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Additional stores closed, more to close at Mall of Louisiana
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BATON ROUGE- A week after WBRZ reported on Banana Republic, Paris Parker and the Gap closing locations at the Mall of Louisiana, we know others already followed suit and more are planning to close.
Gymboree, a popular children's clothing store will close soon. It follows Godiva Chocolatier, Johnston and Murphy, The Body Shop and Gordon's Jewelers.
You can blame it on changing technology, Dr. Loren Scott, an economist in our area says.
"It's not due to the economy," Scott said. "The Baton Rouge Economy is actually doing very well right now. In November we added 7,700 jobs, a two percent growth rate, one percent is good. We are growing at two percent."
Scott said as technology changes many people are going to the internet to get their goods online.
Chloe Poydras is one of those savvy shoppers.
"A lot of people like me like to do retail therapy," Poydras said. "It's kind of sad to not be able to do physical retail therapy at some stores."
With the changing landscape of stores shutting down, Poydras said it's challenging to find what you need at the stores she loves.
"I like the convenience of being able to go in and grab whatever I need," Poydras said. "Those stores being gone, I would need to find items elsewhere."
We reached out to leaders at the Mall of Louisiana. They did not get back to us by news time.
One day after the story aired, mall leaders sent WBRZ the following statement.
"The evolution of our shopping center is always top of mind and is key to our success. We are always striving to introduce new concepts and experiences to meet the changing needs of our guests. We actually recognize this as an opportunity to remerchandise Mall of Louisiana. We have plans to fill the vacant space, though we are not ready to publicly announce anything yet."
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