Who and why are they buying shopping malls? Interesting.

[empedocles]

" . . .So now, Simon and Brookfield, as well as other mall REITs, are buying retailers out of bankruptcy court to keep the stores open so that they can pay rent and fill the otherwise vacant space, and create some foot traffic and attract a few shoppers for the other stores, so that they too can keep paying rent, and keep the mall from turning into another zombie mall.
If Simon and Brookfield hadn’t stepped in, J.C. Penney might have been liquidated. This would have caused the loss of the 60,000 or so remaining jobs and the closure of about 650 remaining stores – down from about 90,000 jobs and 800 stores before it filed for bankrupt . . . "

https://wolfstreet.com/2020/11/11/why-simon-property-group-brookfield-property-1-2-mall-landlords-bought-jcpenney-other-collapsed-retailers-out-of-bankruptcy/

[msongs]

1. maybe empty malls can be repurposed to schools, homeless housing, condos or... nt

[redstatebluegirl]

2. I think after the pandemic people are going to want to go back out to shop.

I have never liked online shopping and have grown to hate it during this pandemic. I know a lot of young people who say they long for real shopping. I have read in the Wallstreet Journal that banks are also finding that people want a branch bank to go to instead of everything online. This after many of them have closed branch banks, now they are reopening them. Trends change all the time. Maybe they are anticipating something we aren't seeing.

[mopinko]

3. yup. i switched banks when us back closed my 2 nearest branches.

the closest one has been 6 different banks since i opened my 1st account there.
but they kept most of the personnel, so, i had a banker that knew me.

i went w chase because i got a rec for a personal banker there.
so far, i do it almost all online, and my banker is downtown. only talked to him on the phone so far.
but they have 2 branches w/in a mile of my house.

[empedocles]

4. Nice to have the jobs back also.

Open the link and see the chart of rebounding numbers in department stores. That might be part of what these investors are seeing/anticipating.

[genxlib]

5. There is some logic to it

Historically, malls only work with anchor tenants. Then you can rent dozens of smaller spaces between those anchor tenants.

Saving an anchor tenant could save the entire mall.

I am not sure whether it will work but I understand the concept.

In general, I think the economics behind commercial real estate is very complex and involves a lot tax implications. For all I know, it might be worth retail losses on the JC Penny side in order to maintain tax implications on the property side. I know some of the traditional Brick and Mortar stores were often described as a land trust that happened to sell shoes.

[empedocles]

6. Insightful

[Klaralven]

9. Many of the small spaces had been shifting to dining or fitness - not working so well now

The idea was that the mall would be more of a place for socializing than recreational shopping.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. I also vastly prefer shopping in person.

I absolutely must try on clothes, for instance. I need a new office-type chair for my desk, and I want to sit in it to see if it's a good fit, so to speak. And so on.

[crickets]

10. Agreed. Clothing and furniture really do need in person shopping.

I can order a t-shirt or a skirt here and there, and yoga pants aren't a big deal since I don't wear them outside anyway. For anything beyond that, trying it on is required. Don't get me started on the variability of women's clothing sizes...

I desperately need a sofa, but it'll be a while before I buy one. I want it to be the last one I buy, and it had better be comfortable. Seeing the color/fabric weave up close and in person and trying it out first is a must.

[Xolodno]

8. Short term strategy.

Save your anchor stores which helps attract smaller stores. Once things settle down, then sell the anchor store or spin it off into a separate entity and have an IPO.

If it works or not, remains to be seen. I'd hazard a guess it may work for some malls, but not all of them.

[SWBTATTReg]

11. Looks like trump will have ongoing problems due to his inability to control the CV...

His properties are going to take a big hit...I'm assuming...

Commercial Real Estate Office Sector Crushed by Work-from-Home, Tsunami of Supply in Q3: Manhattan, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles by Wolf Richter • Oct 3, 2020 • 80 Comments

“Sublease Pandemic?” Office leasing activity plunged or collapsed, depending on city, even as huge amounts of sublease space that companies no longer need got dumped on the market.