The department stores that anchor shopping malls have struggled to stand in the market of online shopping, but those spaces might be filled through their greatest foe. Rumors have it that Amazon is in talks with mall owner Simon Property Group to convert some of its department stores into fulfillment centers. It’s not sure how many stores would be converted to warehouses but Amazon is reportedly looking at either stepping into empty JC Penny and Sears stores or else buying locations that are still in use.
The company is also said to be in talks with multiple mall owners about putting its feature low-cost grocery stores in former JC Penny spaces, although those won’t necessarily come to Simon-owned malls. The talks about fulfillment centers have been going on for months now, and predate the coronavirus pandemic.
There’s no assurance that the two sides reach a deal, provided the report is perfect. However, it would be reasonable given the state of US shopping malls. Even before the pandemic, malls and their department stores were struggling with reduced traffic as customers tend to shop more online. Some malls have replaced stores with call centers hand other non-related retail businesses just to stay open. Coronavirus further limited those options. It’s hard to afford a space to offices that are working from home, and retail is frequently limited to curbside pickup or just a tiny amount of in-store shopping.
Amazon’s presence would likely make smaller mall store owners bristle, but they might not have many options at hand. The famous company “Amazon” could provide a regular source of rent and keeps malls alive. There would certainly be many sources of irony, the very force destroying malls might represent the best chance at keeping them intact.
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