#1 Retail

Hello everyone,

On Saturday, November 7 we had a big field trip in Greensboro with HSS 105. First, we looked at the main retail spaces in Greensboro: Friendly Center and Four Seasons.

Friendly Center
We met at Friendly Center. This was the place for our first observations. Friendly Center consists of an older and a newer part. It became immediately obvious to me that there are a lot of electronic shops in the original part of Friendly Center, like Radio Shack and Ritz Camera. Overal, it seems like there are shops for people of every age and people with different interests. It seems like this part serves a wide public. The fact that the shops are not very expensive also supports this statement. In the newer part of Friendly there are actually even more electronical shops, for example Apple and AT&T. It seems like this part is more expensive, the stores look fancier, and they serve a smaller public: the upperclass. It is more like a lifestyle part. Most pedestrian paths are next to the shops under a roof, but there are also pedestrian spaces that cross the streets or parking areas. Some of them are decorated with trees and benches (see picture). That looks very nice. There are a lot of parking areas. This is not strange, since lots of people visit the Friendly Center each day. There is one block with shops that really sticks out, because it is made of brick. That is a new expansion of Friendly Center. All the other shops are made of stone. Furthermore, I consider the Bear Rock Cafe as a shop that sticks out. It has a different shape than the other stores surrounding it (see picture).

Map of Friendly Center

Friendly Center seen from a parking lot

The front of the Bear Rock Cafe

One of the pedestrian spaces leading to the other side

Four Seasons Mall

After Friendly Center we drove to the Four Seasons mall. This is a very big (3 story) shopping center. It is very busy. Everything looks very nice and you can see that the owners really thought about the arrangement of the mall. Four Seasons has a great variety of stores. There are also kiosks and eating areas. One can find everything there for a reasonable price. That is one of the reasons that a lot of people from other cities make their way to Four Seasons. Another reason is that the mall is very close to the interstate, so the accessibility is very good.

The United States Post Office

Christmas decoration in the center of the first floor