Traditional mall anchors leaving, grocers taking their places
There has been an acceleration of anchors closing their operations. Earlier this year, J.C. Penney announced plans to close up to 140 stores. This followed bad news in recent months from Macy’s and Sears, who said they plan to close hundreds of underperforming stores. Malls are great locations for big grocery stores because of their parking, the visibility and the large format they provide.
This is not a new idea in countries like Australia, where most malls include grocers, in some cases as anchors.