Nicholas Muscatello
Special to In Motion
Throughout the last six months, anticipation for the opening of the new Tanger Outlets in Daytona Beach was building among local residents. With more than 75 retailers arriving, shoppers waited patiently until they first got word of the opening in December.
Since then, 900 jobs have been awarded to those who fit the requirements. With all the hoopla, however, a few locals were dreading the outlets arrival. Travis White, a veteran manager at Maui Nix Surf Shop, is adapting to the town’s newest addition.
“My initial thought when first hearing about the outlets coming to our area was excitement. The prospect of a new shopping center could only bring in more revenue and job opportunities for the surrounding area,” said White.
But having so much competition at once quickly turned his excitement into concern.
“We had to make a lot of changes prior to their arrival. We took into account
which stores were going into the outlet, so we could order product accordingly,” White said.
Many locals had the fate of the Volusia Mall on their mind as they watched the outlets being constructed. With business moving elsewhere, shops in the mall have had to add incentives and specials to assure that the customers keep coming back. During Tangers’ grand opening, White took a trip to the outlets to check out the facility and his new competition.
“I was blown away by the magnitude of the complex,” said a laughing White, who surprisingly left the outlets with a sense of relief. “I felt confident that with Maui’s history and unique products, our customers will remain loyal.”
Workers at the new Tanger Outlets also had some adapting to do. Getting everything ready for the opening took them weeks in advance to perfect. From setting up displays to stocking inventory, they wanted to make sure things went smoothly on the big first day.
Rebekka McGrath, a student at Daytona State College, was hired by the Michael Kors store during a
Tanger Outlets job fair.
“I was really excited to be hired by MK. I love their purses,” she said, adding that getting the store ready for all of the customers took not only skill but patience as well. “I never really realized the amount of time and effort it would take, but everyone’s reaction on opening day made it worth it.”
As expected, the outlets turned into a stampede of wild animals. Purses were everywhere, lines were long and recipes were even longer. This was the scene in almost every store, the outlets had lived up to the public’s expectations.
But on the other side of town, The Volusia Mall was almost empty on the outlets’ opening day.
“It felt like a ghost town or something, it was one of our slowest days of the year,” White admitted.
With competition growing everyday between the two complexes, tensions may continue through upcoming holiday seasons. In anticipation, Maui Nix made sure to have some good Black
Friday and after-Christmas sales. Even so, the Volusia Mall will need to continue making changes and innovations to keep sales up and customers coming back for more. As this year begins, many
hope that the mall will thrive in coming years regardless of the competition.
Merchants like White know that change is inevitable. By being proactive and getting ahead of the
game, local business’ can keep competition tight.
As for White, he has an upbeat attitude for the future and “a couple tricks up my sleeve.”