Are Malls Going Extinct?

[Zayre88]

Are Malls Going Extinct?

With more and more online shopping and so many retailers closing stores, will malls and shopping centers survive long term?  Over the past decade many of them struggled, became dead malls, closed, were demolished and/or became big-box shopping centers.

Anchor stores like Sears, JCPenney and Kmart are struggling, Macy's is closing stores and smaller chains are shutting down or have shut down many or all locations during the past 4-5 years: Aeropostale, Radio Shack, Abercrombie & Fitch, Pac Sun, FYE, American Eagle Outfitters, Coldwater Creek, Deb Shops, Fashion Bug, Wet Seal, Delia's, Wilsons Leather, Sbarro, Express, SYMS, Borders, Best Buy..

What do you think?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-21/a-dying-mall-in-concord-new-hampshire.html

http://www.sltrib.com/home/1857209-155/for-malls-its-a-time-to

[retailisking]

Malls aren't going extinct, but marginal ones that were just sort of getting by are in a tough spot now. Steeplegate was a nice mall, but retail was already overbuilt in the area, so business there has always been kind of slow as the proprietor of Pitchfork said. I can't say I'm surprised that they're at a crisis point.

[TheFugitive]

In general I think the conclusion is yes, malls are going extinct.

Malls were the happening thing when I was a youngster in the 80's.
It was where you went to meet your friends, hang out, eat and drink, buy
your music, and obtain clothes to try and impress the opposite sex.

Flash forward a generation, and my kids pretty much did all of that stuff online.
UPS and FedEx made a steady stream of deliveries of stuff they bought online.
Music is all downloaded.  And you talk with your friends constantly on social media.

My personal opinion is that this is a bad development for society in general, as there
is no good substitute for actual face-to-face contact with other human beings.  But it
appears to be the way that things are headed.

With all of the chain closures mentioned on this board there are now not likely even
enough chains to fill all that empty mall space.

One notable exception is South Hills Village Mall here in Pittsburgh.  One of the nation's
oldest (and smallest), it has an extremely low vacancy rate, and is currently undergoing
a multi-million dollar expansion and renovation.  It does sit in the middle of Upper St. Clair,
one of the more affluent communities in this region.

[BillyGr]

Plus over the years you had many malls built so close (examples like Northway and Colonie Center across from each other, Saratoga and Wilton next to each other, South Hills and Galleria in Poughkeepsie next to each other and I'm sure lots more other places) that as the number of stores started to shrink (all the chains that became Macy's for example, Wards and similar closings) there just wouldn't be enough for two malls that close to have different things to fill them.

[TheFugitive]

The South Hills Village mall I mentioned is 1/4 mile from another mall called the Galleria.
That one is EXTREMELY upscale.  I have been inside it perhaps 3 times in 20 years because
there is absolutely nothing I need nor want there.

I don't smoke cigars.
I'm not in the market for a piano
And even if I were a cross-dresser, I'd refuse to pay those prices.


However, both malls appear to be almost fully leased.
Like I said they are in one of the most affluent communities in this end of the state.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Malls are becoming rare in the United States and Canada, but not in countries like Mexico (where most people can not afford a computer), as well as most countries in Central America and South America. Most countries in the European Union and the United Arab Emirates have shopping malls, the UAE built a lot of new ones, being an oil-rich country. Australia and New Zealand have no dead malls as far as I know, and quite a lot urban and suburban malls for countries of their size.

I predict that the remaining American and Canadian malls will reinvent themselves as mixed-use facilities where you will find not just shopping/big box retail and dining, but also entertainment, services and convenience as well as a fitness gym like Curves, Anytime Fitness or Planet Fitness and a karate school for the kids, as well as one or two movie theaters, one could show first-run movies and one could show second run movies at discount prices.

The oldest shopping mall currently operating in the United States: Northgate Mall, Seattle, Washington
The newest shopping mall currently operating in the United States: Jordan Creek Town Center, West Des Moines, Iowa

[Hudsons81]

The oldest shopping mall currently operating in the United States: Southdale Mall, Edina, Minnesota

There are older American malls that are still operating...

Northland Center, Southfield, Michigan, opened 1954

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

The oldest shopping mall currently operating in the United States: Southdale Mall, Edina, Minnesota

There are older American malls that are still operating...

Northland Center, Southfield, Michigan, opened 1954

Fixed.

[Hudsons81]

The oldest shopping mall currently operating in the United States: Southdale Mall, Edina, Minnesota

There are older American malls that are still operating...

Northland Center, Southfield, Michigan, opened 1954

Fixed.

There may be older malls than Northland out there that are still in business, but I don't know there are still any left...

EDIT: Found one. Northgate Mall, Seattle, Washington, opened 1950.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

One mall that did fail in my area was the Port Plaza Mall in downtown Green Bay, Wisconsin, a product of 1970s urban renewal that backfired nearly 30 years later. It was anchored by JCPenney and H.C. Prange Co. when the mall opened in 1977. An expansion gave the mall some more space for stores and restaurants, plus a third anchor, Boston Store in 1982. Younkers bought H.C. Prange Co. in 1992, Boston Store closed in 2000 along with half of the mall's stores, the mall changed it's name to Washington Commons in 2002, Younkers closed in 2004, following relocation to Bay Park Square. JCPenney closed in 2005, following relocation to the Village at Bay Park. The mall finally closed in 2006. The clocktower inside the mall was removed, and sent back to its original location of Winona, Mississippi. The mall was demolished along with the neighboring Days Inn hotel for construction of a new corporate headquarters for Schreiber Foods.

Other urban malls that can be found in Wisconsin include:

*Avenue Mall (now City Center Plaza) - Appleton, Wisconsin
*Park Plaza Mall (now City Center) - Oshkosh, Wisconsin
*Centerpoint Mall (later Centerpoint Marketplace, demolished) - Stevens Point, Wisconsin
*Wausau Center (still open) - Wausau, Wisconsin
*Grand Avenue Mall (a.k.a. Shops of Grand Avenue, still open) - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

[Pikapower]

I predict that the remaining American and Canadian malls will reinvent themselves as mixed-use facilities where you will find not just shopping/big box retail and dining, but also entertainment, services and convenience as well as a fitness gym like Curves, Anytime Fitness or Planet Fitness and a karate school for the kids, as well as one or two movie theaters, one could show first-run movies and one could show second run movies at discount prices.

I could see malls putting in a day care center for the kids, a house of worship, a thrift store like Salvation Army, Amvets, or Savers, and even a YMCA!

[TheFugitive]

Before it closed, Parkway Center Mall had leased space to a dance academy and a Karate school.

[Pikapower]

Before it closed, Parkway Center Mall had leased space to a dance academy and a Karate school.

Martial arts studios in malls see to be kind of a trend.

[Hudsons81]

Northland Center when it closed had a dance studio in a former shoe store, but it was already closed for a while.

[Kmart4life]

Surprisingly our Mall is doing good despite the fact that 2 outdoor Malls have opened up in the last few years and the Lakeland Square Mall will be 30 years old next year. It stays relatively busy, maybe it's the Florida heat that keeps the people inside.

[ynkeesfn82]

I guess the Westfield Meriden Square Mall in Meriden, Connecticut is going through a rebirth. Boscov's is opening this October. Forever 21 is opening a new larger location in a wing of the mall that's been dead for several years. The mall is also doing other renovation work as well. We'll see what happens. The mall is 41 years old, but not all of it is 41 years old. In its 41 years it's undergone several remodels and expansions.