Other options management is considering with the chain include reducing store size and adding either office or other retail uses to the department-store based units, Baker says. Those options are also being considered for the chain's flagship location on Fifth Avenue here, he concedes. Lord & Taylor management currently plans to spend $250 million on renovating its stores chain wide. "We're very bullish on the department-store business, and we're very bullish on the Lord & Taylor brand," Baker says. "What we want to do is better deal with some of their real estate."

Baker was on a panel discussion here that spent much of its time examining department-store consolidation, private-equity buyouts of retailers and the changing face of the mall. "We're very concerned about so many leveraged buyouts, but we've been going through this change with department-store consolidation for the last five or 10 years," says Michael Stevens, executive vice president of retail leasing at Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises.

Forest City is still courting department stores to anchor its new developments, but the company also considers anchors such as Bass Pro Shops, Ikea, libraries and outdoor space when planning projects. But one anchor that Forest City has not dealt with on recent projects is Sears Holdings, the company that owns the merged Kmart and Sears chains. "They're really not part of our expansion plan in any way, shape or form," Stevens says.

When speaking about mixed-use developments, panelists admitted that adding other uses to retail is not a definite key to a project's success. "Retail doesn't always work with residential," says Kenneth Bernstein, president of White Plains, NY-based Acadia Realty Trust. Though if any place is ripe for such types of projects and redevelopments, it's New York City, he says.

Meanwhile, Matt Fassler, retail analyst and managing director at Goldman Sachs, says his main picks for retailers to watch are Best Buy, CarMax, Dick's Sporting Goods and PetSmart. "The consumer overall is somewhat tepid," he says about the outlook for the holiday season. "Business will pick up a little bit between now and year's end."