How this LA lifestyle centre is challenging conventional retail

On this year’s Overseas Study Tour, 27 LFRA members led by Phil Schoutrop, Principal and Sector Lead – Precinct at Buchan and LFRA’s Philippa Kelly and Michelle Wong, travelled across San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles.

Members visited more than 30 unique retail destinations across the week.

One particular lifestyle centre in suburban Los Angeles stood out because it challenged the idea of conventional retail.

In fact, it called itself the “anti-mall”.

Phil led the LFRA cohort to The LAB Anti-Mall on the first day of the Los Angeles leg of the tour.

The LAB stands for “Little American Business” and is a place where customers can visit small business shops and eateries with revolving displays and art installations.

The small businesses are usually owned by members of the local community.

The LAB Anti-Mall began its journey “to combat retail monotony” in 1993 when it was repurposed from a night-vision goggle factory located in Costa Mesa, California by The LAB Team.

Costa Mesa’s local economy relies heavily on retail and services, with some industrial manufacturing.

According to the owners of The LAB Anti-Mall, the 1990s was a time when “giant corporate malls were popping up all over the USA, full of sterile hallways and business chains that were undermining the average entrepreneur”.

People are greeted with a rustic scaffolding exterior which contrasts with the clean and pristine South Coast Plaza, the largest shopping centre on the US West Coast two miles down the road.

South Coast Plaza has more than 270 stores and is approximately 20,000 sqm. It reportedly generates more than $1 billion annually and is so large that it is joined by a bridge across a freeway.

This centre is also home to the highest concentration of luxury brands in California, which is not surprising considering that the median household income in Costa Mesa is more than $USD 96,000 as of 2021, which is almost 40 per cent higher than the national median household income of approximately $USD 70,000.

The LAB Anti-Mall was a thought-provoking visit which aimed to challenge LFRA members’ thoughts on design and purpose of a retail lifestyle centre as a community hub.