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Great Mall uses carpet to stand out from crowd

By Kevin Kenyon

Seeking to differentiate their center from its value megamall counterparts, the owners of The Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe, Kan., decided to take the road less traveled last year by installing carpet.

The 800,000-square-foot center, which was opened in August by Columbus, Ohio-based Glimcher Realty Trust, may not be the only major shopping center that employs such a strategy, but it is one of the first to have carpet throughout the entire center -- and use it effectively as a visual stimulus, according to Larry Ebel, Glimcher's director of store planning and design.

"Philosophically and strategically, we wanted to set the center apart from the rest of the value/entertainment marketplace," he said.

The mall, which utilizes a racetrack design, features 10 anchors: Burlington Coat Factory, a 16-screen Dickinson Theatre, Dillard's Clearance Center, Foozles, Group USA, Jeepers, Kitchen & Company, Linens 'n Things, Marshalls and Oshman's SuperSports USA.

The visually arresting center also boasts an interactive, in-mall video system -- MetroNet -- as well as wall-to-wall billboards and graphics aimed at catching the customers' attention.

The Great Mall of the Great Plains features four themed courts: Sports and Adventure, Techtainment, Home and Hobby, and Fashion, as well as two garden areas (Winter and Summer Gardens) and two themed children's areas (the Children's Maze and the Children's Zoo.)

Each zone has its own character, which is reflected in the design, and each has a different pattern of carpet, a departure from the usual philosophy that the carpet should always be the same color.

"There's a lot of visual imagery billboarding and leveraging of brand names, and all were part and parcel to the mall's strategy," Mr. Ebel explained. "The carpeting played right into that."

Besides its aesthetic appeal, Mr. Ebel said, a major factor in the decision to utilize carpet was the comfort it offers the megamall's customers, who find themselves walking long distances across the expansive center.

"I was at the center for three weeks after it opened, and I spent a lot of time walking the mall, listening to comments from shoppers, and the singular comment I heard the most was about how wonderful the carpet was," he explained.

However, after the center had been open for a few days, mall officials made an interesting discovery -- it was too quiet, mainly because the carpet was absorbing all the noise. So quiet, in fact, that it hardly created the perception among tenants and shoppers that the mall was a bustling, exciting place.

"The quiet part is a double-edged sword, because noise tends to make people think the mall is busy, so we had to crank up the sound system to compensate," Mr. Ebel explained.

Besides giving each zone its own identity, the different-colored carpeting also helps shoppers orient themselves, and has a psychological effect of changing the mood as they pass from one area to the next, he added.

"That's over and above the fact that it's a tremendous component to the 'eye candy' factor -- it's literally a visual stimulus at your feet."

While a growing number of retail centers have installed carpeting over the last several years, recent advances in technology and rapid improvements in turnaround time have made the option even more viable today, according to Eileen Devine, senior designer for JPRA Architects, Farmington Hills, Mich., which spearheaded the mall's design.

"The technology has improved immensely, but I think the reason why people are considering it more now is the availability of patterns and the ability to get samples back so quickly," Ms. Devine explained.

"Everything is under a deadline, and in the past you had to wait 6 weeks just to get samples back and get approval," she said. "It's amazing how quickly you can get the samples back now."

While the biggest drawback to carpeting has always been its inability to endure the heavy foot traffic in places like shopping centers, recent improvements have addressed those problems, according to Leslie Temples, vice president of sales for Durkan Patterned Carpet, Dalton, Ga., which supplied the carpet for The Great Mall of the Great Plains.

When the mall opened, officials were concerned about the carpet's ability to withstand the damage from the golf carts used by the center's staff. After consulting with officials from Durkan, they got the okay, and haven't had any problems since. The carpet used at the mall, Duralon IV/Super Loc-Tuft, contains an impervious moisture barrier and is manufactured to withstand heavy foot traffic.

"It's equivalent to concrete in a soft-floor treatment," Ms. Temples said. "And, because of the colorful patterns, staining is also less of a problem."

While the decision to go with carpet was mainly based on aesthetics and comfort, Glimcher's Mr. Ebel said it was also the most cost-effective choice.

Other flooring options such as tile, terrazzo or stained concrete typically cost around $10 per square foot, while the carpet used at The Great Mall of the Great Plains cost between $25 per yard to $28 per yard, he said.

However, when the surface life span is added to the equation, that's where the comparison ends, due to the fact that the others are permanent fixtures, he added.

"You have to remember that there's a tremendous maintenance factor with those surfaces, so you also have to take that into account," Mr. Ebel said.

But ceramic tile was specified for entrances, where foot traffic is heaviest, he added.

Those factors not withstanding, Mr. Ebel said the driving force to use carpet was to appeal to the mall's customers, who "clearly prefer" the surface to others currently in the area.

"We wanted to get the center on the lips of the people, and the carpet has definitely aided that cause," he explained. "It also fits right in with the mall's image -- the brand imaging, the huge billboards. They all play off each other."