Tiffanys is Hands-Down Favorite
"When asked what brought them out in the middle of a tropical storm, the two responded quickly and in unison: Tiffany's."
Area Shoppers Weather Sorrow
September 17, 2001 2:56pm
Sep. 15--TAMPA, Fla.--Call it comfort consumerism.
Though Tampa's International Plaza held its grand opening on a solemn, sodden day, shoppers still came. They wandered, wide-eyed, among Swarovski crystal and Charles Jourdan shoes, through Neiman Marcus and around Lord & Taylor.
Though the mall was not particularly crowded -- and visitors appeared to browse more than to buy -- many sought relief from the week's tragic events in the normalcy of shopping, the novelty of new shops.
I know it is a day of mourning, said Kathleen Purdy, who had daughter Sterling, 2, and son Peyton, 11 months, in tow. "But we must go on, through tragedies or tropical storms.
And we desperately need something to do, something to comfort us. Why, I've already seen friends here. It's nice to touch base and tell our own stories. Oh, and of course, Americans love to shop.
During a brief opening ceremony, Tampa Mayor Dick Greco agreed. This is so typically American, what we're doing here today, he said.
Throughout the complex, grins seemed to come easy. Children giggled as they crawled over plastic dolphins and turtles in the mall's play area. A person dressed as a Haagen-Dazs ice cream cone waved to shoppers walking past the food court.
Employees of Wolford, a boutique featuring Austrian- made hosiery and body wear, couldn't help but laugh as men walked slowly past their windows then turned around to make the pass again. The display featured a female mannequin, her backside to passers- by, wearing a pair of lace pantyhose -- and little else.
People are really loving our window, store manager Denise Kelly said. They keep pointing to the mannequins and saying to their wives or girlfriends, `Honey, why don't you wear something like that?' It's hilarious.
Tristan and Joshua Schoffer of Tampa shared a giggle, too. With sons Grayson and Garrett in a double stroller, Tristan Schoffer said, I can barely escape a mall without buying something. I suppose shopping is very American -- just like football!
Mall management said it was unable to give an estimate on the number of first-day visitors primarily because of inclement weather. Normally, management would have positioned a spotter on the roof and would have calculated shoppers by a formula incorporating the number of cars in the parking lots.
Managers said about 130 stores and restaurants were up and running. Space for about 30 more has been leased, and the mall can accommodate 40 beyond that.
The open stores included the hands-down favorite of University of South Florida students Samantha Streppone and Kathryn Cleveland.
When asked what brought them out in the middle of a tropical storm, the two responded quickly and in unison: Tiffany's.
Judy Lynne and her 11-year-old daughter, Christin, weren't nearly so choosy. By late morning, each was carrying an armful of shopping bags.
Hurricane watch or not, we were going to be here at 10 a.m., Judy Lynne said. After waiting outside in the rain, the two were greeted with applause when they walked into Neiman Marcus after the doors opened.
The mall is huge, very expansive, Judy Lynne said. It's going to take awhile to learn my way around.
It won't take that long, Mom, Christin joked.
Meanwhile, 25-year-old Franchief Jemison, daughter of mall general manager Aj Jemison, had solved a dilemma. Forced to choose from her 337 pairs of shoes for opening day, she picked sneakers.
Oh, yes, I love to shop. But I often spend money on Mom because she'll ask me to buy things for her, Franchief Jemison said.
Employees Share In Excitement Employees, too, appeared excited by the opening, even if their enthusiasm was buoyed by a bullhorn. That's what Nordstrom manager Joe Greco used to rally troops just before the doors opened, working hundreds of employees into a cheering frenzy.
More than an hour later, Geir Ness was still all smiles as he greeted men and women near the Nordstrom entrance. The Norwegian perfumer, whose Laila scent is carried exclusively by the retailer, was equally enthusiastic about shopping-as-solace.
It's not time to celebrate, but what the terrorists want is for Americans all over the world to be scared, he said. Americans need to show that this is not what they are about, not in such a free and wonderful country.
-- Reporters Carole Tarrant, Gary Haber and Frank Witsil contributed to this report.
