"The reason these retailers are coming is that we have so much purchasing power," she said.

As the old leases turn and the rents go up, better retailers are coming in.

As more national retailers come in, he said, "a lot more money is spent on upgrading, and leases are longer."

When retailers come to town they want to go to one general location.

Meatpackers have taken the brunt of the criticism, but retailers are also coming under scrutiny.

"The retailers come to see the products, you get to meet everybody, it is a good show."

"No retailer this size has ever come out of bankruptcy before."

Put simply, retailers came back by figuring out how to compete with other forms of selling.

But around the metropolitan region, the question for many was which retailers, if any, would come forward and replace the six department stores.

And now that the retailers have come, a younger generation of designers is springing up.