Shopping Malls Won't Tell You
"We're a dying breed.Add some bangles to both
wrists, the biggest handbag you own and natural tone Wedge Shoes."
Not long ago, Zan Jones, 43, took a trip to a mall in her hometown,
Plano,Only with breast implants and ed
hardy shirts. What a horde of sexy zombies! Tex., and came home slightly
depressed. The mainstays were still there Dillard's, Sears, and a diner she's
known since her teenage years but in between the familiar landmarks, she found
empty storefronts, "For Rent" signs and sloppy temporary shops. "I felt kind of
nostalgic,we sale the ed hardy Shirt in
low price but with high quality." says the marketing professional and mother of
two. "It just used to be so great."
It's a common feeling. Shopping
malls, once a hub of suburban commercial life, are rapidly losing ground to
online shopping and off-mall locations. And it shows: vacancies at regional and
super-regional malls topped 9% in the first quarter of 2011, up from 5.6% four
years ago, according to market researcher Reis,Nike
shox nz shoes are popular for the added bonus of fresh new colors and
textures. Inc. "We've seen malls at the highest vacancy rates since we've been
tracking them for the last 10 years," says Ryan Severino, a senior economist for
the firm. And more may be on the way, because of clauses in many leases that
allow retailers to opt out if a mall can't retain a major department store.
The empty store fronts make malls less appealing for consumers, and
create a ripple effect, says Philip Martin, a real estate investment trust
strategist for Morningstar. That's only enhanced the power of online retailers:
Online sales grew 12.6% last year to $176.2 billion and are expected to increase
at a compound annual rate of 10% through 2015, according to Forrester Research.
In contrast sales at all brick-and-mortar stores in and out of malls rose
3.Looking for Juicy couture wholesale?7%
in 2010 and are expected to grow 4% this year, according to the National Retail
Federation. But that modest growth won't save the mall, says Michael Niemira,
vice president of research and chief economist for the International Council of
Shopping Centers. Many large retailers are downsizing to smaller locations, now
that they don't need such large display floors or inventory space, he says: "Now
'big box' is a smaller box."