October, 5, 2007
Baltimore Business Journal - by Julekha Dash Staff
Shoppers eager to get a head start on their holiday shopping will get a boost from several outlet malls owned by Baltimore's Prime Retail.
The mall owner said Thursday that it will open 15 of its outlet centers at midnight on Thanksgiving day. This includes two Maryland outlet malls -- in Hagerstown, in western Maryland, and Queenstown, on the Eastern Shore.
The other malls are located in Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Texas and Virginia.
Prime Retail executives decided to open the stores early after finding out that nearly three-quarters of shoppers finish their purchases at least a few weeks before the holidays, according to a poll conducted by Harris Interactive.
Opening at midnight will enable the malls to offer deals several hours ahead of competitors on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, executives said.
Prime Retail operates 15 million square feet of mall space in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It will add nearly two million more square feet to its portfolio over the next several years.
