and bighorn are just bursting with sunshine aren't you?

kfitts1, hope you enjoy your time in Victoria, and welcome. your ideas are great, but it takes effort, which we seem to have a vast lack of in Victoria. perhaps the more new people we get, like you, that will change.

So come on down to Victoria and BRING YOUR BOOTS...because there won't be any stores left here to buy a pair if you need them.

wow, this not a good thing to hear about Victoria. I live in Corpus Christi and was thinking about moving to Victoria because of work that my husban will be working close to Victoria soon. Corpus Christi mall La Palmera is doing great since the have remodled and brought in better stores for the community. I looks great and has great parking. But Corpus is a much bigger city than Victoria, so there are people for shopping. But before the mall in Corpus got remodled, people went to San Antonio and Houston to shop for the same reasons you are all talking about. So maybe voicing you oppion more and more will get a fire under the managment for the mall there in Victoria and remodle and get better stores soon. But if there is no money in Victoria than you are better to just close it down and make something new. No one likes a nasty smelly gross mall to shop in. I know I wouldn't. Make it happen Victoria

I understand about the little boy and the socks. My younger brother as young as 4 would take forever to get his shoes on because the seam of the sock had to be just right.

The "little boy" socks remark takes the cake. Since when has a boy, even a little one, gave a rats a$$ about socks?

I go to the mall at Christmas time shoping for misc gifts. I wander through the filth, crappy floors, even crappier stores, then stubble out with a few bucks wizzed away at Best Buy, Dillards, and maybe Pennys. Gap? No thanks. Bed, Bath and Bras. Nah. $11 CDs for $18 bucks. Nope. $1 beers for $3.50 served by a teenager with pimples and an atitude? I'll take a pass.

The future of Victoria Mall is that of a Flea Market, or Administrative Offices for VISD.

I've noticed that the outlets in San Marcos have a lot of shoppers from Mexico, as do the malls in San Antonio, Houston, Austin. That might help the cause.

Our mall is turning into the River Center Mall. I couldn't believe how empty that place is.

It probably is a combination of things, management would be a big part of it. It seems the overall management of the mall has gone downhill in the past 10 or so years. I wonder when Hull Storey Gibson took over ownership?

Someone touched on population, which I think is valid. Some of these "better stores" aren't even going to look at Victoria with a population of 60,000.

There's a reason why Dollar Stores are on every corner in this town. We're cheap and poor. The most successful restaurant in town is a pizza joint, or the new buffet place for crying out loud.

I think people want uniqueness. All of the stores in the mall just seem the same to me. The clothes seem the same. It's just repetition.
Some of the stores that closed in the mall, are the ones that I loved to go to the most. How many shoe stores do you need, sportswear?
About the only stores that I do visit are the stores that have outside doors. The carpet in the halls give me a headache and just plain smells. It was much cleaner when they had the tile floors, although I do understand that wet tiles pose a safety hazard. People with allergies do not want to go into the halls, or any of the stores that have carpet.
It is fair to say that most of it is the economy. People are just hitting the cheaper stores now and doing without things they do not need.
The dollar stores, and Ross-type stores are doing pretty good. Stores in the mall should notice that people need discounted merchandise right now and accommodate them in some way.

Myvu said, "...replace it with a smaller type outdoor shopping facility such as those scattered around Houston and other cities that could be filled with fewer but more attractive retailers."

I've heard many a friend, family and acquaintance state something very similar time and time again. It seems that the conventional shopping mall is being trumped by outdoor shopping centers and outlet malls. I'm not sure if this would hold up to analytical scrutiny but it would seem that this is the case even in larger cities. I lived in San Antonio for the past year before moving back down to the Crossroads area and even the big malls there are suffering from a large number of vacant areas and smaller crowds even around holidays; the outdoor centers, though, seemed to always be packed full of shoppers coming and going such as San Antonio's Forum (technically in Live Oak) and even the fancier Rim retail center. Another example would be the two outlet malls in San Marcos (I lived there for about two years) which always seemed to be bustling with activity.

But, again, I must stress that I can't say this is the case in general as I'm only going upon my own observation and the anecdotes of others.

Why not just close the mall down, bulldoze it away, and replace it with a smaller type outdoor shopping facility such as those scattered around Houston and other cities that could be filled with fewer but more attractive retailers.

A lot of the reason's these stores have closed is because they raise the rent to high. This is insane!! Who ever runs the mall is just greedy! I may have my facts wrong, but when I asked the employees why there were closing (at the different) they all said the same thing! :(

I will agree that the mall is not kept up. Its overrall interior appearance is dirty and unattractive. I went in the restroom the other day and was shocked at the shape it was in. My wife went into the women's room and came out saying the same. While a poor economy can be used as an excuse for lack of retailers, there is only one reason for poor appearance, poor housekeeping, and that is poor management. If I had to guess, this one reason is probably to blame for everything else as well.

we need better stores, bottom line .

I remember when the mall was always packed the carousel, the food court had lots to choose from and the stores were affordable. Now its just dirty and ugly with a lousy food court and a unsanitary disease infested kids play area that should be sanitized hourly while the mall is open. HELLO KIDS GET SICK ALL THE TIME. I hear the rent is way too high out there for stores to sustain before you know it there is going to be a eyesore sitting there empty. Just like the town and country mall on Laurent and Airline.

