By KATIE ARCIERI, Staff Writer
If she wanted to shop, Ronda Jasick made a beeline for Annapolis or Dover, Del.
Forget that the Prime Retail outlet mall in Queenstown is only seven miles from her home in Centreville. For this 34-year-old mother of three, the outlet stores were never worthwhile enough to pull over.
That's all changed.
Located 10 miles east of the Bay Bridge, Queenstown Prime Retail now boasts an 80,000-square-foot expansion holding a slate of trendy stores the owners hope will satisfy bargain-hunting, brand-loving shoppers.
There's the Coach factory outlet, BCBG Max Azria and Calvin Klein, just to name a few. White House Black Market, Chico's, and the Eddie Bauer outlet will round out the mix when they open next month, bringing to 20 the number of new stores.
"Hallelujah," said Ms. Jasick on her way to the center's new Harry and David fruit and candy outlet store on a sultry Wednesday morning. "I think it's wonderful. It's upscale. It's very classy. It's nice."
As part of the center's $27 million face lift that began in April 2005, the hub has been reshaped with new facades on each shopping pavilion. New awnings, sidewalks and lighting give the place a fresh town center feel. Parking is arranged so shoppers can pull right up to the storefronts.
And when site work wraps up next month, there will be a total of 1,400 parking spaces for your shopping pleasure.
Construction on the 80,000-square-foot expansion began in October 2005, wrapping up June 30.
It's all part of an effort to transform the center into an upscale destination, said Bob
Scharnus, senior general manager for the outlet.
Now that construction is finished, more shoppers are doing a double-take at the center.
"Sales are getting better," Mr. Scharnus said. "During (the) construction period, it tends to make things a little crazy around here. Some shoppers didn't want to deal with it. The merchants were like troopers. They really put up with it knowing what the end product was going to be."
The hub is owned by Prime Retail Inc., a Baltimore company that owns the Queenstown center and 27 other outlet hubs. In 2003, the New Jersey-based Lightstone Group LLC bought the financially troubled company for $638 million. The company had struggled with heavy debt and lower sales and occupancy at its malls. Lightstone assumed $523 million of the company's debt.
Formerly known as the Chesapeake Village Outlet Center, the center was previously owned by Horizon Group, which was bought by Prime Retail in 1998 for $945 million.
Outlet updates
Like Queenstown, factory outlet hubs across the nation are adding more upscale stores to attract customers, said Linda Humphers, editor-in-chief of Value Retail News, a publication of the International Council of Shopping Centers.
That trend has turned over the old axiom that outlet centers only provide low-quality merchandise: that old shirt missing a button or the orange sweater that nobody wants.
"That perception has definitely changed as these upscale brands are heavily populating these outlet centers," she said.
Upscale tenants use the stores as clearance centers for last season's inventory or even as a "laboratory" to test new apparel. Customers willing to forgo the latest styles can pick from marked-down merchandise.
Because operating costs are usually lower than that of enclosed malls, retailers pay a lower rent, an incentive for locating there. Usually, outlet stores have a simpler interior design, a way for retailers to keep costs low.
"You can have a beautiful design that is not expensive," Ms. Humphers said.
Outlet shoppers are more affluent than the average shopper, and know brands. They usually spend longer periods of time shopping.
"It is generally a place where you have leisure time or (you're) on a mission," Ms. Humphers said. "You make a day of it. It's a little more entertainment oriented."
Queenstown mall officials view the outlet's expansion as a way to step up its niche market as a stopping point for tourists and vacationers. The mall is near the split of routes 301 and 50. Route 50 is the major route from the Baltimore-Washington area to the Delaware and Maryland beaches.
"That location is very unique," Mr. Scharnus said. "We carved out our niche because we pull people off the highway to shop here. Plus, people come here to shop for holiday and back to school."
The newly renovated center could pose some competition for Arundel Mills, a hybrid of outlet shops, regular retail stores and a 14-screen movie theater in Hanover, said Patrice Duker, spokesman for the shopping center council.
The new Queenstown shops are "giving customers more choices and more opportunities to make those purchases," she said, adding that it's not uncommon for people to travel an hour to a shopping destination.
However, the two entities won't be direct competitors, as each has its own special niche.
"They are two different types of centers," Ms. Duker said. "They have two types of customers."
On summer weekends, business is bustling at the Queenstown center. But even on a hot Wednesday afternoon, shoppers hit the stores.
Pushing her 6-month-old daughter, Indy in a stroller at the mall, Easton resident Kyndell Rainer said she was pleased with the center's changes.
Before the renovations, Ms. Rainer headed to Westfield Annapolis for a better selection of kids' clothes. But with the new Gap Outlet- Kids/baby open and the Gymboree store opening next month, the Queenstown mall is worth the trip.
"Now, it's a nice place to go," she said.
