Bath & Body Works, among several chains reorienting their footprint away from malls, added 95 off-mall North American stores in 2022 and plans to open approximately 90 more in 2023. Does the growth opportunity for traditional mall-based chains still appear bigger off-mall or is the view of enclosed shopping malls overly pessimistic?

Tempe Marketplace and Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix on Jan. 12 will become the first outdoor shopping centers in Arizona to allow shoppers to drink alcohol as they shop. Do you see more pros than cons for retailers in expanding open-container drinking at outdoor shopping centers and downtown districts?

Simon Property Group is partnering with retail real estate platform Leap to give digital native brands with no or limited physical footprints a brick-and-mortar location in its shopping malls. What does it take for digital native brands to be successful in brick-and-mortar environments?

Some say a recession is on the way; others say it is already here, but according to the biggest owner of U.S. shopping malls, the threat of an economic downturn is not deterring retailers from opening new mall locations. How likely is it that mall occupancy rates will remain at the current level or higher over the next two years?

Macy’s is not anchoring itself to malls any longer. The department store retailer said it will open four new small, off-mall stores as part of a multiyear strategy to reinvent its business in suburban “power centers” around the country. How likely is Macy’s to close more of its mall stores and replace them with Market by Macy’s or dual Market and Backstage locations?

Tanger Outlets and Simon Property Group have both recently renewed investments in building outlet centers as inflation has consumers on the hunt for savings. What’s your outlook for outlet centers?

Mall operator Simon Property Group is testing a search tool that lets shoppers see what’s in stock in stores inside the mall. How much appeal will an inventory check tool such as Simon Search offer to mall shoppers?

Retailers are trying to negotiate terms like rent abatement or rent deferral in case of a new forced closure, according to a new report. How important is it that retailers negotiate clauses pertaining to potential future government shutdowns into their leases?

Amazon is testing a new program that leverages its Flex gig economy driver network to bring deliveries to consumers’ doorsteps from malls.  What do you think is behind Amazon’s test of same-day delivery from malls?

Macy’s, a longstanding fixture of the shopping mall, is expanding a standalone store strategy in a way that could change how customers think of the retail chain. Do you see moving away from the mall and into smaller, standalone stores as a path to reinvention for Macy’s?

A suburb of Salt Lake City recently revealed plans to build Utah’s first “15-minute city,” a residential planning model in which all daily necessities are accessible by foot or by bike within a quarter of an hour. How would you rate the development potential and overall appeal of 15-minute cities?

Open-air shopping centers — also known as strip malls and strip centers — are leading retail’s real estate recovery and building on momentum seen before the pandemic. What obvious and less obvious factors are driving the appeal of strip centers and grocery-anchored retail?

Mall of America last week announced the debut of its first e-commerce website where customers can shop local inventory from various retailers located at the mall. What do you think of the opportunity as well as the challenges of localized online marketplaces for malls?

Simon Property Group announced that shoppers returned to malls in the second quarter as though it was 2019 and the novel coronavirus pandemic had never happened.  Will the Delta variant cause changes in shopping behaviors among consumers in places where there has been a pronounced increase in cases?

TikTok is opening a pop-up shop at the Westfield London mega-mall to enable fans to interact with star influencers and learn how to create their own mini-films. What do you think of TikTok’s “For You House” and the potential for bringing more of the social media experience to retail?

Victoria’s Secret, which is attempting to reposition its business as it heads toward a spin-off from L Brands, has restated plans to move its new stores to standalone locations and away from the malls. What changes to store design, operations and other areas do you think Victoria’s Secret needs to make to be successful going forward?

Brookfield Asset Management and Simon Property Group have both become investors in C3), a food tech platform aiming to lease 1,000 “ghost-kitchen” locations to malls and hotels across the country by year end. Can ghost kitchens recast the food court opportunity for malls?

Simon Property Group CEO David Simon offered answers to analysts yesterday that were one part optimistic and another cautious on the prospects for the company’s malls this year. Are Americans itching to get back to consumer activities such as shopping in malls, eating at restaurants, seeing movies, etc.?

Immersive entertainment experiences were sweeping the U.S. before the pandemic, but the need to socially distance put it on pause. Now, it could emerge as the new main attraction at the shopping mall.  Do you think big entertainment experiences can adequately replace the revenue and draw malls counted on from anchor department stores?

Amazon has been on a buying spree, further proof that Americans have changed their shopping habits in recent years and since the novel coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. But what has Amazon been buying? The answer in a word — malls. Do you expect to see more second and third tier malls around the U.S. converted into distribution centers?

New food ideas and health & wellness both rank highest as concepts that would increase consumers’ visits to the mall, according to an ongoing study from Cushman & Wakefield and WD Partners.  Has the pandemic changed what may be necessary to revive traffic at malls in the years ahead?

Burlington Stores has doubled its long-term goal for potential stores to 2,000 from 1,000 due to increasing confidence in a small store prototype, at 25,000 square feet. What do you think of the potential for Burlington Stores’ smaller store prototype and its ramped-up expansion potential?

Sephora and Bath & Body Works have announced plans to aggressively open off-mall locations in 2021. The moves come as traffic woes impact enclosed malls and strip malls, lifestyle centers and retailers turn to open-air locations that offer a social distancing advantage. Will the shift toward off-mall locations outlive the pandemic?

Gaining leverage due to elevated vacancy rates amid the pandemic, retailers are asking for and increasingly receiving short-term leases. The change carries short-term benefits and long-term risks for merchants.  Do you see shorter and more flexible leases for retailers continuing after the pandemic subsides?

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers’ traffic equaled 90 percent of prior year during 4Q, then further improved to more than 99 percent in January for domestic centers. Fourth-quarter results, however, revealed challenges. Should outlet malls reduce their exposure to apparel and further diversify their mix to continue to prosper?

