Crystal Court Retailers Hope New Stores Attract Crowds

What if they built a mall and nobody came?

The Crystal Court annex at South Coast Plaza has flashy decor--some of the trendiest in retail--and acres of parking. Now all it needs is more customers.

With two more pricey stores opening their doors Saturday, retailers at the stepchild mall are crossing their fingers that Scribner Book Store and Ralph Lauren’s Polo Country Store will be special enough to lure carloads of eager buyers that a new tram hasn’t brought.

“Everybody’s praying and hoping--especially on the third floor--that the new stores will bring business,� said Carolyn Rapp, manager at Mr. Hathaway’s, a small, third-floor greeting card shop that was put up for sale last month. While the store’s owners have decided to stick it out for now, they are not alone in their concern.

Even with 67% of Crystal Court now occupied--a figured heavily skewed by the two big anchors, The Broadway and Robinson’s--merchants are worried because customers continue to be at a premium. Since its grand opening last October, the $80-million annex has suffered from too few buyers because of problems in coaxing people to cross the four lanes of Bear Street traffic separating Crystal Court from its profitable neighbor, South Coast Plaza.

Mall officials hoped all that would change with the May addition of a blue-and-white shuttle to ferry shoppers across the busy boulevard. Jack Matthess, Crystal Court general manager, said the tram has been mobbed and now carries about 3,200 customers a week.

Another Point of View

Merchants, however, have another view: “It’s helped, but discriminating buyers aren’t coming over in droves,� said one retailer who asked not to be named. He estimated that the free shuttle brings maybe 100 more customers a day to Crystal Court.

It remains to be seen whether business will improve after Saturday, when Scribner Book Store moves into a 5,350-square-foot space and a 3,500-square-foot Polo Country Store becomes the first of its kind in the United States.

“The biggest complaint you hear every day from other managers is that people don’t even know Crystal Court is here,� said Bryan Lassiter, manager of the Overland Trading shoe store. He said that business at the store has dropped 50% since June. Since opening last year, Overland Trading has trimmed its one-time staff of 10 to three employees.

Koala Blue’s manager, Sue Gilliam, said that store has not met projections, although “We’re doing all right.� Another retailer added privately that he is considering closing up shop if business doesn’t improve.

Still, some are pleased: At El Portal, manager Robert Campbell said Crystal Court’s uptown prices do not make it a high-volume mall. “We have to develop our own trade here,� he said.

Mall officials agree: “Everybody always cries alligator tears in July,� Matthess said. “But a great percentage (of merchants) are meeting their budgets.