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StumbleCityCenter’s Crystals adjusts, boosts occupancy with new retailers
The Paul Smith storefront is shown in Crystals, CityCenter’s retail district, Saturday, September 18, 2010.
Monday, Sept. 20, 2010 | 1:50 a.m.
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More than nine months after its opening, Crystals is still evolving. Managers of CityCenter’s retail district are recruiting new retailers, tweaking the mall’s design and making adjustments where they see fit.
Crystals will add eight new brands to its list of retailers by December, including flagship stores for two of the most recognized luxury brands.
Joining stores like Louis Vuitton, Tom Ford and Tiffany & Co. will be Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Donna Karan, Balenciaga, Emillo Pucci and Harry Winston. Prada will open a three-level, 21,000-square-foot flagship store with Strip frontage while Gucci will open a 15,000-square-foot store, also along Las Vegas Boulevard.
The additions will bring the number of retailers at Crystals to 52, which is 29 more brands than the shopping center housed when it opened in Dec. 3, 2009.
By December, Crystals is expected to be 86 percent occupied, up from 54 percent at the end of the first quarter. When MGM Resorts International reported second quarter earnings in August, Crystals was 62 percent occupied, CityCenter CEO Bobby Baldwin told investors and analysts on a quarterly conference call.
Crystals General Manager Farid Matraki said the additional stores have improved the overall appearance of the shopping center.
“In December we had a lot of missing stores. We had a lot of white walls, but now it looks a lot better,” he said. “It’s impossible for a 500,000-square-foot building to have everything perfect when you open.”
But the posh mall is still at least 10 retailers short of its target. Matraki said he hopes to have between 62 and 65 stores upon completion, depending on the plans of future tenants.
Pamela Joy Ring, president of Las Vegas-based Ring Retail Advisory, said it’s important for shopping centers to be near full occupancy when opening.
“The higher the occupancy on a property the longer the visitors will stay, be engaged and are more likely to spend,” she said. “Crystals has done a creditable job of giving the illusion of higher occupancy by placing billboard-sized signage over vacant spaces, but signage does not spell retail sales and revenues. The visitors’ time is probably shortened relative to if there was full occupancy.”
In an effort to fill Crystals and make the space feel warmer, Matraki said, more trees and benches will be added in response to complaints that the mall lacked seating.
Crystals also has made adjustments with its food and beverage offerings.
The shopping center opened with a pricey French restaurant by Wolfgang Puck, which Matraki said didn’t fare well with shoppers. Crystals worked with Puck’s team to change the restaurant into Wolfgang Puck’s Pizzeria and Cucina, which opened in June.
“Originally when we were leasing the building, I wanted an Italian pizza place. Every mall has one,” Matraki said. “French cuisine didn’t translate well. I never think of French cuisine when I think of a mall.
“Sometimes something doesn’t exist in a market because maybe it shouldn’t.”
What does exist in Las Vegas is plenty of competition among high-end retailers. Ring said the Strip is overbuilt in luxury retail with duplication of the same brands.
The Louis Vuitton storefront is shown in Crystals, CityCenter's retail district, Saturday, September 18, 2010.
“Drawing guests from other high-end properties to shop Crystals is problematic,” Ring said. “Why is a guest going to leave Bellagio to shop at Tiffany & Co. at Crystals when the resort has its own?”
Tiffany & Co. opened its third store on the Strip in Crystals. Louis Vuitton, another flagship store in Crystals, opened its fourth. Both retailers declined to comment last week on how their shops in Crystals have affected their other Las Vegas locations.
Crystals does include a large number of retailers who are new to the Las Vegas market, including Tom Ford, Assouline and Carolina Herrera. Ring said if a mix of unique brands continues to fill vacant spaces, Crystals can be successful at drawing wealthy locals and high-end guests from other properties.
Despite Strip shoppers leaning more toward mid-level brands – especially during a recession that has decreased visitor spending – Matraki said Crystals is sticking to its strategy of strictly high-end luxury.
“When we look back a couple years ago, this is what the market was,” he said. “Everyone else diluted from that after starting with high-end luxury. We are filling a niche that the Las Vegas market is missing.”
