Real-estate executives at a variety of retail companies cite lower lease and common-area fee costs, a lack of new mall development and convenience among their biggest reasons for wanting to enter open-air developments. "As mall growth slowed down, it made sense," says Melissa Boughton, SVP of real estate at Minneapolis-based Regis Corp, the operator of 11,720 salons, which opens about 1,000 units annually. "It's been a good option for us. We were on board early."

United Retail Group, the Rochelle Park, NJ-based owner of 490 Avenue women's apparel stores prefers open-air centers due to their customers' lifestyles, says Aaron Fleishaker, the retailer's SVP of real estate. "Working women don't have the time to go in and take the mall experience," he says.

But the retailers on the panel, all of which were proponents of open-air centers, didn't always agree on what types of those developments they prefer. For example, Cold Stone Creamery likes centers with open public spaces where people gather because it creates opportunities for impulse purchases, says Brett Sheets, the Scottsdale, AZ, chain's VP of real estate. But Fleishaker of United Retail is not such a fan. "The first thing that comes to mind when I hear about public space is CAM (common-area maintenance fees)," he says. "It just doesn't appeal to us."

Boughton lauds mixed-use open-air developments. "I love it because you just get more population," the Regis Corp. executive says. Golf Galaxy executives aren't interested in going into those types of developments though, as rents tend to be too costly, says Peter Harding, SVP of real estate of the Eden Prairie, MN-based 65-store chain.

Harding is also opposed to entering a center that houses a retailer selling products similar to those offered at Golf Galaxy. "We're not in any centers that have a direct competitor, and it would not be good for us if that was the case," he says. But 66-restaurant seafood chain McCormick & Schmick's, of Portland, OR, prefers being close to other eateries because together they make the center a dining destination, says Larry Summerton, the company's executive director of real estate development.

When asked to name what other retailers they like to be near, panelists agreed on Costco Wholesale and Target Corp. But other responses were varied, ranging from Build-A-Bear Workshop to Whole Foods.