SOUTHAVEN, Miss. — Lots of shoppers are bringing lots of money to Southaven as the Tanger Outlet Mall opens for business.
Discounted merchandise may be what people were after at the mall’s grand opening Friday, but jobs and cash are the big picture benefits for North Mississippi.
The mall has around 70 stores, and people packed in for the first day of shopping.
While it is expected to bring million of dollars to the area, those benefits also came at a hefty price.
While some just came to look, they got sucked in by discounted denim and half off handbags.
“I paid $34 for it,” one shopper, Jackie Carter, said, showing off a leather purse.
But for North Mississippi, this mall is about a lot more than just retail deals.
We’re going to have about 70 stores. That is a lot of jobs for all the people here in the Southaven area and the Memphis area,” General Mananager Lexi Harris explained.
Mississippi’s sale tax rate is 7% and the mall is expected to generate about $120 million annually.
“It’s nice to infuse jobs into the area and the economy will go up, and it’s great to have a selection!” shopper Francine Odom said.
The president of the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau Kevin Kane spoke at the ribbon cutting.
That had some people raising eye brows, because at one point, Tanger was considering building in the Bluff City.
“You’re probably wondering, ‘Why is a tourism guy from Memphis at this beautiful opening?” he said to a crowd of shoppers. “Let me tell you why. Tourism is a multi- billion dollar industry for Memphis and North Mississippi.”
Kane said the mall will benefit everyone in the region.
Tanger was given a deal through the Mississippi Tourism Rebate Program.
Tanger will get $34 million in sales tax rebates, and it is expected to generate $8.4 million in sales tax a year.
So, not only are they making money from your purchases, they are getting paid just to be here.
But some said, between job growth and spending, that will be a price worth paying.
“I think it will bring a lot of money. A lot of money, and I’ll be back,” Carter said.
The Southaven Mayor told WREG once that $34 million in sales tax rebates is paid off, the money that was going towards it will go back to the local economy.
Southaven will get property tax money immediately.
That is expected to be around $300,000 a year.
