News and Events
Sharing Space
Department stores are happy to sublet surplus space, but owners aren't keen to see them play the landlord.
Jan 5, 2011 Shopping Centers Today Joel Groover
Department stores have figured out a way to deal with all that excess space resulting from the collapse of consumer spending: They’re doling it out to expanding chains. These store-within-a-store subleases tend to be all upside, no downside for the anchors and the new lessees alike, observers say. For landlords, not so much.
In the light of such heightened efficiencies, outsized stores began to look like a serious drag on productivity, says Ivan L. Friedman, president and CEO of New York City–based RCS Real Estate Advisors. “A lot of the department stores’ top lines have been shrinking,” Friedman said.