Simon Property Group CEO David Simon predicted a “major comeback” for suburban retail coming out of the pandemic on his company’s fourth-quarter conference call last week . Will the shift toward remote working, the reduced appeal of urban living or some other factor enhance the suburban retail opportunity, including malls?

Retailers are pushing property owners for more flexible lease terms due to the extraordinary disruption caused by the pandemic. One of the tradeoffs landlords are seeking in return is rent as a percent of online sales. Would including a share of online sales in store leases make sense?

J.C. Penney has entered into a purchase agreement with Brookfield Property Partners and Simon Property Group and a group of first lien lenders to acquire the company’s assets. Do you think J.C. Penney is coming out of Chapter 11 in a stronger operating position to put CEO Jill Soltau’s plan in place?

Gap Inc. is getting out of Dodge and just about any other place where it has a store located in a mall.  What do you think of Gap Inc.’s plan to cut store counts and move its Gap and Banana Republic chains out of malls?

Mall of America is donating temporary space to several local businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest. Do you see Mall of America gaining more than good press from Community Commons?

Now that Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners own J.C. Penney, the two mall operators are in talks with Authentic Brands Group to join them in parenting the department store chain. Is brand merchandise a problem for J.C. Penney in attracting new, particularly younger, shoppers to its stores and site?

J.C. Penney announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with two of its landlords on a near eleventh-hour deal. Do you think J.C. Penney will be in a more secure financial, if not competitive, position to run its business once the deal with Simon and Brookfield is complete?

Simon Property Group is looking for opportunities to acquire once-successful retailers on the cheap as the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic continue to force a record number of chains (AKA tenants) to file for bankruptcy. What do you think about retailers and other companies making investments outside of their core businesses?

Simon Property Group is in talks with Amazon to turn some anchor locations in its malls, which currently are home to or formerly housed a J.C. Penney or Sears store, into local distribution hubs.  Would Simon Property Group benefit from a deal with Amazon to lease former anchor tenant positions in its malls?

On Friday, Westfield Valley Fair, the Bay Area’s largest mall, opened an open-air pop-up market in front of Bloomingdale’s. Are open-air malls and shopping centers better positioned for survival versus enclosed malls?

J.C. Penney is facing a deadline that it may not be able to meet. The department store operator, which filed for bankruptcy in May, is at risk of running out of cash by July 15 if something dramatic doesn’t happen. Which of the parties reportedly interested in acquiring J.C. Penney would make the best fit for the retailer?

Simon Property Group has called off a deal to acquire Taubman Centers, due to the disproportionate effect on Taubman compared with others in the retail real estate industry. What do you see as the business prospects for malls over the next several years?

It’s not exactly a Marshall Plan for retail businesses hurt by COVID-19, but Brookfield Asset Management has announced the launch of a program to provide retailers with funds they need to recapitalize their businesses. How effective do you think Brookfield’s $5 billion Retail Revitalization Program will prove to be in helping struggling retailers?

Department stores and malls were struggling before coronavirus. A new report says that the situation is going from bad to worse with a dire forecast for both retailers and landlords. What do you think will be the repercussions if half of all department stores close the end of 2021?

Simon Property Group is preparing to reopen its malls to customers in 10 states, with a plan to reopen 49 facilities between May 1 and May 4. Do you think Simon Property Group is taking the proper precautions to safeguard the health of shoppers and workers in these facilities?

Malls, already struggling to drive traffic pre-COVID-19, are essentially a gathering place — but mall shopping is now an activity either prohibited, restricted or flat out perceived as too risky by consumers. How much consumer appeal do you see for curbside pickup at shopping malls?

At Yorktown Center in Chicago’s western suburbs, 58 stores have a paw print sticker on their window indicating they’re “pet-friendly.” Have the perceptions around dogs in retail settings changed to the point that most people now accept their presence?

Macy’s and Sephora recently announced plans to focus their expansion on non-mall locations to take advantage of steadier traffic flows seen there vs. indoor malls. What’s driving the apparent healthier traffic trends at strip centers versus enclosed malls?

Mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Partners, along with the licensing firm Authentic Brands Group, have made a deal to acquire virtually all of Forever 21’s assets just months after the chain filed for Chapter 11. How likely is Forever 21 to be successful under the new ownership?

More shoppers in Virginia will be able to drink alcohol beverages openly at shopping centers if a recently-introduced law is passed. Are there more pros than cons in expanding open-container drinking at shopping centers?

Food courts and halls are attracting traffic to malls around the country, according to a new survey by UBS. They are not, however, proving successful in helping retail stores in those same shopping centers sell more clothing. How can landlords and retailers deal with the exodus of apparel shopping to online stores from mall-based stores?

Simon Property Group and Rue Gilt Groupe announced yesterday the launch of a joint venture between the two companies to take outlet shopping to new heights online through ShopPremiumOutlets.com. How do you expect the combination of Simon and RGG to fare competing against off-pricers and other retailers competing in the value shopping market online?

The draw of experiential retailers and entertainment destinations like movie theaters has not been sufficient to reverse the declines in mall traffic in the U.S.. And yet malls in other countries prove they can stay vital by maintaining a sense of community. How can malls in the U.S. get their communities back?

Jockey International, the premium underwear and apparel brand, announced that it will open its first-ever pop-up shop at Simon’s edit @ Roosevelt Field space, which provides a showcase primarily for consumer-direct brands without a current physical store presence. What will be the keys to success for Jockey as it launches its first-ever pop-up shop at edit @ Roosevelt Field?

Seventy-four percent of U.S. business economists expect a recession to hit the U.S. by the end of 2021, according to a survey by the National Association for Business Economics. How does the current health of retail in the U.S. compare to where the industry was before the start of the Great Recession?