Discussion: 5 comments so far…
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Of all of City Center, which i think is great i understand Crystals least of all. It is like being lost in a house of mirrors. As a construction worker i have never seen so much wasted space and corridors that go nowhere largely because of the design they used. I hope the addition of more stores will smooth out these flaws.
The operators are so out of touch with what the public wants. Retailers will be closing soon as there is not enough demand. Look at what happened at the Palazzo. Bankruptcy. Out of the 30M+ tourist coming to Vegas, only a very small percentage of tourists will shop at those stores. Another story of MGM building with their ego instead of common sense. Get rid of the bankers who run these casinos and put in some gaming people. Imagine a world where people with gaming experience run casinos.
Concerned: Exactly. Tourists will go in those stores, but they won't buy anything.
"OOOOOhhh, look, Meredith, a $30,000 purse!"
"Heh, yeah, when we win the lottery."
Yawn... and the Titanic sinks another inch...
"It's impossible for a 500,000-square-foot building to have everything perfect when you open."
BS excuse. It opened before it was finished. A year later it is still far from full.
A better investment would have been a Super Wal-Mart at 200,000 - 250,000 sf. And yes it would have been perfect at opening, not making excuses a year later. Not that I'm a huge supporter of box stores. Just being realistic. After all the people that live in the condos there could use it as well as the tourists.
Or how about make it the worlds biggest flea market. Push out Wolfgang and get some taco and hot dog stands.
Crystals is a maze of corridors. Not one store interests me, unless they were giving away the merchandise for free.
"We are filling a niche that the Las Vegas market is missing.". Who told MGM that?
I just go in to get out of the heat. I agree a walmart would have been better and a mall more like fashion place. A great taco stand would make a fortune. Nowadays if I want a GREAT meal I go off strip. I have paid for too many bad meals on the strip in the last year. Who ever designed this layout and the shops really sold a load of goods to blind investors.
I was so mad when I first visited City Center. We came in on the tram from the Bellagio, and wanted to head to the casino. Well, you first have to walk through this ugly mall and then some to get there. What a horrible design.
I wonder how much rent they are really paying?
"Imagine a world where people with gaming experience run casinos." What dream world do you now live in now. I am a white underemployed 51 year old man who lost his decent paying skills/experienced required job to an unskilled minority to satisfy government requirements. Wake up. Skills or experienced ar not required anymore, just the required and now preferred skin color. I am sorry I supported all these equal right causes over the years. It cost me my job! Since we are looking at the City Center, go look at their minority management staff. Not a bit of actual experience amoung them. And yes I am angry. My 18 year old white son could not go to college this year.
Can't they put some slots and table games in the mall? I think that would at least make people stay there longer.
City Center is an INSULT to all people. We never asked for this wasteland, never required high end shops and dining, just a fair gamble, loose slots, free food, and cheap lodging. WAKE UP !!!!
Chunky says:
Maybe Jim Murren ought to let some street vendors sell hotdogs and pretzels from carts so everyone can further their enjoyment of his urban metropolis fantasy!
Mr. and Mrs. Chunks frankly don't have the budget for $4,000 handbags and $75,000 watches, nor do many people they know.
When you're counting on high-ticket retailers and restaurants to flock to your property, that flock isn't all that big these days!
That's what Chunky thinks!
"creditable job"
Is this a misquote or a reporter who misheard?
I think the word is "credible"
No, CityCenter is bound to fail. There is not enough business in all of the West Coast to cause it to make its interest payments.
Murren, who was so quick to claim credit for something he only oversaw, will live to regret it.
They really need a Wendy's in there :)
The photo says it all: one lonely employee standing at a counter while another guy walks on by . . . . .
Had lunch at Todd English Pub. Good food..pricey.
The Mall?...not sure what they were thinking. I find it hard to believe these retailers can pay steep rents when there is no one in the stores. Are they really hoping to sell one piece of jewelry each day for 75k to justify paying these rents..because that is about all I see happening.
They really should have emulated the Forum shops.
Tiffany and Prada will just have to do without me until they add a Ross and a Hot Dog on a Stick.
