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Retail industry news, voices and jobs. Optimized for your mobile phone.

Retail experts anticipate muted Black Friday sales, with major savings on televisions and furniture but little else.

Betty and Phil Scheiber enjoy quiet afternoon walks through the air-conditioned corridors of the nearby Oxford Valley Mall. After a year of mask mandates and social distancing, the retired couple from Middletown thought all malls were struggling like Oxford Valley, with two boxed-up and shuttered anchor department stores, two vacant food court restaurants, and 16 other smaller retail locations closed. Then, they took a trip to King of Prussia Mall in neighboring Montgomery County. “I was in awe,” Betty said. “My mouth nearly hit the floor.” She waited 40 minutes in a line tha...

After plunging in 2020, central Ohio retail is climbing out of its pandemic hole. Foot traffic is rising, leasing is up, and new stores are opening throughout the Columbus area, but plenty of clouds remain, especially for enclosed malls and older strip centers in central Ohio, which has more than twice the retail space of the U.S. average.  "I can now admit that I was wrong," said David Lukes, CEO of SITE Centers, the Beachwood-based firm that owns or co-owns several premium Columbus shopping centers including Lennox Town Center, Polaris Towne Center, Sun Center and Easton Market. ...