Photo by Jon Anderson.
Shoppers make their way through the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover on Dec. 22, 2018. Sales at the Riverchase Galleria campus were down by $18.2 million in 2018, a 4 percent drop from 2017, according to a Hoover Sun analysis of tax records provided by the city of Hoover.
Sales at the Riverchase Galleria campus were down by $18.2 million in 2018, a 4 percent drop from 2017, according to a Hoover Sun analysis of tax records provided by the city of Hoover.
That included a $7.6 million drop in sales for December 2018 compared to December 2017 — a decline of nearly 13 percent from $58.8 million to $51.2 million, records indicate. December historically is by far the highest sales month of the year.
Those numbers include sales from Galleria outparcels, meaning all stores and restaurants inside the roughly rectangular border of Interstate 459, U.S. 31, John Hawkins Parkway and Galleria Boulevard.
The city records don’t actually show sales at the Galleria campus, but it’s possible to calculate sales based on tax records.
Mike White, general manager of the Galleria, disputed the sales numbers calculated by the Hoover Sun, saying the mall ended 2018 with a gain in sales. However, he declined to give specifics and did not explain why his numbers were not in agreement with tax records.
Some retailers at the Riverchase Galleria say they believe the shootings that occurred at the mall on Thanksgiving night and resulting protests and boycott of Hoover businesses played a significant role in the declining sales numbers for December.
Traffic at the mall was down sharply for several weeks following the shootings, and stores closed early on several occasions when protesters showed up, marching through the mall with chants and a bullhorn.
The protesters expressed anger about the Hoover police officer who shot and killed Emantic “E.J.” Bradford Jr., when Bradford pulled out a gun and began chasing after the person who had just shot an 18-year-old Birmingham man. The attorney general said the shooting by the police officer was justified, but protesters said it was another example of a police officer unjustly killing a black man.
Some stores lost employees who didn’t feel comfortable with the protests, and many took significant hits to their bottom line, retailers said.
Carlos Chaverst Jr., president of the Birmingham Justice League that led the protests and boycott, said he believes their actions, combined with the shootings themselves, had a direct impact on revenue at the mall.
“We did the best we could with a short amount of time,” Chaverst said. “I feel like we did what we could, and we were successful.”
His group is continuing its call for an economic boycott of not just the Galleria but the entire city of Hoover.
Iyishia Jones, owner of the Ishi women’s clothing boutique, said some retailers rely on the two heavy months at Christmas to pay bills for the rest of the year. She was heartbroken to see the impact on some small business owners, she said.
Her sales remained steady in December, but she didn’t get the typical Christmas influx she was expecting, she said. Fortunately, she was able to shift inventory to her other stores in Mountain Brook, Homewood and Montgomery, she said.
A man named Abraham who runs kiosks at the Galleria said his business was cut in half for November and December. “People were scared — too much drama in the mall,” he said.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said he doesn’t think the boycott had any effect whatsoever, and he doesn’t think the protests had much of an effect. “What I do think is individuals elected to have a gunfight in the middle of a crowded mall on the busiest night of the year,” Brocato said. “People tend to be afraid when there’s a gun battle happening right around them.”
That hurt mall traffic for about two weeks, but then there was a surge of shoppers the last two or three weeks of December, he said. “We saw people from all over the metro area wanting to come to Hoover to shop and provide support. We’re very grateful that they saw it that way.”
White said the traffic those three weeks was as heavy as he has ever seen it at the mall.
Melissa Lopez, one of the owners of the Luna by Brio boutique, said the first month after the shooting was nerve-wracking, but after a few weeks, they saw that wave of support from people inside and outside of Hoover. “It felt good,” Lopez said.
That time of trial brought the merchants in the mall together like a family, she and Jones said.
January and February are slow months for retail anyway, but with the arrival of March, “sales have definitely picked up,” Lopez said. “It feels like it’s back to normal. We feel a little better, hopeful. … We’re starting to see our customers come in and be happy and excited to be shopping in the Hoover mall.”
The mayor said the city’s decline in revenue growth from sales taxes is not a shock. It’s something the city has been tracking and predicted would continue as more people shop online instead of in brick-and-mortar stores, he said.
City Administrator Allan Rice noted that the population growth of the Birmingham-Hoover metro area has been flat, but the number of large shopping centers has increased in recent years to include new centers in places like Trussville, Gardendale, McCalla, Alabaster and The Summit. Some of those retail centers have lured shoppers away from Hoover, he said.
Melinda Lopez, the city of Hoover’s chief financial officer, noted that sales at the Riverchase Galleria campus already were declining this year before the shootings ever took place. City records indicate a decline in sales for every month of 2018 but July and October.
The actual sales tax revenue that came to the city of Hoover through the Galleria campus did increase in 2018 by $13,875, but only because the city raised its general sales tax rate from 3 percent to 3.5 percent, effective Oct. 1. If sales from the Galleria campus had remained flat in 2018, the city would have gained another $272,769 in taxes.
Brocato said retail is not dying; it’s just changing, and the new owners of the Galleria are having serious discussions with city officials about converting the mall property into more of a city center with additional dining and entertainment options, perhaps including a performing arts center.
It’s not just wishful thinking, Rice said. They’re drafting a site plan and compiling financial data, he said. “It has to work from a business standpoint.”
White said he remains confident in the Galleria’s future. He has seen sales pick up considerably this year and, while some stores have closed due to national bankruptcies, there is a lot of backfilling in the works, he said.