Word from the inside is that Crystals is actually a financial bright spot for MGM. I know. I could barely believe it myself, but apparently it does reasonably well.
People are crazy to buy in those shops. You can get same crap cheaper elsewhere without the high overhead. I guess its more a ego buy then anything else.
Even if I was multimillionaire like Floyd Mayweather, I would drop $50k++++ for a watch/clothes, silly.
would = wouldn't.
"At least 10 retailers short of it's taget" what their not telling you is how much they discounted the rent in order to attract these new retailers and how many current shops will be closing next year. The word is that many of the existing shops are losing money and don't plan to be around next year. It is predicted that by mid year 2011 Chrystals will be back to about 60% occupancy.
"Joining stores like Louis Vuitton, Tom Ford and Tiffany & Co. will be Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Donna Karan, Balenciaga, Emillo Pucci and Harry Winston"...
Har Ha ha, that's the funniest thing i have heard in years. I can't stop laughing.
The Beatles wrote and sang a song We all Live in a Yellow submarine.MGM built a building and its name should have been Silver Submarine.
What a joke!!!! Sevenhills said it very well I to if I had a large expendable income I would drop the money the price tag carries at any of the shops at Crystals.I visited City Center a few months ago and I felt like I was down the road a the M resort
I was completely disappointed when they put up City Center. They took downtown Singapore/Hong Kong/Los Angeles and dropped it center Strip. Crystals?? Forget it! The only saving grace is that the Aria looks like a mirage from the top of the Rio after dark. It's really quite pretty. I stayed in Caesars' Augustus Tower over the weekend. I requested a Bellagio Fountains view. There was City Center blocking what used to be a "Vegas" view. City Center is an overpriced eyesore - it should have been built at either end of the Strip where it wouldn't be such an obstruction.
By the way, I think the M Resort is quite lovely - great food, great rooms, great players club. However, if it gets bought by Stations all of that will go away immediately. Studio B will become a Feast - ick! Red Cup will be a Coco's - no thank you!
The only joke here is the negative comments that all of you have about this beautiful building and campus that has and will continue to change the Las Vegas sky line as well as the economy. Are we all forgetting that because of this project our economy was afforded several thousands of jobs??? And just as a small FYI for all of you who are not educated in business management...Crystals will not need the critical mass to succeed.
It's really disheartening and unfortunate that during these tough economic times our community can't come together and praise the hard work and committment made by many to ensure that this beautiful project open on time. If you can't see the beauty of something that is literally located in your backyard there is no reason for you to come and visit just leave it to the people who will appreciate it.
"But the posh mall is still at least 10 retailers short of its target. Matraki said he hopes to have between 62 and 65 stores upon completion, depending on the plans of future tenants."
How about lower the standards a bit and get an ABC store or Marshall's in there?
Matraki said "Crystals is sticking to its strategy of strictly high-end luxury."
Hello, we are in a recession, 15%+ UE in the city. There are only so many Asian whales available to blow their money at this "mall."
Time for a reality check at Crystals.
Check out my LV blog. It's entertaining and informative.
http://jimmyhoofa-lv.blogspot.com/
Jimmy you haven't seen the nightly news Quote: OBAMA recession is over! NOT WHERE I LIVE MR> PRESIDENT
Yeah, blame President Obama for Jim Murren's ode to corporate (ie. Republican) greed and incompetence.. nit wit.
Daniel Libeskind's poor design is partly to blame for the very inhuman scale and feel of Crystals. The guy was a professor and theorist and had never designed a building until he was 52, 12 years ago.
Of course he did win a contest to design the new World Trade Center site in 2003, so that's why Manhattan loving Murren probably picked him. Also of course his plans for the project have been largely rejected and laughed at. Most agree his plans will never get built in New York.. at least he found a Donkey to ride in Vegas.
$hitty center is the biggest financial disaster in gaming history. The titanic times two. Now they are buried in debt with second mortgages on most of the properties and selling bonds to stay out of bankruptcy. Slow moving train wreck continues. Saw article with rumor of the Harmen hotel being imploded! The management will do anything to stay in power to continue to collect pay, bonuses and stock options--thats why they havn't gone bk already--it will screw up their gravy train.
