- The concept of the great American shopping mall continues to fade as The Wall Street Journal reports that empty space in regional shopping malls reached a six-year high in Q1.
- It's a complicated equation for the retail sector as diminished foot traffic is counterbalanced partially by lower rents and the ability to find strategic space for chains that happen to be in a growth phase. There's also the obvious "Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Effect" that is in play on pricing, and a renewed attack from President Trump (latest tweet) on the Seattle e-commerce giant's ability to pay lower taxes than brick-and-mortar store chains.
- The final twist is that amid the continual loss of mall relevancy, pockets of consumer spending are improving and chains are seeing benefits from their omni-channel selling initiatives.
- Add it all up and there could still be some value plays in the sector, despite the gloom.
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Original article