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Sears Holdings plans to close another one of the store closings announced in August. 10/16/18
Damian Giletto / The News Journal

Business column: The views of James Briggs are his own.

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The Sears at Greenwood Mall in Greenwood, Ind., On Monday, Oct. 15, 2018.(Photo: Mykal McEldowney / IndyStar)Buy Photo

Business column: The views of James Briggs are his own.

In case filing for Chapter 11, the largest market in America is signaling to investors that it will be better off without storied retailer.

Simon Property Group Inc. CEO David Simon on Thursday addressed Sears' long-awaited decision to seek bankruptcy protection, a typical precursor to liquidation. The company is closed at least 142 stores.

Simon paused to be mournful.

"It's a tragic set of events that has been around for so long in this state of affairs," Simon said during a conference call with analysts. "It was not that long ago – 10, 12 years ago – that 300,000 people worked at Sears, so, I mean, I think we should put that in perspective."

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Sears, a company that started out 132 years ago and survived extreme economic swings and changing consumer tastes. As Josh Barro wrote for New York Magazine, and Derek Thompson wrote for the Atlantic, it is unfair to remember that it is not possible to make the most of it.

One of Sears' innovations, which has become a feature of shopping malls. Now that Sears is filing for bankruptcy, though, Simon's will lose dozens of Sears stores.

That could be understood as a bad thing. But Simon is arguing that Sears will help his company in the long run.

"We're putting sears in our rearview mirror," he said. "… We're going to be a unique opportunity We're going to redevelop (Sears stores) We're going to reinvest in the communities We're going to be able to drive this place. of that aside, we're going to be able to make money on this. "

Sears has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (Photo: Sears Holdings)

Simon's point is that the company will be able to take over Sears, divide them up and lease them at a higher price per square foot.

This outlook defies the traditional concept of the shopping mall. Sears occupies what is known as the anchors, the broad stores at each end of malls, which generates sales and push sales towards smaller retailers inside the mall.

Sears' bankruptcy comes at a time when the department store model is in trouble. Bon-Ton Stores Carson's closing across Indiana. Macy's also has landed, including a rental in Terre Haute earlier this year.

It's been clear that J. Penney. But now that Sears is standing at death's door, Simon is willing to say that out loud.

"The mall of the future does not need five, it does not need the department stores," Simon said. "And then, the ability to reclaim that allows us to densify the properties and I think we have that opportunity in a rather broad scale."

This is a big shift in thinking. In a sense, Simon is saying that this is what Sears could not do: adapt to modern shopping behavior.

Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, which reported 95.5 percent occupancy for its properties at the end of the third quarter, is projected to increase in the coming months. Simon noted some online retailers – think UNTUCKit and Warby Parker – are moving into malls.

Shoppers swarmed into the William H. Block Company store Nov. 8, 1965, to take advantage of the bargains during Hoosier Bargain Day, sponsored by the Indianapolis Merchants Association. Merchants offered coupons that could be entered into a 1966 Ford Mustang.

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Economy-minded shoppers jam the basement of H.P. Wasson & Co. during a literal "bargain basement" shoe sale where shoes for just $ 4 a pair could be had in July 1960.

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Customers come to the Woolworths at 7150 E. Washington St. for a final meal at its lunch counter in October 1993.

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A mother with two young children shop for a new TV at the Stop & Shop supermarket on Oct. 29, 1953.

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With another purchase in the basket, Mary Roberts on April 1, 1965. At the Downtown Stout's Footwear store, customers' shoes and money were felt to a cashier on the second floor.

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For 87 years, the L.S.Ayres & Co. department store in Downtown Indianapolis was marked with elegance and style. Shoppers will remember its models wearing the latest in fashion, its majestic Tea Room and its Economy Basement. Shown here is the men's department.
L.S. Ayres is known as a trend-setter. Shown here summer fashions for women.
Ayr-Way East, a department store which opened in 1961, was a subsidiary of L.S. Ayres & Co. The store at 38th Street and Shadeland Avenue included a supermarket, snack bar and children's play area. Some of you are probably more interested in the vintage than the store!

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The G. C. Murphy store in Indianapolis on June 22, 1950, preparing for its Grand Opening the following day.

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A regal gown in the Downtown Indianapolis store on May 23, 1966.
The H. P. Wasson & Co. Building is located on the northwest corner of Meridian and Washington streets. This view of the building dates to the mid 30s.
The L.S. Ayres Building is shown here around 1900, looking southwest at the corner of South Meridian (on left) and Washington Street (to the right).
The L. Strauss & Co. Building is shown here in Illinois and Washington streets on Oc. 24, 1950. The building faced both the Lincoln and Claypool hotels. The photo was published in The Star on Oct. 25, 1950.

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Developer Edward J. DeBartelo shows the plans for Lafayette Square Mall at W. 38th Street and Lafayette Road on May 16, 1966. When it opened in 1968, it was the city's first and largest shopping center. It was billed as being "weatherproof."

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Dark suits, long dresses and fancy hats were the style of the day when this photo was taken in Downtown Indianapolis circa 1914. Pedestrians are shown walking along the north side of Washington Street. At left in the Griffith Block at 34 W. Washington St., featuring a "W. L. Douglas Shoes" sign.
Shoppers at Glendale Shopping Center walk past ongoing construction at the mall. It features 54 outlets at 6101 N. Keystone Ave. L.S. Ayres & Co. opened its first suburban anchor store there.
Construction of the $ 25 million Greenwood Shopping Center was underway in June, 1965. This is a view from the east - the Sears Tire Center is in the foreground with L.S. Ayres at the top of the photo.

