Chicago's retail market is being hampered by the prevalence of big box outlets and mall anchors that are struggling against online retailers.
That's according to the latest Chicago Retail Investment Forecast from Marcus & Millichap, a real estate investment firm.
Despite these structural hurdles, Chicago's retail sector is 'holding fast', Marcus & Millichap said, with the sector enjoying a reprieve in early 2019 when a plan for Sears to remain open was approved. However, as many as 40% of Sears stores across the nation could go dark.
'Poorly performing Sears properties in Chicago will likely be shuttered over the next several months, but a gradual increase in dark space will keep fundamentals stable,' the group said.
Mall Vacancies
Malls in the Chicago area reported 'significant' increased in vacancy last year, due to the closure of Bon-Ton and Toys R Us stores.
However, despite this, vacancy remained relatively steady across Chicago's retail sector last year, which Marcus & Millichap said was a 'testament to the healthy space demand from smaller retailers'.
It anticipates a similar performance in 2019.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
