Merry Christmas to all.
Once I heard what it cost to rent in the mall plus the percentage you had to fork over, I was wondering how anyone but the big box stores could afford being there. And then a small shop-owner told me any leaks in their part of the roof was totally their responsibility, I wondered how absolutely insane anyone had to be to agree to that arrangement.
Most all the retail outlets I do any shopping at today are not in malls. They are either standalone locations or are in a cluster of standalone stores. When you know exactly the kind of thing you are looking for the stores you need are really more convenient if they are NOT in a mall.
Malls are dinosaurs waiting for the final extinction. Their extinction is due to several factors. First the malls were predicated on having large anchor stores as the major market draw. Common anchors were Wards, Sears and JC Penney…all gone or on life support. High end anchors like Macys, Nordstroms etc. found malls no longer financially viable with declining sales and high rents. The small boutique stores, eating places and movie theaters depended on the anchors as a draw for their businesses and without the anchors their businesses declined and eventually closed.
Second, malls originally were located in suburban areas, but as suburbs expanded further from the urban core, the older malls became located in less desirable or even declining areas. The newer malls also attracted the crowds who saw the older malls become dated. Adding to this was the new malls often attracted the anchor stores away from the older malls.
Third, malls became hangouts for young people who were there to meet friends and not to seriously shop. They also became hangouts for young thugs and gang bangers making the malls less than safe spaces and driving away serious shoppers.
Lastly, consumers are moving to online shopping which gives them a larger variety of goods and greater convenience than driving to a mall, hassling with parking and crowds and having to walk long distances to find what they are looking for.
The last gasp for malls are the mega malls… best example Mall of America in the Minnesota Twin Cities. Mall of America is a destination mall and offers carnival rides and other non shopping experiences to lure customers. However, Mall of America is experiencing the same problems of the smaller malls. It is ironic that the Twin Cities where the first mall Southdale Center opened in 1956 might also be the site of the last mall.