New store comes to the Macon Mall

As many Mercer students have noticed while driving down Mercer University Drive, the Macon Mall has been under construction for quite some time. Many businesses are leaving the mall while a few new businesses are taking their place. One of the most recent additions to the mall is Dry Falls Outfitters, located between Macy’s and Smok’n Pig.
Dry Falls Outfitters had their grand opening on Friday, Oct. 19. In order to celebrate the grand opening weekend, a ribbon cutting ceremony took place and there were multiple live radio remote and prize giveaways. The prizes included: an MSR 3-person tent, a North Face jacket, a Southern Tide t-shirt, shoes from Keen, Merrell, OluKai, and Chaco, and a grand prize of a 60 inch LG plasma TV with a stand.
Dry Falls Outfitters has been around for over a decade. However, they recently upgraded their product lines and wanted to advertise to a community of college students.
Co-owner Bud Turner said, “We want to reach out to a larger part of the Macon audience. We were formally The Sock Shoppe, yet socks represent only 10 percent of our sales. We felt a re-branding was appropriate, and we want to sell clothing our children in college will wear.”
Some of the brands featured at the store include: The North Face, Patagonia, Columbia, Southern Marsh, Vineyard Vines, Costa, Southern Tide, Chaco, and much more.
Although these popular brands will hopefully be a successful addition to the store, Turner says that opening these lines has been quite difficult. Turner said, “Opening lines that are very selective has been the hardest part of this project. [These lines] need to see a brick and mortar concept, not an architectural drawing. Our concept is exciting, but [these companies] embrace the Missouri concept of ‘show me.’”
In order to get the word out about the new store, the owners are thinking about hiring a Mercer ambassador. This would be a student who will promote the store and in return, receive Dry Falls store items at a discounted price.
Dry Falls will be making an effort to work with the Mercer student body and is hoping to offer student discounts. Turner said, “We plan to work without vendors, and once we get permission from the various brands we will offer a student discount that complies with their respective corporate policies.”
Turner will be willing to make donations to different groups of students. Turner said, “We will also be glad to make product donations for Mercer student groups that demonstrate social and environmental responsibility.”
For more information on Dry Falls Outfitters, visit their new location in the Macon mall, or visit their website at www.dryfallsoutfitters.com