New rumor about GA AGStore.

[lscogbill]

If you want a central location ... there is a town in eastern Arkansas that is the exact middle of the country between California and North Carolina, and between the Mexican and Canadian borders. It's a little too rural for an American Girl store, so my vote would be nearby Memphis. The Memphis airport is the busiest cargo airport in the country - FedEx has a hub there and UPS also does a fair amount of business - and could deliver stuff anywhere in the country in two days max if ordered from a store and not have to pay rush shipping. Memphis is very laid back and is a great location for family fun. Even Beall Street is family-oriented in the daytime.

[mayergirl]

I DO believe these rumors are probably accurate. Florida, frankly, is a terrible place for an AGP. It would get overlooked constantly. They would probably have to partner with Disney to get any decent real estate. Atlanta, on the other hand, has plenty to do, is on the way to most FL vacations, and would not have anything to overshadow it. PS, if it is going to be there, I know EXACTLY where it will be. (There's a new building going up by Lenox Mall, and it doesn't say anything on it about what it is.) I think it would be very stupid of AG not to build at least two more AGPs. Chicago, New York, and LA, are locations that exclude huge portions of the population. Frankly, as well, with the exception of Chicago, they are not particularly "family friendly". I know my parents wouldn't take me to NY or LA until I was 16. So, I do firmly believe these rumors, and while Seattle seems like a stretch to me, Dallas and Northern California or Saint Louis do not.

[Homemommie]

I hope these rumors wind up being true!!

[Annie Rebecca]

I don't know about the AG fans in Michigan, but I'd love to see an AG Store in Michigan sometime

[amyjoy]

I doubt we will get a store in Michigan, but I would love it, but going to Chicago is fun and New York too!!!!!

[JuliaAM]

Atlanta is an international hub. I live NORTH of Atlanta but if I want to fly somewhere, my plane almost always has a layover in Atlanta. Most small eastern airports fly to Atlanta for people to catch connecting flights elsewhere. So if I want to fly north, first I have to fly south to Atlanta and then catch another plane.

Knowing this, AG would do well to settle in Atlanta. It would be easy for me to change my route so I have some hours in Atlanta before flying on. Places like Orlando are destination flights, not connecting flights. And Disneyworld would sorely compete for $$$. I would never be able to afford both Disneyworld and AGP in one trip.

Julia

[Homemommie]

I'm 2 hrs north of Atlanta ...... Atlanta would be a GREAT spot!! Besides my selfish reasons hehehe It really is a central point for the southern US and would get LOTS of tourist people!! PLEASE AG people lisen to our needs and let this rumor be TRUE!!

[annkirstin]

Originally posted by Dancin'4'AG:
personally-hmmmm- I would definately say no that I don't think any more AGP's will be opened. Remember that they want it to be a destination and special attraction for girls to make special trips to. its the american girl "mecca" if you know what i mean. I think AG would want to keep it very exclusive by only having three stores. If you think about it one for the west and simi middle US, one for the middle of US, and one for east simi middle US.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">But America is HUGE, and there are literally millions that live nowhere near these three places. I think that several more stores would not take away the specialness of it, because having more stores over 1000 miles away from other stores is not exactly like a Wal-Mart in every town, and would give access to AGP to many, many fans who may never otherwise be able to go to one.

I also don't understand the argument against having more stores in that more stores would mean that AG isn't "exclusive" anymore. Exclusive how? What do we want to exclude? By not having any more stores, the only thing they'd exclude is Americans not fortunate enough to live anywhere near an AGP. Why is that so good? Frankly, I want "exclusive" to mean that AG stops partnering with other companies and organizations and keeps their products to themselves, rather than selling them at Bath and Body Works and Hallmark and such. There's far more B&BW and Hallmark stores than AGP's!

I know that your opinion is shared by many others, but as someone who grew up in the midwest in the middle of nowhere without access to a lot of things she desperately wished to have access to, and who was never fond of looking at maps showing the locations of different things (specialty stores, attractions, etc.) because she rarely ever saw a single dot in her state, perhaps I have a bit of a different perspective on "exclusive."

[Annie Rebecca]

You don't think so? Why?

[annkirstin]

Molly, are you asking me? I'm not sure what you're asking.