At King of Prussia Mall, Sears and Penneys Could Become An Amazon Warehouse
On Tuesday (August 24), the Wall Street Journal ran a story with the title, “Simon, the Biggest U.S. Mall Owner, Shows Two Sides: Innovator and Traditionalist.” The gist of the article was that Simon Properties, which owns the King of Prussia Mall “has been in talks with Amazon.com Inc. to convert department stores into warehouse distribution hubs, say people familiar with the matter, an innovation that could plug large holes filled by ailing tenants such as Sears Holdings Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. But the move would challenge a long-held industry belief that anchor tenants are crucial for attracting foot traffic to other stores.”
However, as the WSJ article points out, Simon is far from giving up on brick and mortar retail. The mall operator recently purchased Lucky Brands and Brooks Brothers out of bankruptcy.
And according to USA Today, there is “market speculation and other reports, Simon Property Group and rival mall owner Brookfield Property Partners could partner to buy J.C. Penney, which also has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.”
Can Amazon Save the Simon Property Group from Oblivion? https://t.co/c4HBTxM1IS
— Geek Crunch Reviews (@GeekCrunchR) August 21, 2020