Last year I wrote about Nouvelle at Natick, a new development attached to a mall in the suburbs of Boston. The mall itself, the Natick Collection, seems to be in a bit of trouble. The Boston Globe reports that the mall, which is home to the state's first Nordstrom and first suburban Neiman Marcus, is having trouble attracting shoppers. The mall seems to be a victim of several different factors that include the fear of a recession and high gas prices as well as the fact that those in the suburbs of Boston are conditioned to heading to the city to do their luxury shopping. According to the Globe, the older part of the mall, which is home to traditional mall fixtures like Macy's and Gap is still doing well. Meanwhile the new luxury portion of the mall is hosting cocktail afternoons, lunches and yoga classes to attract attention.

This news comes at a time whenever another huge luxury mall with a residence component has opened in a place not known for luxury stores. This week saw the launch of Americana at Brand in Glendale, California by developer Rick Caruso. Caruso has had a big success with his Grove complex which is located in a more traditionally shopping friendly portion of Los Angeles. Americana at Brand, like the Natick Collection is located in an area in which there is already a thriving mall that caters to a more middle market crowd and it also has a residential part. The article in the Globe posits Natick's affluent surbanites might simply not be ready for luxury spending down the street. Certainly the shopping styles in suburban Los Angeles and suburban Boston differ but it makes me wonder if in six or eight months, Americana at Brand might be facing a similar slowdown. For this week at least the area is swarmed with people checking out the sparkling new shopping center but whether or not that will convert to solid sales will be found after the novelty wears off.

I've written before about closed online shopping communities but for the most part they have remained relatively limited. That might change a bit with the latest partnership. Long-standing closed social network A Small World has partnered with online luxury fashion site Net-A-Porter to let members of A Small World access and shop directly from the latest international designer collections. Members of A Small World can log on to a special Net A Porter micro site that features the latest looks from over 200 brands including many limited edition items. The site will be updated on a weekly basis and will also have gift guides for shoppers.

More bad news for the U.S. luxury department stores. WWD has the list of sales figures for December and they aren't pretty. Same-store sales declined 5.4 percent on average for the department store sector with a total of 6.5 percent lost year over year. The luxury retailers were hit hardest, Nordstrom, down 4 percent, Neiman Marcus down 2.9 percent, Macy's fell 7.9 percent and Sak's eked out a .08 percent gain. Out of the 40 retailers WWD tracked, 27 reported negative same-stores sales for the month. The mid-range departments stores were hit too, J.C. Penney fell 7.9 percent and Kohl's declined 0.7 percent. Discount stores did better with Wal-Mart up 2.6 percent and Target up 5 percent. Specialty stores dipped too (3 percent) but overall it was the department stores that suffered the most with a 6.3 percent decline overall. I wonder if the fact that the Christmas holiday season has turned into more of a gadget frenzy and less of a clothing holiday is partly behind this or if this is just more fall out as the masstige market, once fueled by the aspirational shopper, continues to decline.

When the Foxwoods Resort in Southern Connecticut opened in the early 1990s it was a fairly modest affair, with slots and games aimed at a mid-range clientele. Now the massive resort is working on a $55 million renovation that will include the addition of four luxury shops, the type likely to be found in the luxury casinos in Las Vegas. Foxwoods has announced Rolex, Bvlgari, Chopard and Judith Ripka storefronts.

It's part of a larger project turning Foxwoods into a draw for guests from around the world. In May, the $700 million MGM Grand at Foxwoods will open up. The new hotel will have 825 rooms, meeting space, a theater, spa casino and restaurants by celebrity chefs Tom Colicchio and Michael Schlow. The MGM Grand at Foxwoods will have its share of shops including Dunhill, Bally and an Apple store.

WWD has an piece on the latest luxury shopping mecca, the Siam Paragon in Bangkok. The $365 million mall has a giant saltwater aquarium, marble floors, gourmet food and 250 stores to chose from. There is an 860,000 square foot Paragon department store and high-end retail like  Armani, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Chloé, Bottega Veneta, Jimmy Choo and Bulgari. An entire floor of the Siam is the "World of Luxury" where high-end jewelers can be found and there is also a floor devoted to exotic car and yacht dealers. The shopping center is aimed at both rich Thai shoppers and tourists. Tourism is Thailand's top business and although most tourists are from Asia, the number of European and American tourists is rising. Other shopping destinations in the area include the Central Department Stores which spent $20 million adding to its Chidlom flagship to compete with the Siam Paragon and is planning to expand its Zen store; Gaysorn Plaza which also spent  spent $60 million on a face-lift; the 215,000-square-foot Siam Discovery Center which is aimed at customers aged 25 and up, and the 430,000-square-foot Siam Centre complex next to Siam Paragon which is designed to lure preteens and teens. Pictures of the mall and the aquarium can be found on this website.