America’s Biggest Mall Owner Is Shutting Down Most of Its Shopping Centers on Thanksgiving Day

Samantha McDonald for Footwear News and Shoshy Ciment for Footwear News
·2 min read
16

Some of the country’s largest shopping centers are staying closed on Thanksgiving. But not all of them.

The United States’ biggest mall owner, Simon Property Group, confirmed to FN that it will keep all of its locations closed on Nov. 24, or Thanksgiving Day, this year, with the exception of two properties in Las Vegas: Forum Shops at Caesars and Shops at Crysals.

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The announcement marks a break from the company’s policy for the last two years in row , which involved closing all properties on Thanksgiving Day. In 2020, chairman, president and CEO David Simon said that the company decided to not open to properties to allow “associates to spend the holiday with their loved ones.”

As of June 30, the company owned or held an interest in 198 shopping centers in the United States, consisting of 94 malls, 69 Premium Outlets, 14 Mills, six lifestyle centers, as well as 15 other retail properties across 37 states and Puerto Rico.

This year, Walmart and Kohl’s have also said that they will be closed for business on Thanksgiving this year. Target last year announced a decision to close business for good on Thanksgiving every year. And REI Co-op said it will close its stores on Black Friday permanently.

Before the pandemic, Thanksgiving had become synonymous with getting a head start on holiday gifting ahead of the Black Friday rush. However, an increasing number of nationwide chains made the decision to dim their lights or give their employees that day off amid the COVID-19 health crisis in 2020. Since then, retailers have offered markdowns via online channels to encourage customers to do their shopping from the comfort of their own homes.

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