Tag Archives: Shopping Malls

Under threat: Physical stores in shopping malls, strip malls, downtown centers; more closures coming

Store-Closing-sign

Important Takeaways:

  • US retailers confirmed another 169 closures last week – bringing the total so far this year up to almost 2,600.
  • Physical stores in shopping malls, strip malls, downtown centers and on Main Street in towns have been under threat from online retail and changing tastes.
  • ‘Year to date, in 2024, major US retailers have announced 7.4 percent fewer openings and 12.3 percent more closures compared to the same time last year,’ read a report by Coresight Research on closures announced over the week ending April 26. The full list is below.
  • The total of 2,587 closures in the first 17 weeks of the year is almost 300 more than at the same time last year, but a thousand less than the number of openings.
  • Announced week ending April 26
  • Express’s additional 103 store closures planned for this year
  • Outfox Hospitality’s 35 store closures
  • Ashley’s 13 store closures
  • Urban Outfitters’ estimated seven (additional) store closures planned for this year
  • Anthropologie’s estimated five (additional) store closures planned for this year
  • Free People’s three store closures planned for this year
  • In addition, Shop ’n Save, The Buckle and Walmart announced the closure of one store each.

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Protesters gather to mark ‘million-people’ march anniversary in Hong Kong

By Jessie Pang and Yoyo Chow

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hundreds of protesters gathered in central Hong Kong on Tuesday to mark a year of sustained pro-democracy rallies as fears over looming national security legislation have reignited unrest in the global financial hub.

The crowd defied a government ban on gatherings of more than eight people due to the coronavirus, as well as a heavy riot police presence on the streets, with officers repeatedly seen conducting searches on those passing through the area.

Earlier on Tuesday, protesters gathered in several shopping malls to chant pro-democracy slogans, dispersing peacefully after an hour.

Some held placards reading “We can’t breathe! Free HK” and “Young lives matter”, nods to U.S. protests against police brutality sparked by the death of black American George Floyd.

“I am scared but I need to protest against national security laws. It’s important to continue to fight for freedom,” said 25-year-old Tai, who declined to give his full name.

Last year on June 9, an estimated more than one million protesters took to the streets against proposed legislation to allow extraditions to mainland China, where the courts are controlled by the Communist Party.

The government later withdrew the bill but widespread concern lingered that Beijing was stifling freedoms in the former British colony, sparking months of often-violent unrest.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam warned on Tuesday that the city, which has enjoyed a high degree of autonomy since returning to Chinese rule in 1997, cannot afford further “chaos.”

“All of us can see the difficulty we have been through in the past year, and due to such serious situations we have more problems to deal with,” Lam told a weekly news conference.

“We need to learn from mistakes, I wish all lawmakers can learn from mistakes – that Hong Kong cannot bear such chaos.”

Almost 9,000 people, aged between 11 and 84, were arrested in protests over the past year, police said late on Monday. More than 600 were charged with rioting.

Activists, as well as many diplomats and business leaders fear national security laws targeting subversion, secession, treason and foreign interference will further undermine Hong Kong freedoms, including its independent legal system. The laws could also see mainland intelligence agencies set up shop.

“The crackdown is getting more and more severe,” said gym trainer Lee, 32.

More protests are planned in the coming days and union leaders have said they intend to hold a referendum among their members on Sunday on whether to launch a city-wide strike.

Authorities have insisted the laws will focus on small numbers of “troublemakers” who pose a threat to national security and will not curb freedoms or hurt investors. Lam cautioned against the strike plans.

Prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong said the world had witnessed “the deteriorating situation in Hong Kong, with Beijing tightening its grip over the city’s liberties”.

“I have strong confidence in Hongkongers that we will have ways to resist and defy,” Wong posted on Twitter. “Moreover, I hope the world can stand with Hong Kong and protect the city from falling.”

Washington has said it would remove Hong Kong’s special treatment in U.S. laws as it deemed the city to no longer be sufficiently autonomous. The European Union, Britain and others have expressed concerns about the proposed legislation, while Beijing hit back against foreign meddling in its affairs.

(Reporting by Jessie Pang, Carol Mang, Yanni Chow, Donny Kwok, Clare Jim and Noah Sin; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree and Marius Zaharia; Editing by Tom Hogue, Jane Wardell and Nick Macfie)

Hong Kong marchers target malls on third day of Christmas protests

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hundreds of protesters marched through Hong Kong shopping malls on Thursday, disrupting business in the Asian financial hub for a third day over the festive period and prompting riot police to close off a mall in a tourist district.

