While Destiny USA has seen some closures within its walls, most recently Cantina Laredo. There have been some recently added stores like Anthropologie, Ardene, and Hugo Boss as well as a Hobby Lobby coming in late December.
Before the pandemic, about 20 to 22% of Destiny USA’s business came from Canadian shoppers. They’d travel south from Montreal, east from Toronto, and everywhere in between to take advantage of the robust selection of items many American malls and stores.
When the pandemic hit and the border closed, it impacted every aspect of life — especially retail. But Nikita Jankowski, Destiny USA’s Director of Marketing, says New York’s shoppers stepped up to keep them afloat.
“Despite the border being closed, our traffic numbers were actually really good,” she said. “We were still seeing a lot of people that were traveling here, you know, just in a day's drive throughout the state.”
That’s not to say they didn’t struggle without Canadian shoppers. Now that the land border has opened back up to Canadian travelers as of Monday, Jankowski is eager to see some long-awaited international foot traffic in the mall.
“Having those Canadians being able to return back here, I mean, you can only imagine what that's gonna do for our bottom line,” she said. “It's just amazing. We're ecstatic.”
