Are Mall's History

[HONDO74]

Vacancies in shopping malls throughout the United States have hit an eight-year high as a wave of retail bankruptcies leave once-thriving shops with empty shelves and papered-over windows.

The rate of unoccupied storefronts surged 10 basis points to 9.4 percent during the last three months of summer, according to data published Friday by Reis, a unit of Moody's Analytics. That figure matched the post-financial crisis high in 2011, according to a report by Seeking Alpha.

The brick-and-mortar stores will probably be the thing of the past, and everybody will have to buy everything online.

It appears the only people hanging out at malls on the weekends are teenagers looking for trouble.

When was the last time anyone here was at a mall. It has been well over 12 years for me. Back it the 80s we used to go out for diner almost every Friday night and then go to the mall.

[E7]

The REAL question is: Is RETAIL history?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

The REAL question is: Is RETAIL history?

No. But maybe the big department store in or out of malls is on its death bed. Retail as we lived our lives with is changing to other formats that include e-commerce and others.

What I'm seeing around here is mixed use development. Street level is all small shops and food service of varying levels. Upstairs it's 2-5 stories of apartments and/or condos.

[J. S. Bach]

...snip... When was the last time anyone here was at a mall. It has been well over 12 years for me. ...snip...

Depending on your definition of "mall"; about six hours ago.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

When was the last time anyone here was at a mall. It has been well over 12 years for me.

Well, there's the problem right there - it's all your fault for not going for 12 years!!!

[E7]

The REAL question is: Is RETAIL history?

No. But maybe the big department store in or out of malls is on its death bed. Retail as we lived our lives with is changing to other formats that include e-commerce and others.

What I'm seeing around here is mixed use development. Street level is all small shops and food service of varying levels. Upstairs it's 2-5 stories of apartments and/or condos.

I should have said brick and mortar!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

The REAL question is: Is RETAIL history?

No. But maybe the big department store in or out of malls is on its death bed. Retail as we lived our lives with is changing to other formats that include e-commerce and others.

What I'm seeing around here is mixed use development. Street level is all small shops and food service of varying levels. Upstairs it's 2-5 stories of apartments and/or condos.

I should have said brick and mortar!

Well, the smaller shops on the street level are brick and mortar.

The bigger department stores are the ones that are fading, with only a few exceptions. Target seems mobbed most times.....but Sears dried up and blew away.

[E7]

The bigger department stores are the ones that are fading, with only a few exceptions. Target seems mobbed most times.....but Sears dried up and blew away.

Walmart more so than Target around here from what I see, which is a very limited sample.

Sears might have been sabotaged from within. Closest one was circa 25 miles away, so I didn't get there often. Liked Sears/K-Mart tools, but Home Depot stuff appears of equal quality and they are close by.

[HONDO74]

‘Ghost kitchens’ are popping up in malls amid retail's decline
https://news.yahoo.com/ghost-kitchens-s ... 47231.html

Brick-and-mortar retail’s decline has hollowed out malls across the U.S. and put store chains like Toys ‘R’ Us and Sears (SHLD) out of business.

But it’s not all doom and gloom: The downward trend has spurred a phenomenon, dubbed “ghost kitchens,” in which new kitchens find a home empty mall spaces.

Built by property developers, these kitchens exist only to make food for delivery and could provide a boost to companies like Uber (UBER) with its UberEats service and Grubhub (GRUB).

According to the Wall Street Journal, developer Simon Property Group (SPG) and Accor (AC.PA) are partnering with hospitality firm SBE Entertainment Group to develop 200 ghost kitchens in both malls and hotels. The roll out is slated to begin in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami.

[chuck]

Glendale Galeria does not seem to be affected nor do the open air malls in Santa Monica and Burbank. There was a lot of over development and that is now being corrected. The makeup of the retail shops is changing, it would be hard for them not to. Target and Wallmart offer on-line ordering with in store pickup, a smart move to leverage on-line presence with quick pick up. I also seem Amazon is shifting into an e-commerce hub where they offer convenient purchasing with hybrid shipping.

Retail isn't dead or dying, it's adapting and changing. Retailers that adapt will survive/thrive. Those that don't will die.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Retail isn't dead or dying, it's adapting and changing. Retailers that adapt will survive/thrive. Those that don't will die.

Which is the way it's been a long time..........

[HONDO74]

I have noticed that the strip mall seems to be coming back. The small specialized shops.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I have noticed that the strip mall seems to be coming back. The small specialized shops.

Very popular format and often with a decent place (or 3) to eat in them as well.

[robert.]

Our local mall has 30 percent vacancy. Sears is having an inventory liquidation sale and J.C. Penny is moving out. Macy will soon follow. A.c moore closed or is on the way out. I keep telling my wife. "watch in two years this place will be all apartments. Our strip malls are being rebuilt into ground level stores ( D&D, Starbucks and the likes) with 3 floors of housing above. They built a place by use that looks like a fire trap. One long timber building all 2x4. No fire wall from floor to ceiling. It really appears to be a tinder box. Building inspector says " No they have fire sprinklers and suppression" I don't believe him. One match or grease fire and it's all gone. It's built 15 feet off the highway. Who wants to live with all that road noise. They call it university city for Delval university. Kids will be pitch beer bottles of their balconies. 3 more street level with housing above slated to be built. 150-170 units of living space.

[chuck]

Retail on the ground floor with apartments on second and third floor is what I saw in Queens when I was a little kid. Similar arrangement in Pearl River where we moved to after we left Queens. Both "old town" and "downtown" Plymouth have the combo buildings. Any new construction mirrors that. The "new age" strip malls that were all one story tall and strictly retail are the ones in trouble. I suspect single story strips may have seen their day. I see more of those with vacancies than anything else.