Shopping center sims

This post was inspired by the launching of the Le Zoo sim.

I like shopping centers in SL, they're a great way for a bunch of small to medium size businesses to pool their marketing advertising efforts and drum up some business.Also i'ts kind of handy to have favourite small to medium designers near each other. However.....I'm not for certain if the concept works in the long term in SL. Why do I think that? Two words...Midnight City.

When I joined SL Midnight City was the IT sim, it was the happenin place, it had all the hype all the awesome fashionista parties that I only heard about. But now, it's deserted. It's like "Midnight City, whats that?"

That said, I think people should still keep doing them, because I think the concept is sound, it's the implementation that's tricky.

1. I think the sim's owner/creator can't be too busy or absent, or it suffers. If the creator is busy, perhaps they should hire a full time manager to actually run the sim, while they concentrate on on their business.

2. The stores in it can't be too big, or the traffic hurts the sim, neither can they be too small with not enough inventory.

3. The stores have to have new inventory to attract repeat customers.

4. It helps if the stores are full stores and not satellite shops, there's few things more annoying than knowing a store doesn't have the full inventory and having to travel the grid to find the item in the one satellite shop that has it.

5. That said, limited inventory satellite shops might work for large businesses who might want to reduce traffic lag at their main store. For example, a hair creator putting new releases in a satellite shop as well as the main store.

6. I think it helps if the center has areas for just hanging out and having fun, to kind of develop a community.

If I had the cash, I'd probably try to start up what I call "the Fashionland/Fashiondonia project." It's inspired by Caledon, which is an obvious success. In Fashionland, I'd have the sims be mixed commercial/residential, a la amicitia, but with perhaps a bit more commercial.

Fashionland 1: mixed residential-commercial with some common areas for just hanging out and having parties.

Fashionland 2 more of the same if 1 is successful.

Port Fashionland, with a sea inlet for more waterfront property.

Fashionland Runway: Runway setup, model agencies, photographers

Fashionland Bryant: Big shows and events, with tents and stuff, but set up with a long return time so that it an be used as a kind of sandbox by fashionistas.

Fashionland Avenue of the Fashionistas: HQ's and residences of the SL Fashion Press

Fashionland Swirlyland: Swirly Cyclone, gets her own sim, just because.

Fashionland Coiffure: Hair! (and residential)

Fashionland Macquillage: Skin! (and residential)

Fashionland Outlet: The place where designers can put their old stuffage

Fashionland Condo: Cheap residences (and some cheap commercial slots) for fashionistas on a budget)

Fashionland Ducalpalooza's: Low prim Island sims for those who need a bigger store/mansion/castle, but don't need a full priced sim.

I'll never be able to do it, but I think it would be fun to try, though I imagine Desmond Shang or Anshe Chung could pull it off.