Pants are not priceless

A clothing store called Khaki and Black went out of business in our town’s center last year and has been replaced by a bank. As I drove by with a friend, she said, “Great. Another bank. Just what the center needed.” When the store closed, my mother-in-law expressed a similar sentiment.

My response:

What makes a pants store any more valuable than a bank?

In fact, wouldn’t a bank bring more consumers to the center than a clothing store? A bank brings customers back again and again, often on a weekly basis, whereas a clothing store, particularly a women’s clothing store, only draws a select clientele on a significantly less frequent basis.

Why is a retail clothing establishment automatically perceived to be more valuable than a financial institution?