Time Warner Center debuts in New York.

The new retail and entertainment complex Time Warner Center, by broadcasting-based company Time Warner Inc., opened on Columbus Circle in New York on February 4, 2004. The center will have a total of 40 stores, including Sephora, J. Crew, Williams-Sonoma and newcomer Joseph Abboud fashion flagship store, a Miami-based luxury accessories retailer. Many retail analysts are wondering if New York's time-pressed shoppers will ascend a four-story atrium via elevators and escalators to shop, when many New Yorkers are thought to have an aversion to "vertical shopping." To combat the reluctance to enclosed mall shopping in the city, the two escalators in the atrium have been lined up with the Central Park South sidewalks to facilitate movement. Worldclass restaurants with celebrity chefs are strategically placed on the top floor to drive customers upwards, and repeat visits from Equinox fitness club members will hopefully drive store sales as well.