MacArthur Center ban on teens is mixed bag

When MacArthur Center implemented a policy restricting teenagers last year, Tracie Pettin vowed to stop spending money at the downtown Norfolk mall.

She didn't.

The Virginia Beach mom opposed the policy, which bars shoppers younger than 18 after 5 p.m. unless they're with someone 21 or older. But Pettin and her 14-year-old daughter like MacArthur Center.

"I guess we conform," she said. "If I go to Nordstrom, I have to go to MacArthur."

MacArthur Center managers initiated the Adult Supervision Program a year ago Tuesday after noticing an increase in the number of unsupervised teens congregating in the evenings. No specific incident prompted the change, but the mall wanted to prevent any problems before they happened, Jim Wofford, the center's general manager, said at that time.

Since then, some store managers said they have noticed a drop in sales. Shoplifting also is down, said Wofford, adding that he didn't think that's necessarily related to the year-old policy.

Sales across the mall have increased in the past year, Wofford said, though he would not attribute that to the policy, either. He declined to provide specific sales figures. Some stores, Wofford said, that cater to young shoppers might've seen a drop in business.

"Our sales have come down," said Christine Guynn, head cashier for Forever 21, a clothing chain that targets young women. "Sometimes, there have been nights when no one's in here."

Particularly this summer, Guynn said, she noticed a slide in sales from the same months in 2009. The retailer bases its goals on numbers from the prior year and didn't reach 50 percent of them some days, she said.

"Most kids don't want to come to the mall before 5 o'clock in the summertime," she said.

Danika Tacik, who co-manages another MacArthur Center retailer that has many teenage customers, also said sales have fallen at her store but so have incidents of theft. She asked to keep the name of the store undisclosed because she signed an agreement not to speak for the company.

"We definitely don't have any loss-prevention issues" since the policy went into effect, Tacik said. "It did hurt sales, but at the same time it helped."

At Finish Line, which sells athletic apparel and footwear, traffic has fallen off after 5 p.m., but few of those shoppers spent money in the store, said Cedric Hughes, assistant manager.

"It doesn't really affect us too much," he said of the policy. "They usually come in and look first, and they try it on, and then they come back in and buy it with their parents."

After initiating the policy, Wofford's office heard criticism from some local residents, but he has since received only positive feedback and support for the move, the mall's manager said.

Fenton Rhaney, 49, a regular MacArthur Center shopper who lives in Elizabeth City, N.C., said she favors the policy because it prevents teens from using the mall as a hangout.

"When I've come after 5, I've seen a lot less kids running around," she said. "I think it's a good thing."

Pettin, the Virginia Beach mom, argued that her daughter should have the freedom to shop when and where she wants. The policy makes visiting MacArthur Center less enjoyable, she said.

One evening, her daughter set off to grab a snack at the pretzel stand while her mother headed to a nearby store. Then, Pettin remembered the rules. She had to accompany the teen before going where she wanted.

"My daughter and I normally shop together," she said. "It's just less of a pleasant experience."

Carolyn Shapiro, (757) 446-2270, carolyn.shapiro@pilotonline.com