America’s Love Affair With Malls Is Over

Attention all you retailers in malls all over the country who are paying incredibly high rents and are still hit with additional common area charges and ad budgets that are required by the mall owners: you need to understand what is happening and you need to make some hard decisions NOW.

Simply stated, get out now before all is lost. America’s love affair with malls is over.

The deal was huge foot traffic resulting in lots of  spending, thus supporting a very high overhead. It worked for many years and mall locations were a good place to be, but that’s true no longer, and it will not return.

Why?

1. Huge unemployment and shrinking disposable income. This situation will remain and it will get worse for a long time to come.

2. Reduction in stock values and in home equity has destroyed the baby boomers’ hopes of a comfortable retirement. This realization has resulted in them shutting off their spending spigot. This most important well has gone dry and this will not change.

3. Credit cards are being shut off, or no longer used.

4. Perhaps most important of all is a systemic switch to frugality. “Shop ’til you drop” is no longer in vogue, frugality is in. Impulse spending is out even for those who have jobs, credit and cash. It’s over.

5, Commercial vacancies are at record setting levels in malls all over the country and are destined to expand dramatically as more and more retail stores go broke and close. This includes many national chains and many anchor stores that were depended upon to stimulate the valuable and important “foot traffic” reflected in your rent.

It’s over, and the longer you stay put and pay the exorbitant rents and added charges, the faster your revenues and profitability will be drained, forcing you out of business without an exit strategy.

My advice is to bail out now while you still have a chance.

Call my office if you’d like to get some immediate help. We always offer a no-cost or obligation initial consultation and you will certainly need a debt workout plan. We can help you.