General Growth Properties announced that they will be reducing the hours at some of their mall properties, according to the Baltimore Sun. I heard the news first this morning on WBAL radio where the goal of the reduced hours was presented as just an electricity and cost-saving measure for the property manager. Mostly this story caught my interest because GGP is also the owner of the building I work in every day, and the mall next door to it.

As I walked to the mall this afternoon it occurred to me that the larger part of the story was likely that stores in the malls are required by their lease to be open and operating on the same schedule as when the main doors open. In some lease agreements there are actually fines associated with failure to open on time. It would probably be a relief to many of the store owners to be able to reduce their staff expenses during what are probably low-traffic hours of the day. The story in the Sun confirmed my hunches.

Since I am a an-and-out shopper my ability to judge the current foot traffic in the mall probably isn't objectively useful, but it feels light. When I walk in once or twice a week to eat at the food court, I have to walk past a very obviously shuttered former CVS store, and even at peak lunchtime I never have to wait in line more than a minute.

No Comments | #6828

Unless noted, all content on epistolary.org is © Copyright 1999-2009 to Rob Carlson with all rights reserved. All information is verified when possible, cited as appropriate and applied in the real world at your own risk. Send all feedback to rob@vees.net.