Letter to the Editor: Vote "Yes," Preserve Moorestown

To the editor:

Just hung up the phone with the International Council of Shopping Centers, the folks that show malls how to improve their bottom line.  

I suggested they might want to relocate to Moorestown because we’re loaded with mall marketing savants. Like I said to them, who would have thunk it?! These savants have all the answers, including how to fix the mall’s 30 percent vacancy problem.

For instance, I just read that if the mall could get an Apple store, all its problems would go away because any mall that has an Apple store is doing well. I wonder if that these malls were already doing well was the reason Apple decided to open stores in those locations? And of course, one of the best suggestions from a resident was "Hey, let's just boycott the Mall." Yeah, let's show that pesky mall that we don't really need the $3 million-plus it pays in taxes. This is the type of thinking we're getting from the folks who are against the liquor referendum.  

Now I'm not a mall marketing savant, but I do know that an enormous amount of synergy exists among mall tenants. Solid brand names follow other solid names because they attract customers. Look at the names that live at the Cherry Hill Mall: Nordstrom, Capital Grille, Crate and Barrel, Maggiano's, Seasons 52, and the list goes on and on. And because of name recognition these brands carry, the Cherry Hill Mall will continue to thrive and grow.  

So here's the message to the savants. The mall is the heart of Moorestown's tax base. If this heart continues to weaken, everyone in the community will be harmed. If the mall’s tax payment continues to go down, how will this shortfall be made up? The answer is simple. Raise taxes, cut spending, reduce services, and lay off teachers and cops.

There's no guarantee that passing the liquor referendum will totally solve the mall's problem, but you can be sure if it doesn't pass, the mall will get sicker and so will you.  

Frank Gilanelli
Moorestown