For many years, malls were community gathering places and were the place to go on certain days of the year including Black Friday, the entire holiday shopping season and also back to school.
Not all communities have malls that provide this experience anymore, but Westfarms, on the border of Farmington and West Hartford, remains the place to go for Connecticut shoppers in big numbers. The Westfarms’ stores were bustling for this past back-to-school season and most certainly be packed again for the holiday season later this year.
So how do Westfarms mall and its 140 shops continue attract customers? Experts say an affluent location as well as mall management staying there help it evolve with the times.
Dr. Mousumi Bose Godbole, of the University of Fairfield Dolan School of Business, said one of the reasons Westfarms has excelled is its location.
“It’s an upscale neighborhood with upscale stores so that brings that type of traffic. It’s a match and brings it success, that’s the obvious part,” Bose Godbole said.
The Westfarms mall has more than 140 stores and continues to flourish, while many other malls have struggled. One owner called his Westfarms location the “crown jewel” of his business. (Siena Photography)
Bose Godbole said the other reason is the management’s willingness to change with the times and do things to resonate with its customers.
“As other malls haven’t changed and the department stores are not so much in favor, you see the movement away from the Macy’s and JCPenney into stores that are more intimate. And when a customer comes in, it gives them a more intimate buying experience. We are seeing those stores being more successful. Westfarms has been able to bring in those kinds of stores like the furniture stores, Jordan’s Furniture,” Bose Godbole said.
“If a customer wants furniture they can go into Jordan’s and feel and touch and that’s different from an online experience,” she added. “That has been one thing that Westfarms has done very well.”
Bose Godbole said Squishable and Miniso are two other stores that are desirable to customers.
“Other malls haven’t been able to bring in similar stores and are going after dollar stores or Five Below kind of stores to get the mall going,” Bose Godbole said. “They have successfully been able to bring in a store that is all about customer experience. And so customers have also responded by going in and enjoying those experiences.
“And every mall has some unique, some unique offerings to give,” she added. “Those malls had to create that story for themselves. … You cannot be just another mall that has these big flagship stores. It can have those stores to anchor, but then you need to have a story to tell. It’s not an easy job to create an identity, not just for the shops inside it, for all the shops that mall is hosting. … Westfarms has been able to create that identity and change at the same time.”
Dr. Brian Marks, a senior lecturer of economics and business analytics at the University of New Haven, said malls were historically for retail shopping and it was a building that brought a group of stores together under one roof. But he noted that everything has changed over the past few decades with e-commerce and the emergence of sites like Amazon.
“Pre-COVID, we already started seeing the transformation and the impact of online sales,” Marks said. “Post-COVID (malls) experienced the acceleration of that transformation. It continues to accelerate and therefore there’s an attempt to come up with a new equilibrium pricing for these facilities, add to it that facilities that stayed with the traditional shopping notion are the ones that struggled.”
Marks said those properties that have found innovative ways to make the property multipurpose are more likely to have greater success and sustainability as the footprint for brick-and-mortar retail operations is shrinking.
Experts say the Westfarms mall has “evolved with the times.” (Siena Photography)
Marks said Westfarms benefits from its location as well as offering more than just a retail experience.
“It’s offering community events and things like that so those malls that are more likely to succeed are ones that are going to offer a greater experience,” Marks said.
“In other locations, those who have figured out to have a village-style community experience, a multipurpose where we’re not just going to be retail, we’re going to offer other things. Now, many of them all offer theaters, which was a step in the right direction, but now you need to offer other type of ancillary activities.”‘
He pointed to malls that now have pickleball courts in Meriden and warehousing, like the Crystal Mall with Electric Boat, as non-traditional ways to get people back in malls.
“All these things are an attempt to make the mall a destination for something other than just retail,” Marks said. “And that’s going to be the road for success, in my mind, for the near future for a property.”
He added that the malls who haven’t started moving in this direction are under pressure now.
