Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax announced the opening of nearly a dozen new stores, most of which will be set to welcome customers by the end of the summer, during a news conference Wednesday.
Eleven of the stores are locating in the mall for the first time. Among them are new locations for Apple, Michael Kors, Swarovski Crystal, Evado Menswear, Vans, Forever 21 and American Eagle’s new Aerie lingerie line. Bailey Banks & Biddle has been expanded and renovated, and the Limited Too is being renovated and will reopen in July. The 13 stores total 82,000 square feet, 52,000 square feet of which will be for the new Forever 21, also opening in July. Faces Cosmetics, Sandella’s Flatbread, Piccomolo Italian Ice Cream and Fuzziwig’s Candy Factory will also be added.
Some of the retailers chose Fair Oaks Mall to debut their latest prototype stores. The new Apple store, which opened just recently, is the first of its kind in the metro area, featuring an open entrance without any glass. The new Forever 21 store will be the largest of its kind in the country, as will the expanded Bailey Banks & Biddle jeweler. The mall is also home to the first Michael Kors location in the metro area.
While the national economy is slowing, retail sales at Fair Oaks Mall are set to exceed all previous years in 2008. “We see good business across all merchandise categories,” said Chris Poleto, general manager of Fair Oaks Mall. Fairfax’s “population density, level of wealth and high education” are “great factors” to the retail strength, he said.
The market “has intensified in density and growth” and is “extremely strong,” said Richard Lake, principal with D.C.-based real estate firm Roadside Development, who did the leasing on Fairfax Town Center, located next to Fair Oaks. “It has better-qualityretailers” targeting upper- and middle-income shoppers, he said, and it’s “trending well.”