[DISCLAIMER: Not one of the commenters above has ever launched and operated a storefront, certainly with their own money, and not likely with anyone else's, either.]
Why stop at imploding the Harmon building? the rest of City Center is just as ugly and pointless.
The design of the mall and the rest of the property is laughable.
City Center would make an excellent business school textbook case of what not to do. They were warned at the time the financial numbers made no sense. Proceeded anyway.
City Center....a monument to pure stupidity. So is the gaping hole on the strip where the Stardust ( Still was profitable) used to be. They just were not far along on construction when they realized how stupid Echelon was so they cut it off at the knees. City center was too far along to halt. Boyd deserves shame as well.
Maybe Sharon Angle knew it wasn't wise to throw good money after bad?
And Penny, mother of 3, better keep her ears pealed for yet another job - methinks the one she has isn't destined for longevity anyway.
Chunky says:
He usually doesn't respond to individual postings. However...
@Smarcello posted "It's really disheartening and unfortunate that during these tough economic times our community can't come together and praise the hard work and committment made by many to ensure that this beautiful project open on time"
It's not that Chunky and others don't appreciate the hard work of staff, contractors and vendors on CityCenter, Many of us simply resent that Murren was allowed to nearly bankrupt the largest employer in the state chasing his childhood fantasy as an urban planner!
He played Monopoly with the company and shareholders money and the livelihoods of MGM employees all motivated by his Wall Street ego to do a big deal / project.
The project opened on time at the expense of all the other MGM Resorts properties and corporate services who had to defer upgrades and work needed to be competitive. They cut staff, they had to sell Treasure Island, the Harmon is a wreck and CityCenter as a whole is only being sustained by the revenues from other properties. CC cannot stand on it's own at this moment and who knows if MGM and Dubai World will make the next payments without cannibalizing some other part of the company.
To top it off, they filled Crystals with ultra-high end retailers and pricey restaurants that cannot be sustained in the current economy. Our visitors are tired of being poached and poked, nickel and dime every time they turn around. Mr. & Mrs. Chunks make a good living but we can't afford $43 per person lunches, $100+ per person dinners, $4,000 handbags or six figure jewelry and nor can the rank and file visitor to Las Vegas. The town has lost it's value proposition and CityCenter never even came close to having it.
Chunky has not read any articles or comments condemning the hard work of MGM Resorts employees or vendors to get the project open, but he has seen more than a large share questioning the decision to build / complete and the viability of CityCenter in the current economy.
Don't be surprised if you see MGM selling off additional assets in the near future.
That's what Chunky thinks!
By next Summer, Vegas will be soaring. You heard it here first :-)
Vegas just isn't as fun as it used to be with its eye constantly on the high-end market now.
Instead of Vegas this December, I booked a trip to Disneyworld. I'll let Mickey fleece me, but at least I know I'll have a great time. I'll be buying Mickey slippers and not Prada slippers, but thanks Vegas.
How many "WHALES" do you think there are in the world? I have been in Crystals and the sales staff at Tom FOrd could barely keep their eyes open at 1:00 in the afternoon. THere is no place to sit down, I never did find the restaurants, it was like a house of horrors to walk around.
I vistited CityCenter when I vacationed in Las Vegas this summer and did not care for it. I feel it is poorly designed but kudos to the architects who designed Veer Towers. They are beautiful and unique.
There are only 3 things I like about anything about City Center:
1. The Elvis themed store across from the theater on the 2nd floor. If you are an Elvis fan you simply MUST check it out.
2. The whole complex provides a pretty addition to our skyline at night.
3. CITY CENTER PROVIDED ME WITH A WELL PAYING JOB BY MAKING ROOM FOR ME AT A HIGH END SISTER PROPERTY.
So here is my point about the Crystal shopping Center. It has provided however many jobs for good people for however many years it exists; and those people and their families are not draining the unemployment system.
To all those of you bloggers who have nothing better to do than write nasty, negative scathing posts about everything and everything; I would ask you how you would feel if you had to read all this crap about the place that provides your family a living - or about all of Vegas, which most of you would say will soon be buried under Chicken Little's falling sky.
