Retailers Are Leaving Malls for Good Reason, Some Better Prepared Than Others
The news was mostly lost among all the more pressing headlines, first regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and then more recently by protests related to racism. But there are reports that several stores brands popular in malls aren't planning to reopen even if their host mall does ... ever.
These stores were already leaving malls in droves; coronavirus-related shutdowns have merely accelerated that movement. Mall vacancy rates hit 9.7% by the end of 2019, according to Moody's industry research arm Real Estate Solutions (REIS). And REIS predicts malls vacancy rates will soar to 14.6% by the end of next year as individual retailers regroup and rethink their store locations.
Not all of the most familiar names, like Macy's (NYSE: M) and Foot Locker (NYSE: FL), are completely throwing in the towel on malls. But these retailers, more and more, are finding a friendlier and less-expensive environment in off-mall locations like strip malls, or less conventional locales like downtown settings, or even stand-alone venues closer to neighborhoods.
Source Fool.com