Yesterday, wife and I went to the movie theater at the Music City Mall (formerly known as Vista Ridge Mall) in Lewisville, TX to see the movie "Cabrini" (but the movie is a whole nuther story.)

We hadn't been to this mall in quite some time, and it was a shocking eye-opener. We remember it to be a lively, bustling mall with lots of people walking the corridors, and almost 100% store occupancy. As we got there early, we had the opportunity to walk the mall. To our surprise, it appears virtually dead. We saw about a dozen people walking inside. We'd estimate that about 20% of the store fronts were occupied, and those that were occupied were of cheap, 3rd world kind of establishments. One storefront boasted, "Nothing over $8.99 in the entire store." There were previously 4 large anchor stores, like JCPenney, Macys, Dillards, Sears…now only 1 remains, and Dillards was renamed to Dillards Clearance…one can only imagine!

It sure looks like the Music City Mall will soon be the recipient of the wrecker's ball, much like the Valley View Mall in Dallas which was demolished in 2019.

We live in the heart of what used to be the furniture MANUFACTURING center of the world. It's still one of two furniture MARKETING centers of the world, and far more diverse than it was in its heyday. But since the 1980s, and especially during the last big recession, it shrank rapidly, as most of the manufacturers left for China, Brazil, and cheaper labor markets.

Of course, that, plus the effects of Internet commerce, killed or crippled local Malls. Oak Hollow Mall in High Point, NC, is now being gutted by its new owner, the very upscale High Point University, which is nearby and growing like a weed. The perimeter road still has a McDonalds, a Marriott, and a Target store, but nearly everything else is gone. Meanwhile, Friendly Center, a strip shopping center in Greensboro, NC, is a relatively healthy upscale "open air mall" shopping center that sprawls over a large area. It's been around since 1957.

Furniture is made wherever the labor is cheap and the workers are skilled. Much of it is marketed from High Point, NC, and Milan, Italy, although a lot of companies are headquartered elsewhere. The biggest and best attend the shows.

The High Point Furniture Market, a sprawling trade show which is only for buyers, designers, and manufacturers, happens twice a year. It is usually five days in April and five days in October, plus all the setup and breakdown days for exhibitors. Much of downtown High Point is a shell during the rest of the year. April and October are crazy, though.

Yesterday, wife and I went to the movie theater at the Music City Mall (formerly known as Vista Ridge Mall) in Lewisville, TX to see the movie "Cabrini" (but the movie is a whole nuther story.)

We hadn't been to this mall in quite some time, and it was a shocking eye-opener. We remember it to be a lively, bustling mall with lots of people walking the corridors, and almost 100% store occupancy. As we got there early, we had the opportunity to walk the mall. To our surprise, it appears virtually dead. We saw about a dozen people walking inside. We'd estimate that about 20% of the store fronts were occupied, and those that were occupied were of cheap, 3rd world kind of establishments. One storefront boasted, "Nothing over $8.99 in the entire store." There were previously 4 large anchor stores, like JCPenney, Macys, Dillards, Sears…now only 1 remains, and Dillards was renamed to Dillards Clearance…one can only imagine!

It sure looks like the Music City Mall will soon be the recipient of the wrecker's ball, much like the Valley View Mall in Dallas which was demolished in 2019.