E-commerce inflicting more damage on US malls than first appears
New York — The damage inflicted on America’s malls by the rise of e-commerce may be worse than it appears. As embattled retailers announce store closures at a record pace, some tenants are shrinking their footprints more quietly by choosing not to renew expiring leases, according to a report from property-research firm Green Street Advisors. Of 2,468 in-line stores that closed in 2017 — a category that excludes department stores — 979 were not announced, the report produced by the firm’s advisory and consulting group shows. "When leases expire, they just don’t renew them, as opposed to breaking leases and doing something a bit more aggressive," Jim Sullivan, president of the advisory group, said in an interview. The study examines the downsizing trends of the top 25 national retailers lining the hallways of malls across the US. These tenants have a bigger impact on landlords’ profitability than the large anchors such as Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s, which, typically, pay minimal rents o...
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