As the retail industry scrambles to adjust to shifting consumer preferences, department store closures and aggressive e-commerce competition, mall owner GGP is planning to purchase and redevelop 100 vacant department stores at its centers across the country.
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Over the past six years GGP has redeveloped 115 former department store anchors to keep a vast offering of products under one roof, which CEO Sandeep Mathrani said has made GGP's malls the modern version of the department store, Reuters reports.
"We've done this 115 times," Mathrani said. "We have a pretty good idea that it actually works."
Mathrani told attendees at NAREIT's REIT Week conference June 7 that the REIT will not be purchasing any additional prime locations on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, but will instead focus its efforts and capital on purchasing vacant stores at its own malls across the country, The Real Deal reports.
"My pens are down," Mathrani said during the panel. "I'm not a buyer for anything except to make my shopping centers better, which is to acquire department stores."
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