Even as consumer spending cools down across the U.S., retailers continue to target upscale malls for expansion.
In the past month alone, Toys ‘R’ Us and Wilson Sporting Goods opened sprawling stores at the Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the country. Gucci expanded into two major Southern California malls, the Americana at Brand and the Grove, in April and August, respectively. Also in August, menswear designer Todd Snyder opened a boutique at Bal Harbour Shops in Miami, one of the most profitable malls in the U.S.
Despite talk that ‘malls are dying,’ Class A malls, which are typically located in high-income or tourist destinations, are prospering. Traffic at top-tier malls in 2022 was up 12% from 2019 levels, according to a June report from Coresight Research. In September, Simon Property Group, the largest owner of malls in the U.S., reported that its malls had a 95.2% occupancy rate, up from 94.5% a year prior.
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