Simon Shows Its Strength in the Time of Coronavirus
As if the retail apocalypse weren't a big enough headwind for mall owners like Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), we now have social distancing and mandatory shutdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks, coronavirus, for ruining people's lives, fortunes, and their weekend trip to the mall!
That's a little gallows humor about what is obviously a very serious and very big issue. It also gets to the core of the problem for mall owners like Simon right now: People aren't shopping in physical stores because they are sheltering in place to avoid catching and/or spreading the novel coronavirus.
Simon, however, took an early step to prepare for this -- and its ability to take that step helps highlights the company's strength in this time of retail uncertainty.
Source Fool.com