There are a lot of empty anchor stores in American malls these days, especially since major department store chains have continued devouring each other. What to do with these massive empty retail spaces? Well, one possible tenant that doesn’t normally occupy enclosed malls is interested….Costco.

This is great news for consumers, since people really love Costco. However, a warehouse store as an anchor could cause problems for other, smaller stores in the mall.

[H]aving Costco on the scene could be a mixed blessing for other stores in those malls. “Their average store does over $100 million a year in sales, and there aren’t many department stores that can do that, especially in this environment,” Randy Brant, executive vice president at mall owner Macerich Co. (MAC), told Dow Jones. “The only downside is typically a customer making large purchases at Costco will get in their car and head home.”

What do you think? Would a Costco anchoring a shopping mall encourage shopping trips for your family, or cut them short?

Costco shopping-mall push good news for consumers [Consumer Reports Home & Garden]
Costco Sees Malls As The Next Way To Grow Business [Dow Jones] (Thanks, HogwartsProfessor!)

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