The “shopping protests” have targeted malls across the Chinese-ruled city since Christmas Eve, turning violent at times with police firing tear gas to disperse demonstrators in areas filled with shoppers and visitors.

While the turnout on Thursday was smaller than on the previous two days, riot police stepped up patrols at shopping centers on the Kowloon peninsula and in the rural New Territories.

Dozens of police with batons and shields surrounded and sealed off the Langham Place shopping mall in Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui district after black-clad, masked protesters occupied it.

“I think the purpose for us to come out is to… let people realize that so many front-line protesters sacrificed (things) for them. They should not forget and (simply) celebrate Christmas,” said Sandy, a young demonstrator who wore a black mask to hide her identity.

“…We have been fighting for almost seven months now, and the Hong Kong police have done so many bad things.”

The protests began more than six months ago in response to a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China, where courts are controlled by the Communist Party.

They have since evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement, and became more confrontational over the festive season. Earlier in December, after pro-democracy candidates overwhelmingly won district council elections, they had been largely peaceful.

Many protesters have been angered by what they see as the use of unnecessary force by the police, and demanded an independent inquiry into the force’s behavior.

Police, who say they have used only minimum force to control the protests, on Thursday detained several people at a mall in rural Tai Po, north of the city’s financial center, public broadcaster RTHK said.

Demonstrators are also angry at what they perceive as increased meddling by Beijing in freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

China denies interfering, saying it is committed to the “one country, two systems” formula put in place at that time, and blames foreign forces for fomenting unrest.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam condemned the protesters in a Facebook post on Wednesday, saying many Hong Kongers and tourists were disappointed their Christmas Eve celebrations had been ruined, while local businesses had also been hit.

On Thursday, some restaurants and stores pulled down their shutters in the malls as protesters, some wearing balaclavas and carrying black flags, marched by.

The government on Thursday criticized “unprecedented violence” by some protesters, but said that protecting freedoms and human rights remained a top priority.

(Reporting by Joyce Zhou and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Farah Master; editing by John Stonestreet)

Hong Kong faces more protests after night of violence

By Simon Gardner and Jessie Pang

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hundreds of protesters gathered in Hong Kong shopping malls on Monday demanding “freedom” ahead of expected new protests after overnight turmoil in the Asian financial hub brought a warning from the last British governor that people could be killed.

Protesters formed large circles inside multi-level shopping malls and chanted “disband Hong Kong police force”, “fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong” and “I have the right to wear a mask”, as shoppers on a public holiday looked on.

The introduction of colonial-era emergency powers on Friday banning face masks, which protesters use to hide their identity, has sparked some of the most violent clashes in four months of demonstrations.

“Before long, unless we are very, very lucky, people are going to get killed, people are going to be shot,” former British governor Chris Patten told Sky News. “The idea that with public order policing you send police forces out with live ammunition is preposterous.”

Two protesters have been shot, one in the chest and one in the leg. Authorities said the shootings were not intentional but occurred during skirmishes between police and protesters.

Many protesters, police and journalists have been injured in clashes, with police using rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators, some of whom throw bricks and petrol bombs.

A journalist working with Hong Kong’s public broadcaster was recovering in the hospital on Monday after being hit by a petrol bomb on Sunday night.

On Monday, Hong Kong’s metro rail system, which typically carries about 5 million passengers a day, was only partially operating due to what authorities said was “serious vandalism” on Sunday night. Some stations were torched in the protests.

Many shops and Chinese banks were also extensively damaged.

The Sunday night protests, the second night of violence since the imposition of emergency laws, saw scores of protesters arrested and the first warning from Chinese military personnel stationed in the territory.

The protests have plunged the former British colony into its worst political crisis in decades and pose the biggest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping since he came to power in 2012.

What started as opposition to a now-withdrawn extradition bill has grown into a pro-democracy movement against what is seen as Beijing’s increasing grip on the city, which protesters say undermines a “one country, two systems” status promised when Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.

China dismisses such accusations, saying foreign governments, including Britain and the United States, have fanned anti-China sentiment.

