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Michaels Coming to Greenwood Mall

 

March 15, 2011
 
Greenwood, SC -  Michaels, a large national chain specializing in arts and crafts items, will be setting up shop in Greenwood Mall this fall.

John Gibson, of Hull Storey Gibson, which owns the mall, formally made the announcement Monday afternoon. Gibson said Michaels will occupy the space on the west end of the mall where Fashion Shack used to be. Construction is under way at that site.

Michaels Stores Inc. is the largest specialty retailer in North America of arts, crafts, framing, floral, wall décor and seasonal merchandise for the hobbyist and do-it-yourself home decorator.

As of Feb. 16, the company owns and operates 1,046 Michaels stores in 49 states and Canada and 137 Aaron Brothers stores.

Gibson said Michaels will be considered a “junior anchor store” in the mall, and he hopes it will help spur further growth at the retail facility.

“I think this really is a great comment on the community,” Gibson said of Michaels’ impending arrival. “I think (it is notable), in this economic environment, to get a national retailer to come into Greenwood and make that kind of commitment. This is not 2005 or 2006 or 2007 when lots of retailers were spending lots of money and going into lots of different places. I think, in this kind of an environment, this really says a lot about Greenwood for the future.

“We are just delighted to have the opportunity to be a part of that.”

The Michaels announcement is part of a recent flurry of activity at the mall. Children’s clothier The Children’s Place recently opened there and construction is under way which will make room for a large national family clothing chain to set up shop.

Gibson said he could be prepared to make a formal announcement about the incoming large national family clothing chain as soon as next week.

“We are going to be successful where the community is going to be successful,” Gibson said. “We have the best location in the market, at the corner of Bypass 72 and (U.S.) 25, relative to the traffic counts. We think we’ve got the best traffic counts. We think we’ve got the best real estate. We’ve owned that mall for 10 years, and we’ve just been looking for the right opportunity when the right mix of national tenants were prepared to make a move.

“We think we’ve put that together.”

For more on Michaels, visit www.michaels.com.