Guys,I think the whole concept of malls is what's failing,and the big retailers like Sears and Macy's are drawing the attention,not the malls themselves.
Let's face it,this isn't the America it used to be. Malls are now dangerous places for elderly people and women to shop because of all the teenage thugs and young adults that hang out there looking for people to rob.
Malls are also failing because this same crowd is breaking into cars in the parking lots,robbing customers in the parking lots,and shoplifting everything in sight. We can only imagine what hiring all the extra security and covering the expenses of the shoplifting and sometimes damage done while trying to steal something does to their bottom lines.
Why would most adults even want to go to a mall to buy something now,when you can buy it from the safety of your home cheaper,get it delivered right to your house,and not even have to put any wear and tear on your car,buy gas,or even dress up and leave home?
The truly ironic part is that Sears is going out of business,and they practically invented "at home shopping" for rural America. Hell,you could even buy your home AND your car from Sears at one time,and have both delivered.
I suspect the problem with Sears and the other major chains is that now no one in the family is involved in managing the businesses. Their parents or grandparents turned management over to management companies and they are all retired and living off of trust fund money while these soulless money managers squeeze the businesses dry. If you want to succeed in business,you have to invest and expand. You don't do it by cutting back and selling off assets.
What Sears SHOULD have done was gone back into the mail order business on line while also keeping their stores open. That way people who lived close to a store could shop online and have what they needed ready for them when they got there,already paid for and ready to go. Customers who live in shady neighborhoods could order online and have it delivered to them the next day.
Same thing with the big grocery store chains. I can't be the only one here old enough to remember placing a grocery order over the phone and having it delivered to your house that same day. Usually within a hour.