Chain Store Growth Biggest in Brooklyn
After decades of mostly mom and pop retail, chain stores are moving to Brooklyn. The borough had the biggest increase in chain stores of any in New York, an increase of 2.8 percent in 2013, bringing the total number of chain stores in Brooklyn to 1,511, according to a report from the Center for an…
After decades of mostly mom and pop retail, chain stores are moving to Brooklyn. The borough had the biggest increase in chain stores of any in New York, an increase of 2.8 percent in 2013, bringing the total number of chain stores in Brooklyn to 1,511, according to a report from the Center for an Urban Future. Capital New York was the first to cover the report.
Dunkin Donuts has the most stores of any chain in Brooklyn, with a total of 123. Its October opening at the corner of Bedford and North 7th in Williamsburg, above, got a lot of attention. Other retailers gaining in Brooklyn include Subway, Metro PCS, 7 Eleven, Family Dollar, Auntie Anne’s, Popeye’s and T Mobile. The transformation of downtown’s Fulton Mall by national and global retailers such as H&M, Century 21 and T.J. Maxx has been widely noted. Do you think it’s high time Brooklyn got some attention from big retailers, or do you prefer local stores?
Photo via Gothamist
I think it depends on the particular store and the location. It’s one thing to have an H&M open in downtown Brooklyn; it’s another to have DD in locations like above. (At least the one in the picture isn’t hideously ugly like most of them.) But a lot is lost when the chain stores take over residential areas. Look at the UWS.