Anyone who thinks Las Vegas is "only high end" is lazy. There is plenty to do here for everyone. Just because we cater to high rollers too shouldn't be a bad thing. Enjoy DisneyWorld ... But it isn't Vegas.
And sevenhills, you really shouldn't talk. Houses in that particular neighborhood were overpriced just because they were in, uh, "Seven Hills." As you said, "You can get same crap cheaper elsewhere without the high overhead."
Sheesh.
Arriving in the middle of CityCenter by monorail actually is an impressive experience -- like something out of Metropolis, or some other film version of an urban utopia.
Alas, the reality of CityCenter is DYStopia. Even discounting for the lousy economy, room occupancy rates are baaaad. The CityCenter -- both the hotel rooms, and the condo/hotel units (part of the overall room inventory) -- is cannibalizing bookings at other MGM-Mirage properties, as well as non-MGM properties. Guests at the Aria are ALREADY reporting shoddy service, as management is cutting corners by not having enough staff on duty to have rooms cleaned and ready for guests when they arrive, nor even enough staff to check guests in.
And this is at the Aria, for Pete's sake, the latest, greatest flagship property of the entire MGM-Mirage line. Apologies to those of you who would prefer to just wave pom-poms. I don't want to be negative -- I live here too, and would benefit from a return to the good times. But let's take off the rose tinted glasses. CityCenter, along with all the "high-end" capacity added over the past five+ years, represents monumental, greedy foolishness. That high-end market has been flooded far beyond what it will ever bear, and idiot investors (read: retirement and investments funds owned by average people like you and me, along with a handful of suckered U.A.E. princes) were sold a bill of goods.
The red ink will bleed for years to come, and lots of layoffs, lots of pain, still has to be endured, before Las Vegas emerges out the other side of this tunnel of horrors.
To Chunky,
Good riposte, above. Treat yourself to some Chunky Monkey by Ben & Jerry's. (I happen to have some in the freezer right now, as a matter of fact. Don't mind if I do!)
Chunky says:
He's outta here!
Thanks to everyone for all the mentions and even personal emails showing support for Chunky's common sense straight-forward comments. "Chunky For Sheriff" was one of his favorites!
While Chunky supports a moderated comment section and even private ID verification with the Sun, Chunky frequently comments with direct insider information that could not only endanger the Chunks family business/employment relationships but their personal safety as well.
Journalists and news media have a long history of protecting their sources of information, some journalist have even gone to jail in the process. Will the Sun now begin revealing discreet sources of information contained in their stories?
Without anonymity the comments section of the Sun will simply become a watered down, colorless version of beige full of "I agrees" "Me too" etc..
Chunky wishes the Sun would have taken a middle of the road path where identities are known and confirmed with staff, but safeguarded, protected and anonymous online.
That's what Chunky thinks!
seriously, the duplication (even triplefication) of these high end stores is redundant. and really,how do these stores justify the costs of building out and operating? walk into just about any resort or mall on the vegas strip and its just more of the "same old".....its tired...and obviously the masses agree
Aren't there enough of these places already in Vegas?? How many people can afford to drop a grand on a purse?? Or worse, $1800.00 on blue jeans from Italy?? Waste, won't be stopping at Crystal on my next visit to Vegas.
I am more than happy to see merchants in Las Vegas separate tourists from their cash, to buy high end goods. From the point of view of a Clark County taxpaper, the sales tax revenue generated on each high end sale of, say, a purse, is far more than the sales tax revenue of a purse purchased at Macy's or even Bloomingdales.
Realistically, making Las Vegas a high end shopper's paradise is a good idea, simply because women spending money on high end goods are likely to perceive gambling that money away as a waste. As a result, building high end stores (generating real estate tax revenue) and opening those stores (generating sales tax revenue) is a plus for the community. Retail sales tax dollars from Las Vegans are not diverted, because as many people observe Las Vegans are not going to shop at Crystals' stores.
As a result, rather than turning up our noses at these stores, Las Vegans should hope that plenty of "shopping tourists" leave their dollars at these stores. In fact, shopping in Las Vegas should continue to be promoted worldwide.