Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch plans to open a store in the Northwest Arkansas Mall this fall, says Angie Benz, a spokeswoman for the sportswear clothing chain that’s based in Reynoldsburg, Ohio.

The store is planned for the mall’s north wing – in the original mall building near the women’s Dillard’s Department Store. There are currently four empty spaces in the north wing and one more store is closing in that area as shops seem to be gravitating toward the food court in the newly renovated west wing of the mall.

“What killed us, I think, is we’re on a women’s wing, and it’s a men’s store,” says Matt Dodd, manager of the J. Riggins men’s store in the north wing.

Dodd says the J. Riggins, which has been at the mall for the past four years, will close in early July. The store is currently having a 30 percent to 60 percent off sale in an attempt to liquidate inventory.

Although plans are in the works, Abercrombie & Fitch and the mall management say the deal is not yet finalized.

In the meantime, The Children’s Place, a chain of clothing stores for kids, started construction in mid-May on a 4,300-SF space at the mall. The store plans to be open by mid-July in the space that previously housed Vanity, a women’s apparel store.