There is no shortage of bad news when it comes to retail real estate. The sector is undergoing a lot of change, those in the industry admit. But behind the wave of store closures—there have been 4,146 major U.S. store closing announcements year-to-date in 2018, according to a recent tally from research firm’s CoreSight Research—there are many retailers that are growing their brick-and-mortar presence in the United States. Store opening announcements during the same time period totaled 2,042. It’s all part of a broader evolution to bring more experience to malls, with the rise of chains that provide rock-climbing walls, food halls and virtual reality experiences, says Garrick Brown, national retail director at real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. “Experience is what’s resounding in getting people into the shopping centers and malls,” he says. Some retailers started online and are now branching outward, like Warby Parker, the direct-to-consumer eyewear brand that now has storefronts in several cities. Here is a look at several up-and-coming and expanding retailers in the United States.
