Why Fashion Valley and Mission Valley malls are so different

Why Fashion Valley and Mission Valley malls are so different

Fashion Valley and Mission Valley malls are less than a mile apart, but the shopping experience in them couldn't be more different.

  • Fashion Valley has every designer store you can think of; Mission Valley has the more traditional array of a Footlocker, Hot Topic, a comic book shop and claw arcade games.

    • Why it matters: The story of how these malls became so different shows the impact of luxury brand relationships, cross-border shoppers and how malls are handling post-COVID shopping habits.

    Catch up quick: Both malls made pivotal changes in 2023 that sent them in differing directions.

    Fashion Valley did a multimillion-dollar renovation to make it look fancier and attract higher-end retailers.

  • It switched to a whitewashed look with dark wood trim, glass railings and added stores like DIOR, Bottega Veneta and Dolce & Gabbana.
  • Then came Celine, and Christian Louboutin and Fendi, plus a Porsche studio and a much larger Rolex Boutique Fourtané, according to an ad in San Diego Magazine.
  • JCPenney and Forever 21 also left the mall last year, making room for more pricey shops and 850 luxury residences.

    • Designer everything at Fashion Valley. Photo: Claire Trageser/Axios

    That same year, Westfield sold the Mission Valley mall to Retail Insite, which aims to convert the space into housing and public spaces, according to Fox 5.

  • But mid-market stores like Target, Michael's and Outback Steakhouse will remain.
  • The timeline for the renovation hasn't been announced. For now, storefront vacancies are being filled with a tattoo parlor, a place to make slime and GameStop, among others.

    • Context: This split reflects a bigger wealth disparity in the country, Garrick Brown, vice president of real estate intelligence at real estate firm Galleli, told Axios.

  • As the rich get richer, luxury booms.
  • As do discounters and dollar stores.
  • But mid-level stores suffer.

    • "Forty years ago, mall tenancy was dominated by those mid-priced retailers selling mid-price goods to Americans," Brown said. "This shift is why so many malls have failed."

    Claw Daddy at Mission Valley. Photo: Claire Trageser/Axios

    The intrigue: Fashion Valley was always slightly higher end, with anchors like Nordstroms and Neiman Marcus, and that attracts luxury goods shoppers, including from Mexico.

  • That has continued despite increased border tensions, per The Union-Tribune.
  • The most common ethnicity of Fashion Valley shoppers is Hispanic, according to retail sales tracking firm CenterCheck.
  • Meanwhile, Mission Valley shoppers are more often white.

    • By the numbers: Fashion Valley did $529.6 million in sales in 2025, with the average sale being $310.

  • Mission Valley did $357 million in sales in 2024, with the average sale being $70, according to CenterCheck.
  • (They don't yet have complete 2025 data for the mall to share.)

    • What's next: The malls that have survived are either focused on luxury, or are pivoting to mixed-use concepts with big box and discount stores, Brown said.

  • That's what Mission Valley is trying to do.