For years, retailers, analysts, and others have theorized that Amazon — and the conveniences of online shopping — have killed the mall. In a development that seems to bring the idea full circle, Amazon will operate a new warehouse on the gravesite of one the country’s largest former malls. [More]
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Plus-Size Online Retailer Eloquii To Open Bricks-And-Mortar Stores
By 7.6.17
The current retail trend is for companies to shutter bricks-and-mortar stores and shift their focus to online sales. But plus-size apparel retailer Eloquii is going in the other direction and opening a handful of physical locations. [More]
Deserted Malls Find New Use As Retail Call Centers
By 4.25.17
In order to keep bringing in the cash amid store closings, some malls have gotten a bit creative with their thousands of square feet of space, from leasing to doctor’s offices and supermarkets to using empty space as party venues. Some retailers are filling these empty mall spaces, but with call centers, not merchandise. [More]
Rue21 May Be Next Retailer To File For Bankruptcy
By 4.6.17
The retail wheel of misfortune has been particularly unkind to teen-targeted shops that occupy many of the nation’s malls and shopping centers. WetSeal, Aeropostale, Pacific Sun, and Quicksilver have all recently filed for bankruptcy, and a new report says Rue21 may be the next to fall. [More]
BCBG Max Azria Closing 120 Stores, Reportedly Looking At Bankruptcy Options
By 2.8.17
Following a trend set by Macy’s, Wet Seal, The Limited, and others, mall mainstay BCBG Max Azria plans to close 120 stores at shopping centers around the country, and may file for bankruptcy protection. [More]
The Limited To Start Layoffs At Corporate Offices; Could Start Winding Down Business
By 12.2.16
Two weeks after retailer The Limited announced it would explore its options, including a possible sale, the mall staple has begun notifying employees at its corporate offices that they could be out of a job and the company as a whole could close. [More]
Teenagers Turning Restaurants Into The Cool New Hangout Spots As Malls Die Off
By 4.11.14
A word to any Hollywood screenwriters working on a scene where old cops go back to high school disguised as implausibly believable students — put those characters at a mall and real teenagers will know you don’t know what’s cool these days. Namely, malls are out, and restaurants are in as the new spot to hangout. [More]
Fortune Teller Arrested For Selling Thousand Dollar Body Wash At The Mall
By 10.13.09
Fortune tellers are sort of like the con-artist version of the website Significant Objects—the more interesting the story, the higher the price you can fetch for an otherwise cheap piece of crap. Unless, of course, the police arrest you for “fraudulent accosting” at the mall and ruin your con.
When Fighting Back Goes Wrong, and When The Wrong Fight Back
By 1.2.09
I always love to see a fellow Consumer fight back against large corporations. However, when that consumer is trying to return stolen goods – stolen from me, that is – it’s harder to get excited.
Man Builds Secret Apartment At Mall, Gets Away With It For Four Years
By 10.3.07
An artist in Providence, Rhode Island was apprehended the other day by mall security as he left the secret apartment he’d built almost four years ago, in an unused utility space in the mall’s parking garage. The apartment had no running water (they used mall bathrooms), but it did include “a sectional sofa and love seat, coffee and breakfast tables, chairs, lamps, rugs, paintings, a hutch filled with china, a waffle iron, TV and Sony Playstation 2,” according to the Boston Globe.
Man Sues Dell And Wins… By Serving Court Papers To The Mall Kiosk
By 12.13.06
A NJ man successfully sued Dell in small claims court using a unique approach. He had the court papers delivered to a Dell kiosk in the local mall. [More]
