The pandemic has accelerated that timeline. Before the pandemic, he expected only 300 to close, and that decline would take place over a decade. will either close or be unrecognizable in two years. Retail consultant Jan Rogers Kniffen believes that half of the 1,000 malls in the U.S. In malls that have reopened, drinking fountains are disabled or taped off, play areas for kids are closed, and sitting in a food court is done at a distance from other humans. The coronavirus has delivered a devastating blow to those that remain and also stores with a big mall footprint.

Their plight even inspired a haunting YouTube channel called the Dead Mall Series. Malls have struggled for years as shopping moved online and consumers grew tired of them. Victoria's Secret moved aggressively into malls at the direction of its parent company's founder Les Wexner, who wanted to push lingerie into the mainstream. Penney, Neiman Marcus and J.Crew, have all filed for bankruptcy protection this year. The plunge in sales for retailers since then has been unprecedented, particularly for those with a heavy presence in malls. In March, clothing stores and malls were ordered to close. Simon Property Group announced it would buy Taubman in early February, just weeks before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that a California man was being treated for coronavirus, the first known case in the U.S. The sale of Victoria's Secret to a private equity group fell apart last month. It is the second major retail deal signed before the virus hit the U.S. NEW YORK - The nation's biggest mall owner is backing out of a $3.6 billion deal to buy a major rival as the coronavirus pandemic shakes the retail industry.

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