Department Stores
These large-format retailers offer a wide variety of merchandise lines - including apparel, cosmetics, and home goods - under one roof, serving as anchor tenants for shopping malls.
Why it exists
Department stores exist to aggregate multiple product categories under a single retail destination.
Why it’s necessary (historically)
They once solved discovery, trust, and convenience in physical retail before digital commerce replaced much of that function.
Key components
Large-format retail real estate
Branded concessions
Private-label merchandise
Omnichannel fulfillment systems
How to evaluate businesses
Same-store sales, private-label penetration, lease liabilities, inventory productivity, and digital integration determine survivability.
How the industry could be improved
Service-centered formats, smaller experiential footprints, localized assortments, flexible leasing, and embedded fulfillment hubs could restore relevance.