American malls are closing all over the US.
A report done by Credit Suisse estimates that 20% to 25% of malls would shutter over the next five years, largely because of store closures.
In 2017, 6,400 stores closed – a further 3,600 are expected to close in 2018.
These photos show how malls were forced to shutter as key anchors such as Sears and Macy’s left.
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American malls are dying out.
Retail complexes all over the US are being clobbered by store closures sweeping the country.
In 2017, more than 6,400 stores closed and another 3,600 are expected to shutter in 2018. According to a report done by Credit Suisse, this will result in 20% to 25% of malls closing in the next five years.
A national retail apocalypse has crippled US malls as anchor stores such as Macy’s and Sears, which take up large retail spaces and drive foot traffic, have shuttered stores and left malls with enormous gaps to fill.
For many malls, this is an impossible task.
Take a look at some of these haunting photos below that show home badly America’s malls have been hit:
This is the Carousel Mall in San Bernardino, California, which closed in 2017. The mall had been hanging by a thread after it lost its two main anchors, Montgomery Ward and JC Penney, several years before.
It was temporarily used by religious congregations who held services in old stores. In September 2017, Amazon announced plans to build a 1.7 million square foot fulfillment center in its place.
This upscale mall in White Flint Mall in Bethesda, Maryland, which was once home to a Bloomingdale’s department store.
But this wasn’t enough to keep it going – it shuttered its doors in 2015.
Photographer Seph Lawless has become famous for his photos of abandoned malls. Here, he captures Chicago’s Lincoln mall, which closed in January of 2015.
In its heyday, the 700,000-square-foot mall had the capacity to host four anchor stores and 100 smaller shops.
But in the month’s before it closed, it was home to just 40 businesses.
In 2013, the mall’s owner told The Chicago Tribune that the mall was losing $2 million a year.
The same year, a court-ordered receiver was appointed to force the location to pay taxes and fines, as well as make necessary repairs.
The mall’s tenants did not generate enough in rent to pay for the improvements or repairs, according to an attorney for the owner.
The mall reportedly failed to make these changes, which included creating new exits to comply with fire codes and replacing electrical and air conditioning systems.
In November 2014, Cook County judge ordered the closure of the mall following the holiday shopping season.
Date: Jan 21, 2018