By Tom Ryan | Forbes
According to research from JLL Retail, many malls are finding few challenges replacing department stores as anchors. What’s more, the new tenants generally pay much higher rent.
The shopping center owner noted that, historically, rents paid by department stores have been “extremely low,” usually less than $10 per square foot. In the case of Seritage Growth Properties, Sears was leasing 266 properties, paying on average about $4.40-per-square-foot. Repurposing many of those Sears and Kmart locations, Seritage has attracted new tenants paying on average $18.55-per-square-foot.
Overall, JLL Retail’s report explored what happened to recently vacated department stores and found that many were repurposed by some unorthodox tenants:
