Yahoo Finance Macerich (MAC) Unveils Primark Store at Green Acres Mall
Amid the growing demand for its premium shopping centers, The Macerich Company MAC recently announced that Irish retail brand — Primark — has opened a new store at its popular Green Acres Mall in Long Island, making it its seventh store in the New York State. The move is likely to pull in more shoppers to this well-known retail destination, boding well for Macerich.
Shares of MAC, however, declined marginally on Jun 30 regular trading session on the NYSE.
Primark is located in Center Court next to another prominent international retailer, scheduled for a Fall 2023 opening at Green Acres. Both these retailers will replace the former JCPenney site, highlighting MAC’s efforts centered on the re-use and mixed-use of its properties through the recapture and repositioning of anchor tenants.
With this latest opening, Primark has seven stores at various Macerich’s shopping centers. Its stores at MAC’s Kings Plaza (Brooklyn), Danbury Fair (Connecticut), Fashion District Philadelphia and Freehold Raceway Mall (New Jersey) are already functional. The company is also slated to soon step into MAC’s Queens Center (Brooklyn) and Tysons Corner Center (McClean, Virginia).
Moreover, the mall, spanning more than 2 million square feet, is advantageously located in Valley Stream, NY, and offers a wide variety of desirable shopping, dining and entertainment brands. MAC’s latest addition to this popular-retail destination is expected to boost sales and traffic, making the move a strategic fit.
Per F.K. Grunert, executive vice president, Leasing, Macerich, “Primark has won over millions of shoppers around the world with its global style for fashion and the home, and we’re excited to be part of Primark’s plan to have 60 U.S. stores by 2026.”
Amid renewed enthusiasm in consumers’ preference for an in-person shopping experience following the pandemic downtime, this retail REIT’s portfolio of premium assets in the United States has experienced healthy leasing activity.
Also, with mixed-used assets having gained traction in recent years, this retail real estate investment trust (REIT) has been making concerted efforts to ring in premium brands at its properties to drive more footfall and boost sales.
In May 2023, MAC acquired the remaining 50% interest in five former Sears boxes from its joint venture partner — Seritage Growth Properties — and now wholly owns and controls each parcel.
The five Sears boxes, encompassing a total gross leasable area of 819,000 square feet, are located in the company’s regional town centers and provide it the flexibility to undertake redevelopment opportunities at these properties and enrich them with premium in-demand retailers.
In the same month, Macerich and Wish You Were Here Group, a renowned, multi-concept hospitality company, announced that the south wing of Scottsdale Fashion Square will house the upscale, experiential restaurant concept — Élephante.
The move will mark Élephante’s first location outside Los Angeles. It will encompass 12,000 square feet of Macerich’s top-performing shopping center, aiming to provide a multidimensional experience to the Scottsdale community.
Nonetheless, growing e-commerce adoption and limited consumers’ willingness to spend amid macroeconomic uncertainty and a high interest rate environment pose concerns for the company in the near term.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 8% in the past three months compared with its industry's growth of 3.9%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks from the REIT sector are Kite Realty Group Trust KRG, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers SKT and Saul Centers BFS, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kite Realty Group’s 2023 funds from operations (FFO) per share has moved marginally upward over the past month to $1.97.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Tanger Factory Outlet’s current-year FFO per share has been raised 1.1% over the past two months to $1.87.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Saul Centers’ ongoing-year’s FFO per share has been moved 1.3% northward over the past two months to $3.05.
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Macerich Company (The) (MAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (SKT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Saul Centers, Inc. (BFS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Kite Realty Group Trust (KRG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
