July 12, 2000
The Mall of Michigan has added its 100th online store, Larry Meyer, CEO of the Michigan Retailers Association (MRA), announced today.
ThePenStore.com, the online division of Detroit-based Gail's Office Supply, became the 100th MRA member to have its e-commerce website linked to MRA's Mall of Michigan. Shoppers can now access ThePenStore.com online through the mall's gifts section.
(To see how animated Meyer has become, visit the mall's home page at http://www.mallofmichigan.com. An animated version of Meyer can be seen pasting a "100 Stores!" label over the mall logo.)
"I'm excited to report strong growth in the Mall of Michigan," said Meyer. "The number of stores has increased by 45 percent since the beginning of this year, offering online shoppers greater variety and value."
"It's great to join with other small retailers, because there's strength in numbers," said Ann Gail, president of Gail's Office Supply, which was founded in 1927 and has physical stores in Detroit, Birmingham and Wyandotte. "And a 'clicks and mortar' strategy strengthens both a retailer's bricks and mortar and Internet stores."
ThePenStore.com carries a wide variety of fine writing instruments, including brands such as Cross, Parker, Sensa and Waterman. Shoppers can make secure online credit card purchases through the site.
The Mall of Michigan's collection of unique specialty shops -- all of them MRA members -- opened in late 1997.
Lansing-based MRA is the unified voice of retailing in Michigan and the nation's largest state trade association of general merchandise retailers. MRA's more than 5,000 retail business members operate more than 12,000 stores across the state.