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Southland Mall is a staple of Houma business. You’d be hard-pressed to find any lifelong native of Terrebonne Parish who doesn’t know both where the mall is and also what’s available inside.
That name recognition and prime location are a big piece of why the mall has been in business for 46 years and counting.
Open since 1969, Southland Mall continues to grow, now featuring 75 stores that sell products from all areas of the retail spectrum – including the obvious ones like clothes, shoes and toys to specialty items like antiques and artwork.
Southland Mall General Manager Dawn Becker said that diversity is by design – part of the mall’s plan at steady, continual growth.
“The mall continues to evolve as retail continues to evolve,” Becker said on Monday morning. “Mall stores are typically a result of national trends. Stores come and go, but we consistently strive to place the best mall retailers possible in our center to help offer diversity to our shoppers.”
In its earliest days, Southland Mall wasn’t nearly what it was now, though it was very impressive for the time.
Southland Mall opened shop on Feb. 26, 1969 with one building and 14 stores. Among the originals were Sears, K&B Drugs, Kirsh-man’s, F.W. Woolworth, Winn Dixie and D.H. Holmes (which is now Dillard’s).
The original mall also offered shoppers the opportunity to catch their favorite flick, as it featured Southland Cinema.
Becker said the mall quickly found success, which led to 10 additional stores picking up leases in 1970.
After about a decade of operating as a 20-25-store establishment, the mall expanded in 1981, adding a whole new wing to its campus.
That expansion brought J.C. Penney to Southland Mall, as well as the ability to house 35 additional specialty stores.
In 1994, Southland Mall was remodeled, a few tweaks to give the facility a more modernized look and additional space.
That expansion and remodeling projects are what allowed Southland Mall to really grow to become what it is today – a place that services a large chunk of southeastern Louisiana.
Becker said customer research shows that Southland Mall’s customers extend well beyond just Houma and Terrebonne Parish.
Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet said in an interview in November that he agrees with those findings, touting that the entire Houma area has become sort-of a retail “Mecca” for folks in Lafourche, St. Mary and even for folks who live even farther away.
“Southland Mall and its retailers service a large trade area extending from lower Lafourche Parish to lower St. Charles Parish, as well as through Terrebonne Parish and parts of St. Mary Parish,” Becker said. “We are hopeful that Southland Mall has and continues to be a shopping destination for many generations of our residents.”
But it’s also a shopping destination that faces a lot more competition than it did in the past, as well.
As the oilfield has boomed in the past 20-25 years, Houma’s economy has grown exponentially to keep up with the surge.
The mall was once a one-stop shop, but it now competes with tons of stores that have boomed all across Martin Luther King Boulevard and other prime locations across Terrebonne.
Becker said that while one might think that the competition would be hurtful to the mall, it’s actually not.
She said that because there is now so much to do in Houma, it has created a phenomenon where more people are coming into the area. And, she touts, as more people come to Houma, more people stop by and become acquainted with what Southland Mall has to offer.
It’s also kept Houma-based shoppers in town and away from the malls in New Orleans and Baton Rouge – something that used to happen frequently in the past.
All of this combined, she said, is a win-win for everyone involved.
It’s why she believes that the mall’s best days are in the present and immediate future.
“Additional retail to the Houma area has only been a positive to Southland Mall,” Becker said. “It’s helped keep local shoppers local by offering more options in our home market.”
Southland Mall has withstood the test of time, now operating in its 46th year of business. Open since 1969, the retail center started with 14 store. It now features 70-plus, ranging across all areas of retail.
Sears was an original to Southland Mall, which opened its doors in 1969. The store is now one of 75 to call the local retail center home.
