Online Darlings Warby Parker and Amazon 4-Star Set to Open at PREIT's Cherry Hill Mall in 2022

Rhea-AI Summary

PREIT (NYSE: PEI) announced the addition of Warby Parker and Amazon 4-Star stores to its Cherry Hill Mall property, set to open in the first half of 2022. The introduction of these popular e-commerce brands signifies a growing consumer preference for physical retail experiences. Other recent additions to the mall include Purple and Peloton, contributing to almost 17% sales growth over a rolling 12-month period ending September 2021 compared to the same timeframe in 2019. With strong shopper return rates, the mall remains a leading retail destination.

Positive

• Warby Parker and Amazon 4-Star set to open in 2022, enhancing Cherry Hill Mall's retail offerings.
• Sales at Cherry Hill Mall increased nearly 17% compared to the same period in 2019.
• High shopper return rate, averaging 98% of 2019 foot traffic since May 2021.

Negative

• None.

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PREIT (NYSE: PEI), a leading real estate investment trust focused on creating thoughtful, community-centric properties, today announced the upcoming addition of Warby Parker and Amazon 4-Star at its Cherry Hill Mall property. The highly-coveted e-commerce brands are set to open locations in the first half of 2022, a positive indication that companies and consumers are valuing the tactical experience of physical stores.

• Warby Parker, the eyewear brand founded with a mission to inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose and style, will open its first south jersey location in spring 2022.
• Amazon 4-star is also set to open in the first half of 2022, offering an ever-changing and highly curated assortment of top-selling products from Amazon.com.

These historically e-commerce brands join recent additions, Purple and Peloton, indicating an increase in consumer demand for in-person retail experiences.

• Peloton opened a permanent, in-line location after its temporary unit proved successful.
• Purple, the innovative mattress company offering a proprietary technology, opened earlier this month.

"Cherry Hill Mall continues to lead the PREIT fleet by attracting high quality tenancy and generating traffic," said Joseph F. Coradino, CEO of PREIT. "We have long believed that at the confluence of online and offline retail lives a great customer experience.  The physical world allows for an unmatched marketing opportunity for brands to engage with consumers and to offer instant gratification sought by so many."

Other exclusive additions and transformations continue to occur. 

• Miniso, a Japanese-inspired lifestyle product retailer, opened its first east coast location at Cherry Hill Mall earlier this year, offering household goods, daily life products, health and beauty supplies, fashion accessories, digital products, and food and toys.
• Dynamite, a trendy Canadian retailer, recently relocated and opened a forward-looking, one-of-a-kind, tech-enabled store that has only one of each item on the floor. In this new format, cutting-edge prototype, the customer scans the item and requests a particular size that is delivered straight to their dressing room.

Earlier this year, Rally House, offering licensed team apparel and gifts, and Windsor, a women's clothing and fashion retailer, opened new stores.  Other new additions anticipated just in time for holiday shopping include: aerie and SolePly, a local sneaker reseller.

These additions authenticate Cherry Hill Mall as the premier shopping and dining destination on the east side of Philadelphia.  PREIT's trophy asset, the property is experiencing solid leasing activity based on strong sales momentum and market-leading position. On a Rolling 12-month basis, through September 2021, sales are up nearly 17% compared to the rolling 12-month period ended September 2019. Since May 2021, an average of 98% of 2019 shoppers have returned to Cherry Hill Mall.

About PREIT

PREIT (NYSE:PEI) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns and manages innovative properties at the forefront of shaping tailored consumer experiences. PREIT's robust portfolio of carefully curated retail and lifestyle offerings mixed with destination dining and entertainment experiences are located primarily in densely-populated, with tremendous opportunity to create vibrant multi-use destinations. Additional information is available at www.preit.com or on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "may" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans, strategies, anticipated events, trends and other matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future events and conditions and are based on currently available financial, economic and competitive data and our current business plans. Actual results could vary materially depending on risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that may affect our operations, markets, services, prices and other factors as discussed in the Risk Factors section of our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. While we believe our assumptions are reasonable, we caution you against relying on any forward-looking statements as it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our ability to achieve our forecasted revenue and pro forma leverage ratio and generate free cash flow to further reduce our indebtedness; our ability to manage our business through the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a weakening of global economic and financial conditions, changes in governmental regulations and related compliance and litigation costs and the other factors listed in our SEC filings. Additionally, our business might be materially and adversely affected by changes in the retail and real estate industries, including consolidation and store closings, particularly among anchor tenants; current economic conditions, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the steps taken by governmental authorities and other third parties to reduce its spread, and the corresponding effects on tenant business performance, prospects, solvency and leasing decisions; our inability to collect rent due to the bankruptcy or insolvency of tenants or otherwise; our ability to maintain and increase property occupancy, sales and rental rates; increases in operating costs that cannot be passed on to tenants; the effects of online shopping and other uses of technology on our retail tenants; risks related to our development and redevelopment activities, including delays, cost overruns and our inability to reach projected occupancy or rental rates; acts of violence at malls, including our properties, or at other similar spaces, and the potential effect on traffic and sales; our ability to sell properties that we seek to dispose of or our ability to obtain prices we seek; our substantial debt and the liquidation preference of our preferred shares and our high leverage ratio and our ability to remain in compliance with our financial covenants under our debt facilities; our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness when it matures, on favorable terms or at all; our ability to raise capital, including through sales of properties or interests in properties and through the issuance of equity or equity-related securities if market conditions are favorable; and potential dilution from any capital raising transactions or other equity issuances.

Additional factors that might cause future events, achievements or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements include those discussed herein, and in the sections entitled "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:
Heather Crowell
EVP, Strategy and Communications
(215) 454-1241
heather.crowell@preit.com 

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SOURCE PREIT

FAQ

What new stores are opening at Cherry Hill Mall in 2022?

Warby Parker and Amazon 4-Star are set to open at Cherry Hill Mall in the first half of 2022.

What is the sales growth percentage reported by PREIT for Cherry Hill Mall?

Cherry Hill Mall reported a nearly 17% sales growth over a rolling 12-month period ending September 2021 compared to the same period in 2019.

How many shoppers have returned to Cherry Hill Mall since May 2021?

An average of 98% of the 2019 shopper traffic has returned to Cherry Hill Mall since May 2021.

What impact do the new stores have on the retail experience at Cherry Hill Mall?

The addition of Warby Parker and Amazon 4-Star reflects a growing consumer demand for physical retail experiences.