Many malls such as Plymouth Meeting are looking at ways to replace giant chains such as Macy’s and Sears as their anchors as the retail giants scale back their brick and mortar outlets, writes Suzette Parmley for Post Bulletin.

Macy’s has already publicly said it is looking to move out of many of its brick and mortar stores in favor of focusing on online shopping. This is creating a problem for malls that rely on having a big ticket name on the premises to draw customers in.

The problem the big chains are facing is that they need to close stores in unprofitable locations so that they can sell, re-lease or reinvigorate these properties to free up capital, according to Eric Rothman, portfolio manager at CenterSquare Investment Management.

However major mall owners such as PREIT see this as an opportunity to free up space and create a new kind of mall experience.

“There’s off-price retailers of the luxury as well as more traditional variety of popular, big-box and large-format stores, grocers, as well as lifestyle, dining and entertainment offerings,” said PREIT CEO, Joseph Coradino.

Read more about the potential changes at Post Bulletin by clicking here.