From the special retail issue: The retail industry continues to mend the wounds incurred during the Great Recession, but the recovery has been anything but evenly distributed across a diverse range of properties in disparate locations.
Not only has the rebound remained uneven; it’s been complicated by a wave of closures of big-box stores that are forcing out once-reliable anchor tenants in struggling malls. That’s been especially painful in more suburban markets grappling with anemic population growth and fierce online competition.
The end result is a market that looks healthy on the upper end but upon closer inspection reveals real challenges and a widening gap between the industry’s trophy assets and those further down the Totem pole. [More]