April 15, 2016 - Shoppers wander inside Wolfchase Galleria mall in Germantown. (Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal)

SHARE April 15, 2016 - Shoppers walk toward the entrance to Wolfchase Galleria mall in Germantown. (Brandon Dill/Special to The Commercial Appeal)

By Cindy Wolff, Special to The Commercial Appeal

While major malls across America search for ways to hang onto their anchor stores, experts say cheesecake may signal that Wolfchase Galleria stays among the surviving power malls.

The opening last year of the region's first Cheesecake Factory, a destination restaurant that has been constantly crowded, and the recent announcement of three new tenants is good news for the Memphis mall as a maelstrom swirls in the national retail industry.

Lovesick and Papaya, both trendy clothing stores, are opening their first stores in the Memphis market at Wolfchase, said Arianne Cousin, the mall's marketing and communications director. The third store is Kid's Footlocker.

Wolfchase's new stores join anchors Sears and J.C. Penney, retail icons that have closed hundreds of stores across the country. Sears is closing its East Memphis store at Poplar and Perkins, which dominated that intersection for more than 50 years along with Macy's — formerly Goldsmith's — across the street in Oak Court Mall.

Wolfchase is gaining tenants during a tumultuous time for malls. More than 15 percent are expected to fail over the next 10 years, according to Green Street Advisors, an analytic firm that follows the real estate industry.

But analysts expect Wolfchase to stand among the regional malls that should remain after the fallout.

"There hasn't been a major enclosed mall built since 2006," said Howard Davidowitz, a New York real estate consultant. "And there won't be again. Malls are not going to disappear, but they will diminish."

Wolfchase will likely withstand the decay of American malls, he said, as long as the mall keeps its anchors open.

"The Cheesecake Factory opening there is a very good signal about the strength of that mall," Davidowitz said. "You've got Simon (Property Group) as the owner. Simon is the largest developer and the strongest."

Power malls still have to compete with a new trend. Anchor retailers are opening "off the mall" discount divisions, Davidowitz said. In Memphis, Nordstrom Rack plans to open on the site where Sears now stands.

"What does the fact that Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and Nordstrom are opening discount businesses tell you?" he said. "That these businesses see the future, and I happen to agree."

But 70-year-old Dora Montgomery isn't looking for bargains outside the mall. She and her friend, 78-year-old Barbara Joyner, come to Wolfchase once a week to check out Dillard's, Macy's and J.C. Penney.

They beeline to sales or clearance racks.

Montgomery had her eye on a Ruby Rose multi-colored blouse at Dillard's that originally cost $58.

It was already marked down 40 percent to $27, but that wasn't low enough for the Millington resident.

"I'm waiting for the 65 percent off," Montgomery said. "They'll put it in the paper and then I'll come get it unless someone wanted to pay the higher price. If they bought my blouse, oh well, what can I do about it. I didn't want to pay $27."

The women, friends for 18 years, take a stroll around the mall whenever they come. It's quiet in the daytime, a few people shopping, some mothers bringing their children to play areas, employees shopping on their breaks or eating lunch in the food court. The two women don't come to the mall at night.

"That's not the time for people our age," Joyner said. "That's when young people come. I don't drive at night anyway."

While at the mall recently, they ran into their neighbors, 81-year-old Orlan Robinson and his wife Jean, 80.

The couple, who will be married 60 years next week, stroll around the mall at least once or twice a week.

"I call it retail therapy," Orlan said. "If I don't bring her out here at least once a week I can't get along with her. She needs to come shop or at least look around."

Memphis has lost two of its five regional malls: Mall of Memphis and Raleigh Springs Mall. Hickory Ridge Mall is now Hickory Ridge Towne Center with a reduced number of tenants. Southland Mall still has one anchor Sears store and around 60 tenants, although the Macy's was closed. Oak Court Mall and Wolfchase are the largest and strongest malls left in the city.

"Wolfchase has always been biggest" for sales and its regional geographic draw, said Danny Buring, a local real estate broker. "Since it opened there hasn't been another enclosed mall built here."

Cousin, director of marketing and communication, said the store mix appeals to shoppers, especially parents whose children must try on clothes and shoes.

"It's difficult to buy online since children change sizes so often," she said. "I believe people just want to put their hands on things they want to buy."

Also, the mall offers events to bring families in on a regular basis. There's a quarterly program called Kidget, an event club kids can join, breakfast with Santa, the Easter bunny, a train that runs around the mall and a full-size carousel that nearly always has a rider or two.

Two locally owned boutiques, Yellow Lovebirds and Image Boutique, recently opened in the mall. Yellow Lovebirds owner Carrie Hancock said boutiques are trendy because they provide a smaller offering of clothes typically not found on racks of chain stores. While many expect items in boutiques to be expensive, Hancock says her clothes average around $40.

"Our clothes are contemporary and eclectic," she said. "They aren't the same clothes you see everyone wearing around town. I think that's why people like to shop in boutiques."

Only a few boutiques dapple the 1.3-million-square-foot mall, where the primary tenants are the national chains.

They include nail and hair salons, Bath & Body Works, Claire's and Icing, which sell inexpensive jewelry, a watch fix-it store, and plenty of trendy clothing stores such as American Eagle, Hollister and Spencer's.

Walking in the mall recently shoppers were Yakima Jackson and George Anderson. They visit Wolfchase not so much to buy, but like many Memphians, for entertainment.

"It's something to do," they agreed.