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International Plaza list changes as debut nears
By MARK ALBRIGHT
© St. Petersburg Times, TAMPA -- A/X Armani Exchange has decided not to open a store in International Plaza while Lladro, the Spanish maker of collectible porcelain sculpture, has agreed to put its fourth retail shop in the nation there. Landlords at the 1.2-million-square-foot mall, which opens Sept. 14, have made a few last-minute changes to the tenant list. In addition to Armani Exchange, the Italian designer's "affordable" casual apparel chain, three other stores listed as tenants last spring have quietly dropped out of the lineup: People's Pottery; Salsarita, a Mexican fast food outlet; and Optica, a fashion eyewear shop. People's Pottery has a store in St. Petersburg's BayWalk and had a temporary store in WestShore Plaza in Tampa last fall for the Christmas holiday season. "It's not unusual for as many as a dozen stores to drop out in the few months before an opening," Karen MacDonald, a spokeswoman for the mall's management, Taubman Centers Inc., said Wednesday. Nonetheless, Taubman plans to open with about 70 percent of the retail space occupied and 80 percent of it leased. The mall at West Shore and Boy Scout boulevards is anchored by Dillard's, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. Lladro's other U.S. stores are in Las Vegas, Beverly Hills and Manhattan, where the company also has a museum of its popular collectible ceramics. Lladro sculptures are sold mostly in jewelry stores at prices that average about $250. The Tampa store will carry a bigger selection of more than 500 items. Prices range from $40 for a handmade Christmas tree ornament to $26,000 for a handmade version of Cinderella's carriage. "We chose Tampa because Florida is our biggest state for collectors," said Margarita Arriagada, worldwide retail director for the company that is based in Valencia, Spain. - Mark Albright can be reached at albright@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8252.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times Business report
From the AP
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