The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this morning wants to know why at least one high-end clothing retailer who was considering Atlanta opted instead to move to Dallas -- ya know, "a city associated with big hair and bright colors," argh. The retailer in question is "hip Spanish retail chain" MNG by Mango, which decided after some deliberation to open a store in NorthPark Center rather than in Atlanta. And why?
Because "Dallas is up and coming," says franchise owner Garo Ghevondian -- and the fact NorthPark now hosts its own Fashion Week, Fashion at the Park (coming again in November, incidentally), didn't hurt. Also quoted in the piece is Ed Fox, director of the J.C. Penney Center for Retail Excellence at SMU's Cox School of Business. Figures Fox at Cox, without Neiman Marcus, we'd be lost. Instead, it turned this city into an "an area in the Sunbelt where fashion mattered and people paid attention to it." Yes, thank God. --Robert Wilonsky