Georgia Mall Reinvents Itself to Survive : Retail: The once-struggling South DeKalb center is now a magnet for black shoppers.

B. Dalton Bookseller is opening a store in South DeKalb Mall, and the shopping center in a predominantly black Atlanta suburb is treating it as a royal event.

While most mall shoppers take for granted the presence of a bookstore, South DeKalb has been without one since B. Dalton pulled out three years ago.

The 1990 departure had been a low point for the once-struggling mall, but the return of the chain is emblematic of the center’s subsequent success at reinventing itself as a magnet for black shoppers.

After years of decline as the surrounding community shifted from a predominantly white to black population and vacant shops multiplied, South DeKalb began three years ago to reposition itself by targeting black consumers.

“I don’t think anyone else has done it to the extent they have,” said Ken Smikle, publisher of Chicago-based Target Market News, an industry publication covering minority business.

South DeKalb--owned by Rouse Co., of Columbia, Md., and located about 10 miles east of downtown Atlanta--is now a thriving shopping center featuring two large department stores, several national chains and local merchants who offer an array of “Afrocentric” merchandise.

The mix, from standard department store fare to carts selling kente cloth scarves and calligraphy of quotations of black leaders, defies the notion that suburban malls are cookie-cutter enterprises.

“I think we’ve done a better job of listening to our customers,” said Robert Grahamslaw, South DeKalb’s general manager.

The mall, whose market is 80% black, has tried to make itself a part of the community. Its effort to bring back B. Dalton involved help from churches and schools in garnering 4,800 signatures on a petition.

A 6-foot sign at the mall’s entrance congratulates the community for pushing the New York-based chain to reopen at South DeKalb.

Jeff Berk, B. Dalton’s vice president for real estate, said the decisions to leave and to return were based on economics. He said the mall has made a healthy recovery and today offers “a great mix” of national and local retailers.