The Sunday New York Times had a neat chart at the back of the Week in Review Section titled "Fall of the Mall." The headline was a bit misleading--the diagram was really about how much mall retailer sales have dropped over the past year (first quarter to first quarter).
In general, most stores are down across all categories. Department stores, in particular upscale retailers like Saks (down nearly 30%), take it on the chin. Nordstrom (-9.2%), Macy's (-5.9%) and JC Penney (-5.9%) suffer too. Even stalwart discounters--Walmart (-0.7%) and Costco (-2.8%) struggle, but not nearly as much. The cheapest places like The Family Dollar manage to stay in the black. Pharmacies like CVS (all those headache pills) and movie chains like Cinemark (inexpensive diversions) also profit.
Then there are some anomalies. Burger King ekes out a profit while Jack-in-the-Box plunges. Papa Johns and Dominos both lose, but Papa Johns not as much. Fast food aficionados are obviously discerning. The upscale downdraft really hit Starbucks--as noted before here, the era of $5 coffee has seen its day.
Of course, this all spells trouble for weaker regional shopping centers and power centers as retailers will concentrate store sites in stronger centers, leaving the weak to fail.
As for the headline, Fall of (Some) Malls would have been more appropriate.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
