Malls Push Out Department Store Anchors To Make Room For Better Tenants
The classic days of American shopping are over—department stores are actually being thrown out of the malls they once dominated to make way for a variation of retailers predicted to drive more traffic.
In an Orlando mall, Nordstrom was kicked out to make way for a crayon-based family attraction called the Crayola Experience (how the mighty have fallen) and Saks Fifth Avenue was swapped with a 23-restaurant dining pavilion, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The definition of an anchor has changed,” says Stephen Lebovitz, CEO of CBL & Associates Properties. “Cheesecake Factory does as much business as Sears used to do.”
New anchors include sporting goods retailers, fast-fashion chains, supermarkets, gyms, restaurants and movie theaters as malls desperately try to adapt and stay alive in the age of online shopping. [WSJ]
