Potomac Mills

Joining the ranks of retailers with stores devoted to selling excess inventory at bargain-basement prices, R.H. Macy & Co. has announced it will open five clearance stores in outlet malls or free-standing locations around the country.A company spokesman said yesterday that Macy's had based its decision on the success of its six warehouse clearance centers. But unlike those clearance centers, which are typically near Macy's regular stores, the new close-out stores will be in outlet malls, which have been gaining popularity among shoppers.

The Baltimore region's biggest mall opened its doors yesterday to tens of thousands of shoppers drawn to a 1.3 million-square-foot extravaganza that blends shopping and entertainment, offering everything from virtual bowling to a discount version of Saks Fifth Avenue. The first shoppers at the theme-park style Arundel Mills thronged the hardwood-floor corridors, finding themselves inside a blinking pinball machine or sitting on a giant lily pad with dragonflies buzzing overhead. They lined up at outlet stores such as Off 5th - Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet and stormed the railroad-themed food court.

Baltimore's W. B. Doner & Co. has landed the advertising account for Potomac Mills Mall, the sprawling outlet center that claims to be the most popular tourist attraction in Virginia, the agency announced yesterday.Doner said the account would yield an estimated $1.1 million in billings over the next year, but if the agency's campaign pleases Western Development, the mall's owner, the long-term payoff could be much bigger.Doner's primary assignment would be to increase the frequency with which residents of Potomac Mills' core market visit the center, said Jim Dale, the agency's chairman and chief executive.

Their arguments have been called extremist, alarmist and off-the-wall. But claims by a newly formed group that the proposed Arundel Mills mall will destroy the Piney Run watershed and create traffic gridlock are based on the impacts associated with a similar mall in Virginia.While Prince William County officials view Potomac Mills mall as an economic success, others say the shopping complex has led to deterioration of nearby Potomac River tributaries and has been a major contributor to the area's notorious traffic snarls.

DALE CITY, Va. -- Strolling past the Saks Off Fifth outlet, Dress Barn and a camera store in the vast corridors of the Potomac Mills discount mall, three college students from France smiled with anticipation as they spotted a shop that sold athletic wear.When they emerged with their purchases, including the New York Yankees baseball caps that were high on their list, one student, Philippe D'Haucourt, said, "Now that we've seen the tourist sights, we can go home."His quip held more than a kernel of truth.

Strolling past the Saks Off Fifth outlet, Dress Barn and a camera store in the vast corridors of the Potomac Mills discount mall in Dale City, Va., three college students from France smiled with anticipation as they spotted a shop that sold athletic wear.When they emerged with their purchases, including the New York Yankees baseball caps that were high on their list, one student, Philippe D'Haucourt, said, "Now that we've seen the tourist sights, we can go home."His quip held more than a kernel of truth.

Their arguments have been called extremist, alarmist and off-the-wall. But claims by a newly formed group that the proposed Arundel Mills mall will destroy the Piney Run watershed and create traffic gridlock are based on the impacts associated with a similar mall in Virginia.While Prince William County officials view Potomac Mills mall as an economic success, others say the shopping complex has led to deterioration of nearby Potomac River tributaries and has been a major contributor to the area's notorious traffic snarls.

Target Stores, the nation's third largest discount chain, is stepping up plans to enter the Baltimore-Washington market, aiming to open 12 stores by July and another seven by the end of 1996, sources say.Almost overnight, Minneapolis-based Target would become one of the dominant retailers in the region, offering discounted merchandise rivaling those of other major chains and creating as many as 4,275 jobs next year alone and up to 9,000 jobs by the end...

Doll habitsA doll from the Blessings collection may not have the immediate cachet of, say, a Madame Alexander; but these authentically dressed nuns are a hot collectible -- in spite of their $180 price tag.The company's No. 1 seller nationwide is a doll dressed in the habit of the Order of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, local to Baltimore. (There are dolls representing other Baltimore orders as well.) All dolls can be ordered with white or black skin and brown or blue eyes.

BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST.That strategy is driving the retail industry -- and consumer spending -- to new limits.There was a time when Harundale Mall in Glen Burnie provided the ultimate shopping experience in these parts. Look at it now.It's a tattered shell as it sits with one last department store and a couple of banks.In the midst of a conversion to a conventional strip shopping center, it has been relegated to the dustbin of retailing history.Harundale, which pulled shoppers from downtown Glen Burnie and Baltimore, was overtaken by bigger fish, including one a short drive down Ritchie Highway: the stylish Marley Station.

BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST.That strategy is driving the retail industry -- and consumer spending -- to new limits.There was a time when Harundale Mall in Glen Burnie provided the ultimate shopping experience in these parts. Look at it now.It's a tattered shell as it sits with one last department store and a couple of banks.In the midst of a conversion to a conventional strip shopping center, it has been relegated to the dustbin of retailing history.Harundale, which pulled shoppers from downtown Glen Burnie and Baltimore, was overtaken by bigger fish, including one a short drive down Ritchie Highway: the stylish Marley Station.

Breakfast meeting will focus on corporate giving The Maryland Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives (NSFRE) is sponsoring a breakfast and training meeting on corporate giving from 7: 30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday at Country Inn and Suites by Carlson, 2600 Housley Road, Annapolis. Speakers are Jim Hollan, vice president for administration and finance, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, and Carl Smith, area manager, external affairs, Bell Atlantic.

REGARDLESS OF its location, a 1.5 million square-foot shopping mall will alter the nature of its surroundings.The coalition of 30 civic groups that opposes the proposed development of a large outlet discount mall in northern Anne Arundel County's Harmans, near the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Routes 100 and 176, is right about that. However, change in a neighborhood's character is not sufficient reason to reject the proposed mall.Any large development brings change. Over the past 15 years, the north side of Baltimore-Washington International Airport has been altered tremendously.

Doll habitsA doll from the Blessings collection may not have the immediate cachet of, say, a Madame Alexander; but these authentically dressed nuns are a hot collectible -- in spite of their $180 price tag.The company's No. 1 seller nationwide is a doll dressed in the habit of the Order of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, local to Baltimore. (There are dolls representing other Baltimore orders as well.) All dolls can be ordered with white or black skin and brown or blue eyes.

Strolling past the Saks Off Fifth outlet, Dress Barn and a camera store in the vast corridors of the Potomac Mills discount mall in Dale City, Va., three college students from France smiled with anticipation as they spotted a shop that sold athletic wear.When they emerged with their purchases, including the New York Yankees baseball caps that were high on their list, one student, Philippe D'Haucourt, said, "Now that we've seen the tourist sights, we can go home."His quip held more than a kernel of truth.

DALE CITY, Va. -- Strolling past the Saks Off Fifth outlet, Dress Barn and a camera store in the vast corridors of the Potomac Mills discount mall, three college students from France smiled with anticipation as they spotted a shop that sold athletic wear.When they emerged with their purchases, including the New York Yankees baseball caps that were high on their list, one student, Philippe D'Haucourt, said, "Now that we've seen the tourist sights, we can go home."His quip held more than a kernel of truth.

The Baltimore region's biggest mall opened its doors yesterday to tens of thousands of shoppers drawn to a 1.3 million-square-foot extravaganza that blends shopping and entertainment, offering everything from virtual bowling to a discount version of Saks Fifth Avenue. The first shoppers at the theme-park style Arundel Mills thronged the hardwood-floor corridors, finding themselves inside a blinking pinball machine or sitting on a giant lily pad with dragonflies buzzing overhead. They lined up at outlet stores such as Off 5th - Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet and stormed the railroad-themed food court.

Breakfast meeting will focus on corporate giving The Maryland Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives (NSFRE) is sponsoring a breakfast and training meeting on corporate giving from 7: 30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday at Country Inn and Suites by Carlson, 2600 Housley Road, Annapolis. Speakers are Jim Hollan, vice president for administration and finance, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, and Carl Smith, area manager, external affairs, Bell Atlantic.

Target Stores, the nation's third largest discount chain, is stepping up plans to enter the Baltimore-Washington market, aiming to open 12 stores by July and another seven by the end of 1996, sources say.Almost overnight, Minneapolis-based Target would become one of the dominant retailers in the region, offering discounted merchandise rivaling those of other major chains and creating as many as 4,275 jobs next year alone and up to 9,000 jobs by the end...

Baltimore's W. B. Doner & Co. has landed the advertising account for Potomac Mills Mall, the sprawling outlet center that claims to be the most popular tourist attraction in Virginia, the agency announced yesterday.Doner said the account would yield an estimated $1.1 million in billings over the next year, but if the agency's campaign pleases Western Development, the mall's owner, the long-term payoff could be much bigger.Doner's primary assignment would be to increase the frequency with which residents of Potomac Mills' core market visit the center, said Jim Dale, the agency's chairman and chief executive.