WHAT FOOD COURTS HAVE TAUGHT THE INDUSTRY

Mall food courts are having the same problems the shopping center industry had initially. Namely, they evolved from yesterday's strip center to today's highly sophisticated shopping edifices. Among the things we've learned:

Different store mixes fit differing areas. Or put another way, malls aren't all things to all people.

Differing store combinations result in varying performances.

A store's success is a function of its placement within the mall.

Each mall has its own character. Even in the same general area, they are often different. For example, the average age of shoppers at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, is in the high 20s.  In the same general market area, Randhurst Center's average customer is in his/her mid to upper 30s.  The point is, retailers need to study the demographic of individual trading areas, rather than simply "follow the mall's."

The smart developers have learned that retailing and malls are a joint venture, with each side recognizing the needs of the other and working toward a common goal that will produce the highest performance, sales and profits, as well as rents and overages.

Unfortunately, in looking at shopping center food courts,