New Town Center retailers will create women's shopping 'neighborhood'

Sophisticated shoppers have four more reasons to visit the Charleston Town Center Mall: Coach, Sephora, Francesca's and White House Black Market will soon be tenants at the downtown mall.

The four high-end stores will be located in the same area on the first floor surrounding the free-standing Starbucks, creating a "women's neighborhood" shopping experience, said the mall's marketing director, Lisa McCracken.

The mall is also planning major renovations to the center's interior. Shoppers and visitors will soon see new flooring and lighting as well as an upgrade to all restrooms, walls and the common area. A new family restroom will also be added in the center of the mall.

The Town Center has been upgrading its stores for the past 10 years, said the mall's general manager, Tom Bird, to cater to its targeted demographic, which is working women with children, and teenagers. The retailers will join other high-end fashion stores including Talbots, Coldwater Creek and Chico's.

"We are excited to be able to present these four sophisticated women's stores. We've always been a fashion destination," McCracken said. "Most certainly we think everyone will be pleased with these four retailers and looking forward to them and also to the major renovations."

Coach is an upscale leather good company known for selling handbags as well as accessories, watches and footwear. Sephora is a cosmetic and beauty store that carries more than 250 brands of items that include makeup, skin care, fragrance and hair products.

White House Black Market sells women's fashion, targeting women 25 years of age and older while Francesca's sells fashion-forward styles in women's clothing, accessories and gifts.

To create the women's neighborhood on the first floor, Bird said they relocated fashion retailers Deb and Justice to the second level, which gave them enough room to allow the four high-end stores to be located next to one another.

The women's neighborhood concept mimics the cluster of teen stores on the second floor that are close to one another, McCracken said, including American Eagle, Hollister and Delia's.