Is Retailmageddon Impacting Shopping Centers?

One of my favorite arguments with colleagues concerns the state of the overall retail industry. 2017 was actually a banner year for overall retail sales, with a strong holiday season propelling overall retail sales up 4.2%. True, sales of online retail grew at a significantly faster rate of nearly 13% but on a smaller base. So, everything must be great for retail, right? Not really.

At the same time, there were a record number of retail bankruptcies in 2017, followed by a number of prominent bankruptcies in 2018 (Toys "R" Us, Claire`s, Bon-Ton). Overall, there was roughly two times the amount of store closures versus openings in 2017, driven by bankruptcies and mass closures. Critically even, those openings tend to be concentrated in the value retail segment, with chains like Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Aldi, Lidl and TJ Maxx making up the lion’s share. These are not mall-based retailers...   ...more

RSK: More creative retail needed like restaurants and entertainment? How many restaurants can a city have? Almost every retail center and mall has a food court or restaurants in them now...