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The Haag's Drugstore located at 127 W. Washington St. in Indianapolis is shown here in 1936.
Haag's Drugstore is shown here in May 1939. And yes, that sign says "Fine Wines 69 cents."
The first Hook's Drug Store was located at Southeast and Prospect streets in Indianapolis until it was razed in 1941. John A. Hook bought it from Louis Mattill in 1900.
The Hook's Drug Store in the Meadows Shopping Center in 1957 was selling orange slices at 2 pounds for 39 cents - that's a steal!
The Hook's Drug Store, shown here at 22nd and Meridian Streets in 1940, sold out fans, waffle irons, clothes, irons, cosmetics, clocks, baby food and toiletries - all at the same counter.
Glendale Shopping Center is shown here on Oct. 2, 1958, a couple months after it had opened.
L.S. Ayres & Co., shown here on Sept. 14, 1929, was a landmark in Downtown Indianapolis.How did Downtown shoppers find each other in the days before cellphones and text messaging? Many used a loose-leaf walnut lectern just inside the Washington Street entrance. Introduced in  1925, the book invited to their whereabouts or instruct friends to meet them at an hour.
Shown here is an aerial photograph of Castleton Square Mall while it was still under construction on March 19, 1972. The mall underwent a $ 34 million renovation in 1998.
Miss Indiana Becky Graham parades down the aisle during grand opening ceremonies at the new F.W. Woolworth store at Castleton Square Mall on March 1, 1973.

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The H.P. Wasson and Company Building, shown here on April 15, 1947, was located in Downtown Indianapolis at the northwest corner of Meridian and Washington streets. It is housed Wasson's flagship department store. Its competitors were L.S. Ayres, L. Strauss & Co. and William H. Block stores.
Stephanie Matthews poses as a mermaid beside the falls at Lafayette Square for the Tropical Fish Festival on Sept. 22, 1969. It was the city's first-and-the-largest state-owned shopping mall at the time when it opened in 1968.
Sgt. John W. Jones of the Indianapolis Police Department became a Keystone Kop on Oct. 30, 1965, for festivities marking the opening of a new five-and-dime store in the Meadows Shopping Center. The store featured a cafeteria called "The Trolley Stop" with decor dating from the age of trolley transportation.
Shoppers take advantage of an "End of the Month" sale at the Downtown L.S. Ayres & Co. department store in the 1940s.
Glendale Shopping Center, at the time Indiana's largest suburban retail center, opened to the public on Aug. 13, 1958. This aerial photograph, looking northeast on its opening day, shows the huge center and its surrounding areas. At the top of the photo is 62nd Street. Rural Road is at right and Keystone Avenue is out of the picture to the left. The multimillion-dollar commercial development housed 37 business firms.
Downtown Indianapolis shopper laden down with Christmas shopping bags in 1967.

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The F. W. Woolworth store, shown here at the turn of the century, was one of the most successful five-and-a-kind stores in the country. It was often referred to as Woolworth's or Woolworth.
Shoppers await the opening of a store in Indianapolis on Aug. 13, 1962.

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Many will remember their winter treks to the Downtown L.S. Ayres & Co. store, shown here in the 1940s, for holiday shopping. Visitors visited the store to see its Santa Claus Express and Santa Claus train.
Downtown Indy's West Washington Street is shown here in 1947. At left is the L.S. Ayres & Co. department store, the Kresge five-and-dime store (located on the Albert Call Building's first floor) and part of the Linen store.

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The six-story S.S. Kresge Company was completed for $ 2 million in 1950 at 17 W. Washington St. The new store, one of the largest, was a "mini department store" with two restaurants.

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In 1967 there were three Topps Stores in Indianapolis. Shown here is the store located in the Speedway Shopping Center.
Toys line the Zayre department store shelves in this 1968 photo. Merchandise included Creeple People, Creepy Crawlers, Suzy Homemaker Ironing Board, Kandy Kitchen and model cars.

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Wasson's in this 1947 photo. Customers in the back are trying on shoes.

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A gleaming new Zayre department store opened in Eagledale in 1966.

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The Zayre department stores toys, sporting goods, records, books, health and beauty products - shown here in 1966 - appliances.

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In this 1925 view of Fountain Square, a street car at the front of the doorway to Indianapolis along Virginia Avenue. Sablosky's Department store, center, was part of a seven-store chain founded in 1899. The last Sablosky store in Indianapolis closed in 1977.

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There is reason for skepticism that an uptick in small, niche stores can attract shoppers in the same way that store stores have in recent decades.

The reality is no one knows what will become of malls. Competing theories include the possibilities that will come into the world of entertainment, gyms or public meeting spaces. Washington Square Mall on Indianapolis' east side – once owned by Simon – has partially become a market while retaining a few national stores.

For mall owners, the loss of Sears will be yet another step towards reinvention. Simon pointed to his company's track record on Sears.

"This will be fine for us," said Simon. "We'll add value to the real estate We want it to be done in a different way. we just have everything else we've dealt with over the last 25 years as a public company. "

As Sears' history shows, the industry changes opportunity – until the day you fall behind.

Call IndyStar business columnist James Briggs at (317) 444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs.

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