Nashville Mall Turns to Madame Tussauds to Draw Crowds
April 18 2017 - 4:49PM
Dow Jones News
By Esther Fung
Simon Property Group is hosting the nation's first Madame
Tussauds in a shopping mall, part of the retail landlord's push to
offer customers new experiences that go well beyond shopping.
The Madame Tussauds Nashville, located in the Opry Mills mall in
Nashville, is a music-themed attraction that features 45 artists
who have helped shape America's musical landscape, from Carrie
Underwood, Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars to Stevie Wonder and Johnny
Cash.
The new location in Music City is the 22nd Madame Tussauds spot
globally. Merlin Entertainment PLC, which owns and operates Madame
Tussauds, previously had launched the attractions in overseas
malls, including Shanghai and Bangkok.
The Nashville installment has taken up a 25,854-square-foot
space that once was occupied by book retailer Barnes &
Noble.
"The Mills and Simon properties offer tourists and locals alike
an experience far beyond just shopping, including an array of
dining and entertainment options," said Gregg Goodman, president of
The Mills, a subsidiary of Simon Property.
Customers are encouraged to touch and take photos with the
figures, as well as design a concert T-shirt and record a song.
Opry Mills, an outlet shopping center with more than 200 stores,
including Forever 21 and H&M, in the spring is adding other
retail stores such as Champs, Asics and New Balance.
Other mall landlords such as Triple Five Worldwide Group of
Companies, which is developing the massive American Dream mall in
New Jersey, are courting more entertainment-focused tenants.
Tenants such as KidsZania USA, an educational mini-city for
children, and Crayola Experience, which offers live shows on how
crayons are made in the factory, are increasingly sought after
because they provide experiences that customers can't get
online.
Write to Esther Fung at esther.fung@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 18, 2017 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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