Juan Garcia / DMN

Dillard's manager Greg Grimes stands in the contemporary clothing section of the chain's newest store at Stonebriar Centre in Frisco.

FRISCO — Dillard's Inc.'s 15th Dallas-Fort Worth store, at Stonebriar Centre in Frisco, is trying to appeal to that area's younger-shopper demographic.

The department store chain, based in Little Rock, Ark., officially opens the store today.

It's taking space that was left vacant when the Macy's store moved into the space once occupied by Foley's at the mall's east end.

Macy's Inc. absorbed the Foley's stores after its acquisition of May Department Stores in 2005.

Upscale brands – including Tumi in the luggage department, Nambé serving pieces in the home department and Alberto Makali and BCBGirls sportswear in an expanded contemporary women's apparel department – are stocked throughout the 200,000-square-foot, two-level store.

More space is left between racks and displays so that strollers can be maneuvered easily.

"We intentionally left more open spaces, enough for double strollers to pass through. You will see a lot of those in this mall," store manager Greg Grimes said.

"The contemporary and bridge brands are similar to what we stock at NorthPark," the upscale Dallas mall.

Stonebriar has become a destination mall in the fast-growing suburbs north of Dallas, with a large concentration of retail surrounding it at State Highway 121 and Preston Road, including D-FW's only Ikea store.

Since October, Dillard's has been remodeling the space that Macy's had occupied since Stonebriar opened in 2000.

The Dillard's has new coral-colored marble floors and coordinated carpeting. Artwork adorns the fashion jewelry area, and the handbag and shoe departments are larger and have better lighting than the average store, Mr. Grimes said.

Dillard's has another store under construction in Collin County at the Village at Fairview. That shopping center is scheduled to open late next year.

D-FW is Dillard's largest market, and Texas is its biggest state, with 60 stores.

Dillard's stock gained 36 cents to $20.10 Tuesday. The shares peaked at more than $40 in May on speculation that the company was ripe for a leveraged buyout, but they've fallen since, thanks to disappointing sales and profit.

Barington Capital Group LP, which owns 3.4 percent of Dillard's stock, has criticized management, saying its corporate governance practices are substandard and the company's performance has trailed that of its peers for too long.

On Aug. 30, Barington made public a letter it sent to Dillard's management asking for a meeting. A spokesman for the New York-based hedge fund said Tuesday that it hasn't heard from Dillard's management.

Julie Bull, a spokeswoman for the chain of 330 stores, said the company had no comment on the shareholder letter.