Skechers to open this September in Fort Smith Pavilion, two stores ‘coming available’

Skechers has finalized a lease agreement with IRC to open a location at the Chicago-based property owner’s Fort Smith Pavilion this September. The retailer will occupy the 7,980-square foot space formerly home to Charming Charlie.

Ghan & Cooper agent Tyler Teague told Talk Business & Politics a Skechers corporate representative had contacted the agency in February shortly after the previous agreement expired. Ghan & Cooper took over the leasing agent role from IRC in January to serve more as “boots-on-the-ground” for the company, Teague said, adding Ghan & Cooper will be available to show properties and answer questions from potential tenants interested in the available spaces.

Skechers (NYSE: SKX) is a $4.16 billion performance and lifestyle footwear company. On the brick-and-mortar side, it sells through department, specialty, and independent stores, as well as more than 2,650 of its own retail outlets. Talk Business & Politics reached out to the Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based company for information on the number of employees and a hard opening date. Skechers Public Relations Director Lara Diab could not provide jobs numbers but said the store would officially open Sept. 21.

With the space now filled, Ghan & Cooper, at the request of IRC, hopes to fill some of the remaining vacancies with locally-based businesses, “anything from restaurants to office spaces,” Teague said, adding that lease rates and the availability of tenant improvement funds to help convert spaces for specific tenant use should offer appropriate incentives.

According to the IRC website, there are three smaller spaces available: a 5,443-square footer and 3,046-square footer on each side of Mattress King, and a 1,953-square foot location between CherryBerry Yogurt and ProfessioNails and Spa. The website shows AT&T’s 3,139-square foot location and Hogman’s Gameday Superstore (2,033 square feet) are “coming available” as well. The entire development is 280,760 square feet with 33 individual locations. Twenty-eight are occupied.

IRC specializes in acquiring, owning and managing open-air shopping centers. As of March 31, 2017, it had approximately $4 billion in total assets under management comprising more than 20 million square feet of leasable space. Most locations are in the Central and Southeastern United States.