A Shopping Caste System

Today, Annabel and I went to the Galleria to pick up my watch. I was having it repaired at a store there. After picking it up, we had a little time to kill, so we walked around a bit. Well, I walked, and Annabel observed from her stroller. As I went from store to store and floor to floor, I discovered that the Galleria has a caste system! Yes, the first floor holds top end, posh brand-name stores. The second floor holds the "middle America" shops, the brands we all know and love and shop (on sale). And all the "bargain" shops are way up in the nosebleed section (third floor).

The obvious illustration of this store hierarchy is the BR (Floor 1)/Gap (Floor 2)/ON (Old Navy) conglomerate that anchors one end of the mall. Here are a few other examples in their corresponding retail categories to further illustrate my point.

Eateries: La Madeleine / Corner Bakery / Subway
Footwear: Gucci / Nine West / Payless
Accessories: Louis Vuitton / Fossil / Claire's
Cosmetics: L'Occitane / Bath and Body Works / Perfume Village
Jewelry: Cartier / Zales / Fast Fix Jewelry and Repair

I mean, I get that they are sort of grouping their stores by customer segment, but it's a bit extreme, don't you think? I mean, I own a Louis Vuitton, use Bath and Body Works lotion and eat at Subway. I can't possibly be the only who does that. Am I? Oh well. I guess that's why I'm not a mall designer!

In any case, here are a couple of pics from our adventures at the mall. Our girl is a fun shopping partner!

Annabel insisted on holding on to our excellent clearance finds at the Gap. Although, I know this picture looks more like I stuffed the bag onto her seat with her. But I didn't!

See? Clutching that bag like a new baby!

We also checked out their playground. She had a lot of fun because there was so much to do and not too crowded. And she especially enjoyed it since it featured one of her favorite types of playground equipment...

A tunnel!

I haven't been to the Galleria in awhile, so this was fun going outside our usual routine. Even though I disguised myself in my sunglasses and hood the whole time we were on the third floor.

Cheers,