700 Empty Stores Toys' R & # 39; Us – who will fill them?



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LUTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 19: A general view of the outside of a branch of Toys R Us toy store on September 19, 2017 in Luton, England. The company has struggled to compete with online traders such as Amazon and has announced that it has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and Canada. The company pointed out that these actions expected no immediate impact on its European agencies as the company runs the operations independently. (Photo by Leon Neal / Getty Images)

LUTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 19: A general view of the outside of a branch of Toys R Us toy store on September 19, 2017 in Luton, England. The company has struggled to compete with online traders such as Amazon and has announced that it has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and Canada. The company pointed out that these actions expected no immediate impact on its European agencies as the company runs the operations independently. (Photo by Leon Neal / Getty Images)

USA – There will soon be more than 700 empty Toys "R" Us stores across the United States. Many of these showcases will soon be occupied.

Despite the collapse of stores in recent years and the growth of online shopping, many retailers are looking to add brick and mortar locations.

While store closures more than tripled last year to reach the record 7,000, this figure was partially offset by 3,400 store opening announcements, up 50%, according to Coresight Research, a think tank. In 2018, there were 4,100 store closure announcements and 1,900 store openings planned.

After Toys "R" Us closes its last US stores this Friday, most will remain empty for at least the rest of the summer. But some will likely be used again during the holiday season, and many could have new tenants a year from now, according to Ana Lai, a real estate badyst at Standard & Poor 's.

Lai said the mbadive imprint of Toys "R" Us has allowed him to get better real estate deals in the best locations.

The chain was heavily concentrated in the Northeast, California and Florida markets, where real estate remains expensive and expensive to develop. Empty stores are therefore particularly attractive.

Related: Toys & R & # 39; They will definitely close this week

Party City has already announced that it plans to rent 50 empty Toys "R" Us stores this fall for Christmas and Halloween stores. The company does not plan to sign long-term leases.
But some retailers are looking for permanent homes.

TJX, parent company of TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and Marshalls, announced early this year its intention to open 238 stores in 2018, in addition to some 4,000 stores already in operation.

Related: How tight is this labor market? Kohl is already hiring for Christmas

Ross Stores plans to add 100 stores and Burlington Stores has announced that it would add 60 new stores and would relocate 30 others in new places this year.

The non-price brands have been most active in opening new stores, Lai said.

Dollar General plans to open 900 stores this year and move another 100, while Dollar Tree plans to open 650 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores in 2018. But they will likely not move into a property released by Toys "R" Us because both chains generally use much smaller spaces. If a Toys "R" Us owner is ready to subdivide a store, then one of these chains could be a candidate to move in.

The spokespersons of Ross, Burlington, Dollar General and Dollar Tree declined to say whether they were planning to expand into vacant Toys "R" Us locations.

Related: Amazon did not kill Toys' R & # 39; Us. Here's what made

Landlords are also finding non-traditional tenants for some of their properties, including health clubs and even offices for start-ups, Lai said.

Some stores in less desirable locations could be demolished and replaced with a new type of development. But for the most part, vacancy rates are not high in the retail sector, despite the many store closures. The low unemployment rate and the strength of the economy help landlords find new tenants.

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