More in store for Automobile Alley
Retail version 1.0 along Automobile Alley is coming to an end, and no time is being wasted starting up on version 2.0.
The first wave of retail started about a decade ago with the opening of Schlegel Bicycle shop, Rawhide, Plenty Mercantile, Broadway Wine Merchants and Shop Good. Other notable additions toward the end of 1.0 included Sara Kate Studio, Urbane, Blue Water Divers, The Factory and OK Runner.
It’s a good mix of clothing, gifts, home goods, shoes, furniture, wine, bicycles, and yes, even SCUBA gear. But as the retail environment has proved to be increasingly challenging in the era of Amazon, we are starting to see a shift.
Let’s start first with who is gone and who is coming onto Automobile Alley.
The Factory, an upscale clothing store, emptied out a few weeks ago and is being remade by its owner, Ashley Liddel along with partners Shyon Keoppel and Jaynie Baker.
The new store, Gemma, is aimed at providing shoppers an affordable shot at trendy clothing, Koeppel said, with a mix of women’s clothing along with consignment designer handbags and shoes.
Steve Mason, meanwhile, is presiding over several other changes that involve the closing of Rawhide, the move and expansion of Shop Good, and
the addition of Twinkle Apothecary.
“I found Rawhide eight years ago on East Main in Norman,” Mason said. “Rawhide was attracted to the future and opportunity of Automobile
Alley. While the pedestrian traffic along Automobile Alley has exploded the last three years, those pedestrians aren’t Rawhide customers. They aren’t shopping for a cowboy couch. Retail is tiring. The owner was ready to retire from retail.”
Shop Good, meanwhile, is a hit with those same
pedestrians who have bought its local themed clothing, merchandise and gifts. Shop Good, like Plenty, does “experience” shopping — creating not just a place to shop but to interact and be a part of a greater retail happening.
Mason, who has excelled in recruiting retail to his urban core properties, sees all this
change as an advantage moving forward.
“While the common consensus is retail is dying, the correct retail is not dying,” Mason said. “Retail that is not Amazon is not dying. Retail that is not big box in the suburbs is not dying. Shop is preparing to expand their store times five in the Rawhide space and the
experience with this store will be incredible.”
The current Shop Good space on NW 9, meanwhile, is quickly being taken by Twinkle Apothecary. The shop, until now only online, specializes is cruelty free, all natural deodorants, perfumes and body care.
And so Retail 2.0 on Automobile Alley gets
started, and the lessons seems obvious. It’s not enough to open a storefront. Creating a shopping experience matters. Keeping products at a reasonable price matters as well.
So don’t despair seeing the empty storefronts on Broadway. Changes are coming quickly. And the revival of downtown retail is still going strong.