Living Near the Epicenter

The Epicenter, a new retail concept being developed by Gordon Group Holdings, is launching its new venture in Columbus, Ohio of all places. Surprised? Don't be. We've been a tried-and-true test market for decades, giving thumbs up and down to packaged foods, financial services, retail stores – and yes, even tipping the scale on more significant things, like who sits in the Oval Office.

Did you know Columbus was home to one of the first shopping centers? In my own neighborhood of Grandview, in 1928. And we made an even bigger splash in the history books for the merging of shopping and entertainment when Town & Country Shopping Center (also in Columbus) hired Grandma Carver to dive 90 feet into a 4-foot pool of flaming water in the parking lot. Talk about extreme promotions!

So it makes sense that the Epicenter, this latest "evolution of the mall as a form of entertainment," (New York Times, free registration) unfolds in our fair city.

Rhyming with iPod and looking a bit like one, is the Buypod, a device shoppers get at the mall and register their credit card on. They use it to scan items they want to buy and print receipts at electronic kiosks located throughout the mall. Most of the products ordered are shipped to their homes.

Epicenter is described as "a merger of Internet capabilities with traditional retailing" and based on my conversation with company execs at this week's ACC (Annual Catalog Conference) in Orlando, I learned that they're zeroing in on e-retailers and catalogers – especially gift-oriented companies – that don't otherwise have the financial resources for a storefront. Admittedly, the world of touch and feel will never go away. But, time will tell if Epicenters can develop the next wave of multichannel experiences.