Two popular Greenville clothing shops are moving to North Wilmington this August.
Peter Kate, the upscale women’s boutique that has been operating at Powder Mill for 15 years, is moving to Fairfax Shopping Center. Two Sisters, the brightly decorated tweens-and-teens clothing store, is moving to Independence Mall.
Shanna Yalamanchili, owner of Two Sisters, said rents and customer demographics drove her move to North Wilmington, less than four miles away. “We’re a small business, and Greenville’s just a hard area. The rents are so high there,” she said. “Speaking with customers and seeing where they come from, I realized we really didn’t have to be in Greenville,” said Yalamanchili, who bought the store last August.
“We have customers from all over Delaware. We have customers who drive an hour from down south. We have people coming over the border from Pennsylvania. We definitely get a good following from Greenville, but I like to think they will travel with us. We’re so close in Independence Mall.”
For Sissy Harris of Peter Kate, the prime reason for the move was the chance to expand, although rents were a factor. “Rents are increasing here in Greenville, but that was coupled with the fact that we wanted to increase our space,” she said.
Harris said her display space will almost double from 1,500 square feet to almost 3,000 in Fairfax
“We were ready to redo and revise what we we’re doing. We thought about increasing our space several months ago, and we just couldn’t figure out the way to do that, and then this opportunity came up,” Harris said. “We’ve had a great run here in Powder Mill, but it’s time to move.”
Harris, who will be taking over the space that was leased to the recently shuttered Radio Shack, said the high traffic volume on 202 was a draw. According to CBRE, 49,496 vehicles pass the Fairfax Shopping Center daily.
“I am extremely excited to have Peter Kate move into Fairfax Shopping Center. It is a great upscale women’s clothing store,” said Bob Aerenson of Rojan Inc., owner of the section of center where Peter Kate will move. “This opportunity will give her the ability to expand her lines and her customer base dramatically.”
Yalamanchili said she chose Independence Mall for its style. Her store will be located next to The Melting Pot. “I personally love the boutique style of Independence Mall,” she said. “I wanted to keep that boutique style of the store, and the spot that we chose is very bright and inviting.”
Yalamanchili, who lives in Centreville, said several new shoppers from North Wilmington have visited her shop since news of her move spread by word-of-mouth and she posted it on Facebook.
She said there’s a buzz since word is getting out that Two Sisters and Peter Kate will be moving to North Wilmington. “In a lot of cases, the daughters will come into our store and the mothers will come into Peter Kate. I think both of us moving has kind of gotten a buzz going,” Yalamanchili said.
Greg Pettinaro of Pettinaro, owner of Powder Mill Square, could not be reached for comment.
