I know the local management of a mall not too far from my house. It's a classic-style mall that opened in the late 70s. They're at maybe 60% permanent occupancy rate (they also have some seasonal stores). They do everything they can to attract stores, but brick and mortar is super difficult to make a profit at, especially when you're renting your space.
Their biggest concern is losing another of their anchor stores, after one closed in 2020. They still have 3 of the 4 anchor spots currently occupied, but if they lose another, the mall would be in serious trouble. All of their anchor stores are clothing department stores, so they're heavy in one area.
They've tried a lot of stuff to (1) bring in more stores and (2) to diversify. Some of it has worked, but it also seems like for every successful store that gets opened another closes. There's a good bit of turnover going on at any given time.
A big issue for them is how to operate such a large facility when you're having to pay for the entire building when not all of it is being used while trying to also attract new stores to the mall via competitive pricing. It's a tough job and I'm glad I don't have to figure it out.
