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I'm Crossing my Fingers for you, Willow Bend

By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 Commentator

Dallas, TX – There is nothing that would sadden me more than to see another Metroplex mall have to close its doors. Willow Bend in Plano is far from that, but if they don't do something quickly? I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Middays.

I love telling the story about when I was first thinking about moving to Dallas, and I called the Chamber of Commerce. I asked them what were the highlights about Dallas. The first thing out of the gentleman's mouth was "shopping - great shopping." He proceeded to name a couple of other places, but inserted "great shopping" every chance he could. So deciding to put an upscale mall in the Dallas area should have been and would have been a sure shot.

But for The Shops at Willow Bend, the timing couldn't have been worse. The mall opened on August 3rd of last year. Though not officially announced by then, the recession was in full bloom. And then came September 11th. Retail sales took a definite nosedive in September and October. But by the time holiday shopping season rolled around, consumers were ready to spend. After what we had been through, we deserved to have a nice holiday, which for us means we buy gifts and decorate trees and sneak in something for ourselves. Malls began to hop.

Except Willow Bend. Now remember, this isn't your run-of-the-mill mall - this is an upscale, high-priced, designer-label kind of mall. In my opinion, the mall is beautifully refined. I feel like I'm walking through the pages of a high fashion magazine. Unfortunately for this financial commentator, some of the stores are just out of my league. Thank goodness for the flagship stores like Foley's, Dillard's, Lord and Taylor and, well, Neiman Marcus, who has the best make-up counters around.

So it was reported in today's Dallas Morning News that the developers will now throw another one million dollars in marketing for the mall. I really hope this works. Weekly and monthly promotions and family activities could be just the answer. Face it, we love to go to the mall on those too-hot-to-be-outside summer days. So I wish them the best of luck. I meant it - the last thing I want to see is anybody's doors closing. For KERA Marketplace Middays, I'm Maxine Shapiro.

Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 P.M.