6 S C T / A P R I L 2 0 1 7
I
t is hardly news that the recession pressed many home-goods and home-
improvement chains to shut their weakest stores, and, in a few cases, even
to file for bankruptcy protection — with some devout belt-tightening evident
among those that did manage to tough it out. And yet, there are signs that these
types of chains have begun to see something of a sales recovery, even as U.S.
homeownership has fallen to a near-50-year low.
Observers point to the lingering effects of the U.S. housing crisis
combined with the realities of shifting demographics to explain the decline in
homeownership rates. Having peaked at 69.2 percent in 2004, homeownership
among Americans has fallen to 63.5 percent, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau, representing a difference of roughly 7 million households. "The decline
Despite a home-
ownership dip, home-
improvement and
furnishings chains
see strong sales
By Beth Mattson-Teig
Renters to
the rescue
OPEN-AIR
REITS IN ROBUST
HE ALTH
8
DINERS BRING
TECH TO
THE TABLE
10
SOME MALLS
WILL ALWAYS
BE MALLS
12
T H E C O M M O N A R E A
N E W S F R O M A LL C O R N E R S O F T H E S H O P P I N G C E N T E R I N D U S T R Y