Photographed by Ellie Toler
Shoppers lined the sidewalks during Taubman Prestige Outlet’s opening day on Friday, August 2, 2013 – complete with bands, a juggler and free gift cards given to the first 1000 people in line. A similar scene was seen at the opening of St. Louis Premium Outlets a few weeks later.

Libbey Tucker, community services and economic development director for the Chesterfield city government, said that based on sales tax data, both the St. Louis Premium Outlets on Outlet Boulevard and the Taubman Prestige Outlets on North Outer 40 Road are generally doing well.

“The Premium Outlets has been nearly fully occupied since opening and has plans to add another 80,000 square feet of space,” Tucker said. “They have very familiar tenants to the shopping public and do very well.  The Taubman Prestige Outlet has not yet been fully occupied, but they have continued to add a mix of familiar brands and also those that are new to the market such as Tatyana, Furla and Restoration Hardware Outlet, making it a well-rounded shopping experience.”

Tucker said restaurants in the Chesterfield Valley have seen a slight bump in sales since the outlets opened, and it is likely that large-scale retailers like Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Ulta have benefitted as well.

The city of Chesterfield received some additional sales tax due to the opening of the outlet malls last year; however, because Chesterfield is in the same sales tax pool as St. Louis County, they don’t retain all of the monies, Tucker said. The Parks and Recreation Division benefits from the outlet malls because of the half-cent sales tax, which they receive directly and retain 100 percent.

Other taxing districts like St. Louis County, the state of Mo., Rockwood and Monarch Fire District also benefit from the additional sale and property tax revenues, Tucker said.

“The outlets draw people from up to 100 miles or more away,” Tucker said, “so there is a tourism aspect as well.”

Tucker said online shopping has definitely had an impact on brick-and-mortar retail businesses. Now, retailers must offer online shopping to supplement sales made in person in order to remain competitive.

However, Tucker said she doesn’t predict either outlet mall will close anytime soon.

“Taubman is committed to getting their center fully leased as soon as possible,” Tucker said. “They’ve recently announced several new stores such as Coach, H&M, Foot Locker and Pro Image Sports, with others to be announced soon.”

Emily Zimmermann, Director of Marketing and Business Development for the St. Louis Premium Outlets, said they are exceeding sale expectations and are eagerly awaiting a strong holiday season.

Phase two of the St. Louis Premium Outlets is expected to begin in 2015, Zimmermann said. They are now 100 percent leased.

St. Louis Premium Outlets will open a booth at the Taste of St. Louis on Sept. 19 through 21.

“The abundance of retail in Chesterfield has effectively turned the area into a mecca for retail shopping, which benefits all centers in the area,” Zimmermann said. “”We are focused on continuing to drive our business and are glad to be in a community that loves shopping so much that it can support our center and other retail destinations.”

Impact on the Chesterfield Mall

When the outlet malls opened last August, there was a slight increase in overall sales in the Chesterfield Mall.

Rick Echelmeyer, Regional Director of Leasing for CBL, said Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy, all of which were performing well, closed their locations in the Chesterfield Mall in the past two years. Gap and Banana Republic moved to the West County Mall to distance themselves from Chesterfield and the outlet malls, and a Gap Factory Store opened in the Taubman Prestige Outlets, Echelmeyer said. .

“The main reasons for closures are related to a redistribution of where goods are sold in the market place, erosion of junior business sales and bankruptcies,” Echelmeyer said. “None of which are a reflective of the business climate at Chesterfield Mall.  These are issues that malls across America are experiencing.”

In the past two years, Houlihans, seeking to move to free-standing buildings; Archivers, which went bankrupt and closed all units; and Aeropostle have moved out of the Chesterfield Mall.

Echelmeyer said many fashion stores are relocating to the outlet malls, but the non-fashion stores in the Chesterfield Mall are showing increases due to the increased traffic from tourists visiting the outlets.

“We will continue to work with fashion and fashion accessories stores as that is what drives people to malls,” Echelmeyer said. “We will also compliment that with entertainment and food venues to attract additional traffic to the center.”