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What Some Malls Are Doing To Survive

Robin Lewis says the South Coast Plaza mall in Costa Mesa, California, is popular for its wide range of restaurants and activities. (Coolcaesar/Wikimedia Commons)
Robin Lewis says the South Coast Plaza mall in Costa Mesa, California, is popular for its wide range of restaurants and activities. (Coolcaesar/Wikimedia Commons)

According to the mall tracking group Green Street Advisors, more than two dozen shopping malls have closed since 2010, and dozens more are on the brink of failing.

Robin Lewis, co-author of “The New Rules of Retail: Competing in the World’s Toughest Marketplace,” says that some malls are doing interesting things to stay operating.

He says one example is the Plaza Fiesta mall in Atlanta, Georgia, which has remade itself into a destination for Latino families — offering family events and a Mexican flea market.

Lewis also mentions the South Coast Plaza mall in Costa Mesa, California, which has a wide range of restaurants and activities. He says it has been one of the most sought-after malls by his readers since he started his retail strategy website The Robin Report.

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