Report: Department Stores Need to Shutter Locations

New research into retail productivity released by real estate research firm Green Street Advisors (Newport Beach, Calif.) says department stores would need to shutter hundreds of locations to regain the productivity they had in 2006.

The Wall Street Journal reports sales per square foot in department stores had dropped to $165, a 24-percent drop since 2006, due largely to online sales. The article also states that stores had increased physical footprints by 7 percent.

The report by Green Street estimates that nearly 800 locations throughout the country would need to close, equaling one-fifth of U.S. anchor space in malls.