Mall landlords are combating a wave of store closures by getting more hands-on with their tenants—even taking to buying space from department stores outright.

General Growth Properties is the latest example of this trend. The firm recently announced its purchase of five stand-alone Macy’s stores for $46M and plans on replacing most of them with stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods, department store chain Belk and Lifetime Fitness, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“We’ve been pretty opportunistic here,” says General Growth CEO Sandeep Mathrani, who adds that further acquisitions are a possibility. This strategy of mall landlords becoming more hands-on in retail is part of an ongoing battle in the retail sector, where players of all types are working to identify investments most able to capture consumers’ attention as shopping habits continue to change. [WSJ]