Wishful thinking: Which luxury retailers might come in the Twin Cities?

I asked a Twin Cities shopper to name a luxury retailer that she wished would come to the Twin Cities.

"Barney's" she said, naming the high-end men's and women's New York City-based department store. Then she confessed that when she shops at one of the New York stores, she hardly ever buys anything. We finally decided that

the chances of Barney's ever putting down Twin Cities roots are slim.

For a better idea, I asked reps from Mall of America and the Galleria to give us some hints, but both are too competitive to ever name names of potential luxury clients. Each fears that the other will swoop in and steal a retailer, so I checked with Beth Perro-Jarvis of Ginger Consulting, a retail consulting company in Minneapolis for her thoughts. Here are her suggestions:

Scoop could offer modern, hip and casual to 50th & France, Mall of America or Galleria. it has up-market brands such as Rag & Bone, Alice & Olivia and Missoni, but not at out-of-reach prices.

Tory Burch has a passionate twin Cities following and her stores are always lively, cute and fun.

A Kate Spade store for the same reasons.

For more information about the loss and gain of luxury retail in the Twin Cities, go to today's story.