America's malls are rotting away
http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/12/news/companies/mall-closing/index.htmlThe worst is yet to come for American shopping malls. As Macy's, JCPenney, Sears and other major department stores close their doors, the malls that housed those stores are facing a serious crisis.
That's because when so-called anchor tenants leave a mall, it opens the door for other stores to break their leases or negotiate much cheaper rent.
As one big store closes, it can take several smaller stores along with it like a house of cards. Experts predict that a quarter of American malls will close in five years -- around 300 out of 1,100 that currently exist.
Retailers often sign co-tenancy agreements in their leases with malls, allowing them to reduce their rent or get out of a lease if a big store closes.
That's because the smaller retailers next to anchor stores no longer benefit from the foot traffic that the major retailers received ...
Sears (SHLD), which had operated nearly 3,800 stores as recently as a decade ago is now down to 1,104 stores. Macy's (M) closed 68 stores this year, and JCPenney (JCP) was set to shutter 128.
Some successful malls may be able to survive if they can convert department stores' spaces into better attractions for consumers.
There will be a new push to get food halls and entertainment in malls, and make it more of an experience that will draw people in.
Experts classify malls into "A" "B" "C" and "D" grades characterized in part by sales per square footage of the malls. "B" malls and below are going to have a particularly hard time with the financial burden of the changing mall landscape.
The retail loan default rate is currently hovering around 5%, but Brown expects that number to triple.
And with defaults come bankruptcies -- lots an lots of bankruptcies. More than 300 retailers have already filed for bankruptcy this year.
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though it was never as exciting as shopping at the huge Rich's or Davison's in downtown Atlanta when I was a boy. My idea of heaven was the mezzanine bookstore at the downtown Davison's. I'd get to go maybe three or four times a year, and it was always a thrill. Things change, and not always for the better. 
of shopping at Stix, Baer & Fuller and Famous-Barr in DT St. Louis in my childhood years. I remember the stamps (I was into philately) at Famous, and the banana splits in the middle of the afternoon at their lunch bar or maybe Kresge's (??). Or the nicer lunches in the Tea Room. Occasionally we did our shopping in the morning (my mom was a sales hound) then took in an afternoon movie at The Ambassador, I think it was. Beautiful old theater. Ahhh, the good old days. The only movie I remember seeing is Trapeze, with Tony Curtis, Gina Lolabrigida, and Kirk Douglas, I think. (Did I get them right?)
And since it's Christmas, I'll go ahead and share a picture of my younger brother, c. 1955. We always made the trek into St. Louis (from across the Mississippi R in Illinois) to see Santa and have dinner out, and my dad would join us. My mother was SO into Christmas. I love the nail polish he's wearing. LOL. Bless him. He died in August, and his birthday was December 10.
I am sorry for your loss
and how lucky he was to have a big brother like you! You got "Trapeze" right, I think. My lord, the old movie palaces and what a thrill it was to go there. Only The Fox is left in Atlanta, but I remember the Roxy, Loew's Grand (where "Gone with the Wind" premiered), the Paramount, and the Rialto, Things just aren't as exciting as they once were...even down to the creme de menthe parfaits at Rich's.
I even went to a fashion show (yuck) with some female cousins at Davison's once, and it was the first time I remember hearing "This Land Is Your Land." But I got a pair of corduroy pants out of it, courtesy of my uncle, so it wasn't a wasted experience.
Big sister, actually. 
And you're darn right! He WAS lucky.
And so was I. Very.
I am too.
and gave it a new life as outpatient clinic space. It is really a win-win situation, as it frees up space around the original, campus area medical center, and there is parking galore at the mall location. The remaining stores and restaurants in the mall and its periphery have a new infusion of business from the staff and patients who are already on the premises. It also happens to be closer to a major highway. The article you linked has several great ideas for repurposing malls as consumer shopping patterns evolve.