They need to bring a toy store and Spencer's back!

"Gap was the only place here in town that we could find the socks my little boy liked."

Really? Your little boy only likes socks from Gap??? LOL...too funny. And kind of sad, too.

At one time the mall was a very fun place...I remember when it had the carousel...that was pretty awesome. But I just don't get what they are thinking now. The carpet is just nasty....whoever thought carpet in a mall would be a good idea was an idiot, period. The play area for the kids was a good idea, but it's not kept up and I highly doubt it's cleaned every day...and when I say cleaned, anywhere that has children crawling all over it should be santitized at least once a day.

The mall just looks plain dirty. The carpet is horrible and the small play area has torn and broken playthings. You would think the owners would use some of that high rent to keep the place updated.

"Bring your boots", "Shop Locally"...Why???? There is nothing to do here in Victoria and now all the good stores are shutting down!!! Gap was the only place here in town that we could find the socks my little boy liked. They had a decent selection on boys clothes. More than Bealls I must say. I was in the mall on a Saturday about a month ago and I thought it was during the week. There were hardly any people there. As I walked thru the mall I noticed most of the stores were empty. The clerks were just standing around. Growing up I remember the mall would be packed on Saturdays. Our mall is sad. I don't even shop there anymore. We usually go out of town because there are more selections in Houston, Austin, etc. Same as our movies, grocery stores. We used to have 3 HEB's, Albertsons, Safeway, Cattans, 3 Dicks, Montags, Neumanns and 3 movie theatres. HEB is ridiculous with their prices plus with them rearranging the store and they don't even offer to take your groceries out anymore. You have to ask them. WalMart is always busy. With 30 checkouts available you have to stand in line forever because there may be 6 checkouts open. So I pick my poison, pay more at HEB or fight the traffic and drive to Walmart and fight the crowds and stand in line forever. Too bad I can't do my grocery shopping out of town as well!!!

Hmmm, I wonder if the outrageous taxes levied by this burg have anything to do with this?

If they close Chuck E. Cheese all hell will break loose

You know we always try to shop at the local mall but it seems it's a ghost town when you go in there and the selections are not so hot. Being the city we are you would think they would improve the mall it always has been a dull mall. Look at the Old mall they keep making us look bad. People come to Victoria for all kinds of tournaments and when they have down time they shop the mall. What are we showing them that we can't have a descent mall. We recentely went to the Corpus mall and I can say they have really improved there mall and there selections are awesome.

This has been, and probably always will be, the problem in Victoria is that people say they want more selection, more name brands, and more high end retailers. But the glaring fact is Victoria will NOT support those requests. All major retailers do market research before opening anywhere, and while not always perfect, they can usually pinpoint where they'll have moderate success.

Victoria has always been a place you could get the essentials in most anything, but if you wanted the finer things of any product line, you probably looked in a major surrounding city. And there is no problem with that.

But just to be clear, after looking at what most citizens of Victoria wear for the last 22 years, the gear found at Victoria Mall and other local spots should suffice just fine. Very few Victorians wear the lines that Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales and Saks 5th Ave. have to offer. Again, very few.

Main problem is that malls generally sell things that peopel don't really NEED! This is what has caused the large number of malls going belly up since the economic downturn began. Another thing not mentioned is the number of "duplication stores" in the Victoria Mall. Jewlery and sports stores come to mind.
I'm with localgirl as far as small locally-owned stores go. We shop as much as we can at Dick's,Texas Tool& Hardware and others.
Patrick Barnes

I have a question for The Advocate: Did anyone actually walk the mall and count the number of active stores as opposed to the ones closed? Not just taking the information from some PR person from the mall management. What is the rent per square foot as opposed in one of the "strip centers" or other locations?

This will really tell my age, but I want to make an important point. Growing up here, we didn't have ANY malls. We had locally owned business that provided personal service along with outstanding merchandise. If you wanted men's clothing, there were about three different places to shop. If you wanted babies' clothing, you had options, etc. Books? You went downtown to the bookstore. Food? You had Dick's (three locations), HEB (one on Main Street), Cattan's, Montag's, Model Market, and a few others.

When you shopped at these stores, you were helped and left with the merchandise you purchased and a smile from the experience.

I still like to go to the smaller stores here and support the people who are trying to provide service along with products. In fact the gift stores we have around town are like stepping back in time: I walk away with a gift-wrapped (no-charge for wrapping) present for a friend and a feeling of being appreciated as a customer.

If our city wants to promote ourselves, maybe we could focus on that priceless commodity: Personal service and unique merchandise.
Two things you aren't going to find at big malls.

Although I like Gap clothing and am sad to see a retailer leave Victoria, maybe there is an opportunity for a local entrep. to open boutique shop for men and women.

Hey, its okay, just bring ur boots!!!

Another major retailer is closing. Hmmmmm could it be this is due to major rent increase that they faced. This mall is looking like a ghost mall like the ones in the major cities. The new landlords are charging big city rent in a small city setting. Oh well kinda hard to shop in Victoria where the selection is getting smaller. Time for the city council to get off their duffs and start playing ball with the remaining retailers before we loose them all. Look into keeping what is left talk to the land lords or does this not come under city business??