260 CHAPTER 10 CHANNELCONCEPTS:DISTRIBUTINGTHEPRODUCT
threathasbeentherapidgrowthoffranchising.Franchisingis nota newdevelopment.The
majoroilcompaniessuchas~(obilhavelongenfranchiseditsdealers, whoonlysellthe
productsofthef;-anchiser(theoilcompanies).Automobilemanufacturers alsoenfrancilise
theirdealers,whosella stipulatedmakeofcar(e.g.,Chevrolet)endoperatethei~business
tosomeextentasthemanufacturerwishes.
PlannedShoppingCenterslMaUs AfterWorldWarII,theUnitedStatesunder-
went manychanges.Amongthosemostinfluentialonretailingwerethegrowthofthepop-
ulationandoftheeconomy.Newhighwayconstructionenabledpeopletoleavetheconge~ted
centralcitiesandmovetonewlydevelopedsuburbanresidentialcommunities.~hismove-
menttothesuburbsestablishedtheneedfornewcentersofretailingtoservetheexplod-
ingpopulations.By 1960 therewere4,500suchcenterswithbothchainsandnonchains
vyingferlocation~.
Suchregi~mal:.;hoppingcentersaresuccessfulbecausetheyprovidecustomerswith
a wideas:;orLnen:of~1foducts.Ifyouwanttobuya suitora dress,a regionalshopping
centerpr0videsmanyalternativesinonelocation.Regionalcentersarethoselargercen-
tersthattypicallyhaveoneormoredepartmentstoresasmajortenants.Communitycen-
tersaremOCieratf;~Ysizedwithperhapsa juniordepartmentstore;whileneighborhoodcenters
aresmall,withthekeystOfeusuallya supermarket.Localclustersareshoppingdistricts
thathavesimplygrownovertimearoundkeyintersections, courthouses,andthelike.String
streetlocationsarealongmajortrafficroutes,whileisolatedlocationsarefreestandingsites
notnecessarilyinheavytrafficareas. Storesinisolatedlocationsmustusepromotionor
someotheraspectoftheirmarketingmixtoattractshoppers.Still,asindicatedinthe:next
Newsline,mallsarefacingseriousproblems.
NEWSLINE:THEMALL: ATHINGOFTHEPAST?
Shewasbornintoretailroyalty,adouble-deckershrinetocapitalism
thatseducedcoolcustomersaCIdwild-~yedshopaholicsaliketoroam
herexhaustingmixof 200 stores }-Ierfunky,W-shapeddesignwas
pure1960s,asifdreamedupbythatera'snotedarchitecturalwhiz,
MikeBrady.Whenherdoorsopenedthefirstmorning,abrassband
serenadedthearrivingmob.
CinderellaCity,oncethebiggestcoveredmallontheplanet,wasa
verybigdeal-foraboutsixyears,untilthenextgleamingmallcame
alongin1974.That'swhenthemusicstoppedatCinderellaCity.
Soonthepatronsgrewscarce,theconcretebegancrvmblingand
graffitistainedsomeofthewalls.It'snotpretty,butthat'sthe~old
lawoftheconsumerjungle.Oneminuteyou'reluringshoppersfrom
milesaroundtochuganOrangeJuliusorgrabasnackatthePretzel
Hut; a fewyearsgoby,andthey'replantingyouinthedreadedmall
graveyard.
Backthen,peoplemadeadayoutofwanderingthemassivecon-
coursesand lunchinginthefoodcourts.Today,withlessfree:jme
availableformanypeople,shoppingisseenasanecessity.Spending
timewithyourfamilyandathomeismoreimportantthanspending
timeinastore.
Thenewestmallsreflectthemodernneedforshoppingspeed.Cov-
eredshoppingcentersnowcomeequippedwithdozensofdoorstothe
out s ideinsteadoftwomainentrancesthatushercrowdsinandout