‘IMPORTANCE OF DIALOGUE’

A 38-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man were charged on Monday for violating the emergency laws. They were also charged with unlawful assembly.

Tens of thousands of protesters, many families with children, marched peacefully through the center of Hong Kong on Sunday, most wearing face masks in defiance of the threat of a maximum one year in prison for doing so.

Police fired tear gas and charged with batons in an attempt to disperse protesters across the city and the rallies deteriorated into running clashes as night fell.

China’s Hong Kong military garrison warned protesters on Sunday they could be arrested for targeting its barracks with lasers – the first direct interaction between the People’s Liberation Army and protesters.

Carrie Lam, the city’s Beijing-backed leader, has said the face mask ban was necessary to end the violence by militant activists. But it has been criticized by human rights groups and the United Nations.

“She would have to be crazy to be making these decisions on her own without being pressured into them. The face mask business, absolutely madness,” said Patten, who handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997.

“I fear for the future, unless Carrie Lam actually intervenes and understands the importance of dialogue.”

The city government said in a statement “public safety has been jeopardized and the public order of the whole city is being pushed to the verge of a very dangerous situation”.

Hong Kong is facing its first recession in a decade with the protests damaging tourism and retail sectors.

Protesters are demanding an independent inquiry into police action.

Some protesters said an inquiry, which Patten also called for Lam to allow, was key to ending the protests.

“Hong Kong is part of China, no doubt. We don’t want independence. But we do want our freedoms that we are used to,” said Kong, 57, who works in finance, as he watched hundreds of protesters chanting in a shopping mall on Sunday.

“If they hold an independent inquiry, that would do it. Half of these people would go home. That is the key,” Kong said.

But others are worried the emergency powers are just the beginning of more erosion of their rights.

“The government can use the emergency law to enact other evil laws,” said student Isaac Shum, 19, at one shopping mall protest.

(Additional reporting Simon Gardner, Jessie Pang, Farah Masters; Writing Michael Perry; Editing by Paul Tait and Gerry Doyle)

Fights, disturbances shut down malls across U.S.

Lights on Police Vehicle

By Brendan O’Brien and Ian Simpson

(Reuters) – Fights, disturbances and false reports of gunfire caused chaotic scenes and shut down several malls across the United States on Monday during the typically busy post-Christmas shopping day.

Eight to 10 people suffered minor injuries during a melee in the food court at The Mills at Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the mayor there said on Twitter.

Panic followed when someone shouted “gun,” after a chair hit the ground, causing a loud noise in the mall’s food court, Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage tweeted.

Photos and video clips posted on social media showed heavily armed police officers responding to the incident as shoppers raced to exits and alarms rang out inside the mall.

Similar disturbances unfolded across the United States on Monday at malls that were packed with shoppers returning gifts, using gift cards they received over the holiday weekend and searching for clearance deals.

Many involved calls of shots being fired and youths fighting. It was unclear if the incidents were connected.

A large fight between teenagers broke out in the food court at the Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Police fielded several unconfirmed reports of shots fired, said a Facebook post by the Fayetteville Police Department, which also said the mall was evacuated.

The Hulen Mall in Fort Worth, Texas, was on lockdown, Fort Worth police said on Twitter. The CBS website there reported that police said officers responded to reports of gunshots but arrived to find that several fights had broken out involving 100-150 people. There were no injuries, police said.

At least one fight shut down the Fox Valley Mall in Aurora, Illinois, late on Monday, and police were called to quell the disturbance, the Chicago Daily Herald reported, citing managers of businesses in the building.

Online videos showed uniformed personnel directing mall patrons out of the building and customers fleeing down an escalator. Police and mall management could not be reached for comment.

The Town Center Aurora in Aurora, Colorado, was also closed early after multiple skirmishes were reported inside the mall, the Aurora Police Department said on Twitter.

In Monroeville, Pennsylvania, police arrested four youths after fights broke out at the Monroeville Mall, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

Police put the Arizona Mills mall in Tempe, Arizona, on lockdown after reports of shots fired inside the shopping center. Two people, including a juvenile, were arrested after two fights broke out at the mall, an ABC affiliate reported.

Police arrested one juvenile at the Beachwood Place mall in Beachwood, Ohio, where a large disturbance occurred, an ABC affiliate in Cleveland reported.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee and Ian Simpson in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Paul Tait)