Tutu Park Mall

John A. Boyd 4024 Sion Farm St. Croix, VI 00820 340-778-1152 340-773-0664 340-778-3238 (fax) 877-BIB-USVI (toll free)

May 6, 2000

John Foster
Bill Mahaffey
Tutu Park Mall Management

While discussing eyeball traffic counts for the various malls in St. Thomas, I made the statement that I considered Tutu Park Mall the premier shopping mall in the entire Virgin Islands and not just based on the traffic alone. A direct traffic count comparison of the malls in St. Thomas shows that Tutu Park Mall is the most popular and observations made on all of the malls provides the reasons. The downtown shopping centers on the east side of town either have limited parking and/or are located in very poor neighborhoods adjacent to several projects.

The shopping center on the west of town does not have the problem with security because of the police and law enforcement presence, but occupancy by government offices means that people are parked all day and parking for the customers is limited. The pharmacy and food shops do all right serving the fixed and relatively immobile office workers who do not leave (probably for fear of finding a new parking space upon returning).

Pueblo is no match for Plaza Extra Foods, which has problems keeping the shelves full. The store in Tutu Park Mall does more than twice the business of the similar sized store in St. Croix, and each week serves almost 20,000 people. Since most people shop for more than one person, Plaza Extra Foods appears to have a virtual monopoly on grocery sales in St. Thomas.

I believe the reason that the anchor stores (K-Mart and Plaza Extra Foods) at Tutu Park Mall do so well is the ample parking, accessible location and fine security. Obviously, with traffic counts that high, all segments of the community shop at Tutu Park Mall. However, Tutu Park Mall security insures that shopping will be a pleasant event for everyone.

Plaza Extra Foods

Scotia Bank

Another aspect of Tutu Park Mall, which contributes to traffic flow is the presence of Scotia Bank in the middle. This tends to act as a third anchor, with a guaranteed human presence at both ends and in the middle of the mall.

As a former business counselor for The University of the Virgin Islands Small Business Development Center, I continue to advise most clients to skip the St. Croix malls, minimize rent and advertise heavily to develop a following as a "destination attraction." This is possible because we have many accessible locations with low rent and our advertising rates are low. On St. Thomas, I have advised clients to seek out Tutu Park Mall, pay the higher rent and base your business on quality and services to avoid the need for expensive advertising.

Once again, I would like to thank the management and staff for their courtesy we received while doing a survey for a stateside client. The information contained in this and the former letter was based on impressions and data gathered during that project. I obtained my client's permission to communicate these impressions to you, and since I have already been paid for this work, there is no charge except for you continued good will on future projects.

Sincerely,

John A. Boyd