“They have a choice. They can reduce the price per square foot, which puts pressure on their profit margins, which puts on their loan repayments, servicing of their debt, which then puts pressure on maintenance and up-keep, which then results in those facilities becoming an ill repair, ultimately leading to the ownership to look to sell,” Marks said.
Westfarms general manager Elizabeth Ryan said the mall’s longest occupied stores include JCPenney, Michael Jewelers and Munson’s Chocolates.
“The success of Westfarms comes from curating a shopping experience that truly reflects what our customers want. Our leasing strategy focuses on securing today’s most in-demand brands, unique-to-market retailers and first-to-market concepts across a variety of price points. By offering a mix that can’t be found anywhere else in the region, Westfarms remains fresh, relevant and a premier shopping destination in Connecticut,” Ryan said.
The mall has been able to attract a number of “unique to the market” business that residents will not find elsewhere in the state or in the Greater Hartford market.
“Tenants value being at Westfarms because our center consistently attracts a strong, loyal, and diverse customer base from across the region, while positioning their brands alongside other leading retailers in one of Connecticut’s most respected and high-performing retail destinations,” Ryan added.
Cyrus Amroliwalla has owned a business in the Westfarms mall for the last 25 years. He owned Praline’s Ice Cream at the mall for 21 years, the Good Humor truck for three years, Auntie Anne’s since 2010 and recently opened Jamba late in August.
“For nearly 16 years, Auntie Anne’s has been a favorite of Westfarms shoppers,” Amroliwalla said. “Its location by the main entrance contributes to its success for our guests, whether you’re walking in to shop and need a quick bite or are done shopping and worked up an appetite they stop for a freshly baked, golden-brown pretzel. Our catering business also does fantastic with area companies we get large orders of sometimes 3,000 pretzels at a time — hospitals, local factories and corporate offices.”
“Jamba, my newest company of world-famous smoothies and bowls, has exceeded our expectations in the first two weeks,” Amroliwalla said. “The Jamba trainer that was on site for our opening was impressed by not only our immediate sales, but because of the mall’s ongoing customer traffic. It, too, stands in a main mall entrance on the opposite end of the mall from Auntie Anne’s. We look forward to seeing the Jamba brand grow with customers at Westfarms.”
Amroliwalla said his Westfarms stores are his “crown jewel locations” and “yield the most traffic and highest sales.”
The Westfarms mall has more than 140 stores and continues to flourish while many other malls have struggled. Experts say its location on the border of Farmington and West Hartford is one of the keys to its success. (Siena Photography)
“Westfarms brings in the leading brands, many that are new to the area. Our customers want to see that. All of the brands contribute to each other. We all carry the same high standards to be successful at Westfarms,” Amroliwalla said. “It gets better and better every year. Westfarms continues to bring in the newest and freshest brands. They are intentional about where they are placed in the mall so there is a good flow of traffic throughout the entire mall with something for everyone.”
Amroliwalla said management keeps the mall current and relevant.
“Customers want to see that,” Amroliwalla said. “Stores are attracted to Westfarms because high-end brands attract other high-end brands, and the customer traffic supports those locations.”
Karen Munson is president of Munson’s Chocolates, one of the original tenants when the Westfarms mall opened in 1974. Munson’s Chocolates is a third-generation owned family chocolate company. The company will turn 80 next year, and Munson said the company remains Connecticut’s largest retail chocolate manufacturer.
Munson’s has retail stores at broad range of properties, but Westfarms is the company’s lone mall location.
“When you think about the dramatic shifts in the retail landscape — COVID’s impact, department store closures and the rise of e-commerce — one constant has remained: Westfarms mall. It has adapted, evolved and continues to be a trusted destination for a premium shopping experience. Not a lot of other properties can say that” Munson said.
The Westfarms mall has more than 140 stores and continues to flourish while many other malls have struggled.
“Westfarms delivers an extraordinary mix of iconic brands, on trend retailers, it offers a diverse mix of dining options, all in a stylish and welcoming environment,” she added. “In a day and age where malls are struggling to find their footing or closing, Westfarms stands alone as a premium one-stop shopping destination.
