The name on the outside of Sears Outlet stores have changed to American Freight, but the stores are thriving and continue to operate, but with expanded product offerings.

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Mall owners Simon and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. acquired the retail operations of J.C. Penney Co. to help keep one of their biggest tenants in business. The brief, two-paragraph announcement gave no explanation for the CEO change.

No, Amazon Isn’t Buying AMC Entertainment | Nasdaq.

Amazon took advantage of the falloff of business at malls during the pandemic to snare valuable space at a time when availability of industrial real estate is low and rental prices are high. CBRE recently released a report saying that transaction volume in industrial spaces rose by 20% to 350 million sq. ft.

Midway Mall Dillard’s purchased by developer of North Randall Amazon site. The acquisition follows ICP’s purchase earlier this year of the former Sears property at Midway Mall. “We believe this location is uniquely positioned for redevelopment,” ICP owner Chris Semarjian said in a statement.

Between 2016 and 2019, Amazon converted around 25 shopping malls, according to an analysis by Coresight Research. About 50 percent of mall-based department stores could permanently close by the end of 2021, according to Green Street.

Founder Jeff Bezos will leave the company’s top role, and longtime Amazon executive Andy Jassy will take over as CEO. As Bezos wrote in an email to employees, he will stay on as executive chair and “focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives.”

Amazon reportedly wants to take over JCPenney and Sears stores to turn malls into giant fulfillment centers. Amazon is in talks with the biggest mall owner in the US to turn retail space into Amazon fulfillment centers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

As such, buying certain retailers out of bankruptcy could pay off by allowing Simon to enjoy a solid income stream and attracting existing and new mall tenants alike. But Simon isn’t just buying defunct brands to salvage rental income; it’s looking to make money on those brands as a side business of sorts.

May 7 (Reuters) – Top U.S. mall owner Simon Property Group Inc (SPG. N) and Authentic Brands Group LLC have agreed to buy Eddie Bauer, adding the outdoor gear and apparel retailer to a brand marquee housing Aéropostale, Forever 21 and Brooks Brothers.

Simon Property Group, ABG, and SPARC have cobbled together a portfolio of retail brands that had fallen on hard times, including Brooks Brothers, Lucky Brand, Aeropostale, and Forever 21.

Simon’s properties include some of the nation’s premier shopping malls, including King of Prussia near Philadelphia and the Houston Galleria. In the D.C. area, its portfolio includes Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, Leesburg Premium Outlets, Potomac Mills, Arundel Mills and St. Charles Towne Center.

Simon suffered a nearly $1 billion loss in net operating income in 2020, which has put tremendous pressure on the company to maintain debt and investor obligations. While initial restrictions are loosening, allowing Simon to return to more normal operations, it still has a turbulent road ahead.

Near the end of May, JCPenney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, announcing that it would permanently close about 30 percent of its stores. Since then, the retailer has already closed more than 150 locations. Now, it plans to close an additional 15 stores by the end of March 2021, USA Today reports.