DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you see the coronavirus fallout driving many department stores and other mid-tier retailers out of business? Which retailers serving the middle appear best positioned to survive?

Interactive Edge’s CEO, Zel Bianco comments, featured on RetailWire’s Braintrust :

The key word is disruption. I mean disruption in a positive way. Mall operators and their tenants who are in the middle of this collapse need to think differently as it is not going to come back the way it was unless a wave of nostalgia hits America which we should not count on.

Why not think about turning malls into multi-use distribution and pick up centers for retailers that are being challenged that are currently in these malls? And distribution and consumer pick up for Amazon, as well as other retailers that do not have the real estate to be able to handle a distribution/pick up operation. Think of it — malls are in good location/proximity to where we live, close to highways, big giant parking lots for people to pull up and grab their orders and plenty of room for truckers to pull in.

Yes, there are many other logistical issues that would need to be worked out, but I believe malls and retailers like J.C. Penney and others need to try a little more focused out-of-the-box thinking before they throw in the towel.

Read the entire article from RetailWire:

The coronavirus will accelerate retail’s ‘collapse of the middle’