Shortly after the closing of Carson’s, the Muncie Mall lost another one of its anchor stores.
The Muncie Mall’s Sears, which has been around for a majority of the mall’s existence, closed its 130,000-square-foot store Aug. 31, shortly before the company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy Oct. 15.
“It wasn’t anything unusual, their decline in sales was really nationally,” said James Radabaugh, the general manager of the Muncie Mall.
Currently, there is no certain plan set for the vacant space left by Sears.
“We are looking to find one of those offers that will reimagine the space,” Radabaugh said.
Radbaugh said before the time of online shopping, national retailers were believed to be the “bulk of the business,” but now, present-day shopping malls have resorted to closing down their unprofitable stores in an attempt to survive in the digital age.
Ball State economics professor Steve Horwitz said “the traditional shopping mall experience has become less enticing to people.”
“Malls are either going to have to reinvent themselves or they’re all going to face trouble,” Horwitz said.
Horwitz said the concept will only work with higher-end stores where the experience of actually going becomes a “consumption good.”
Shopping malls have to transition by providing new activities to the customer, he said.
“There is still a viable need for them, they will just evolve to satisfy the customer the way they shop now,” Radabaugh said.
Shopping malls can offer that “brick and mortar” experience to online shoppers, and can provide physical interaction to shopping and get people together, he said.
“People love to be in the retail atmosphere during Christmas,” Radabaugh said. “It's just a part of the holiday spirit.”
Several Sears locations have already been reworked to serve a variety of purposes. The Markland Mall in Kokomo tore its Sears down to make room for a new outdoor wing. Another Sears location in Florida was converted into a condominium.
Different offers to occupy the empty space in the Muncie Mall have been made, but no official decision will be made until 2019.
Contact Chase Martin with comments at cgmartin@bsu.edu.
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