The locations have been stalwarts in shopping malls throughout the country.
Author’s Note
This article is based on corporate postings and accredited media reports. Linked information within this article is attributed to the following outlets: Wikipedia.org, SpectrumNews1.com, Google.com, and BucksCountyCourierTimes.com.
Introduction
It has been a difficult year for U.S. shopping malls, as several perennial and in some cases landmark locations have been announced as permanently closing by year’s end or within 2023.
The reasons for the closures have invariably been the same: the pandemic, inflation, and even a general years-long decrease in foot traffic prior to the earliest days of COVID-19.
In the past month alone, I have written a half-dozen stories for NewsBreak regarding these closures; among the most culturally relevant are those that have been anchored by popular retailers such as Dillard’s and Ross Dress For Less, or have included fan-favorite restaurants such as Long John Silver’s.
Let us explore further.
Shopping Mall Stalwarts, 2022
Wikipedia features a comprehensive and well-attributed overview of yet another soon-to-be-demolished mall: Military Circle Mall, known as The Gallery at Military Circle Mall from 2002 to 2015, is an enclosed shopping mall in Norfolk, Virginia. The mall opened in 1970... The anchor stores are Ross Dress for Less, Optima Health, and Movement Mortgage. There are 3 vacant anchor stores that were once Cinemark, Sears, and Macy's. The mall is currently scheduled to be closed at the end of 2022 and demolished.
Separately, one of the nation’s largest global mall owners is selling the entirety of their U.S. shopping mall holdings, which is largely expected to shutter dozens of popular chain store locations including Brandon Westfield in Florida — anchored by Dillard’s.
Wikipedia features a comprehensive and highly attributed overview of those owners, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE (previously Unibail-Rodamco SE) is a French commercial real restate company headquartered in Paris, France. Its history originates with the formation of two separate shopping center operators, Unibail (founded in France in 1968) and Rodamco Europe (founded in the Netherlands in 1999), which merged in 2007 and became a societas Europaea in 2009. The company acquired Australian shopping centre operator Westfield Corporation in June 2018.
In fact, the entirety of URW’s Westfield holdings are presently being sold.
SpectrumNews1.com, in its piece titled “Owners of Westfield Shopping Malls Plan to Sell Their Nationwide Portfolio,” detailed the matter.
The report stated: Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield officials told investors that they plan to sell their 24 Westfield malls in the U.S. in the next two years and focus solely on managing their European shopping centers. "We will strengthen our core business by completing our deleveraging plans to emerge as a focused European pure-play," said Jean-Marie Tritant, chief executive officer of URW, during an investor meeting on March 30. "Deleveraging remains the key to unlocking future value, and we are progressing in our clearly defined disposal plans.
Another mall, this one featuring an Outback Steakhouse, faces an uncertain future.
According to a recent BucksCountyCourierTimes.com report, “Montgomery Mall Retailers, Shoppers Await Word on Future Under New Kohan Ownership,” the new owner of the stalwart mall is deciding on strategies moving forward.
As excerpted from the report: Montgomery Mall has struggled since before the pandemic, and, under new ownership, many worry about its fate.. Shopkeepers in the mall said they had received little or no information about plans to attract shoppers during the holiday season. Located in the mall parking lot, the Bertucci's and Outback Steakhouse restaurants had customers. At the Chick-fil-A next door, a line of drive-thru customers encircled the restaurant. Yet few cars were actually parked outside the mall.
Other malls have also been announced this year as closing.
Conclusion
As U.S. shopping malls are largely expected by analysts to continue to shutter throughout 2023 — as a targeted Google search will verify — I will share pertinent updates on these matters here on NewsBreak.
Thank you for reading.
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