Can Retailers Break Up With The Mall?

A lot of stores are leaving the mall these days. Singer-songwriter Paul Simon made it sound easy. “Just slip out the back, Jack. Make a new plan, Stan,” goes his 1975 ditty. “Just drop off the key, Lee, and get yourself free.” Supplements retailer GNC earlier this month did make it sound fairly easy to leave. The company July 22 said it would likely halve its mall presence in the process of closing down as many as 900 locations, most of them in traditional malls. That would add to an industry store closure tally that already this year has surpassed all of 2018. To date U.S. retailers have announced 7,426 store closures and 3,039 openings, compared to 5,864 closures and 3,258 openings last year, according to Coresight’s most recent accounting. Read more at Retail Dive.