Meet Me at the Mall

Malls were originally designed to be the centerpiece of a community. For a long time, they were. Between the boom in online shopping and over-retailing, many malls were struggling even before the pandemic. Now, experts predict every 1-of-4 malls in the U.S. may close over the next five years. For this episode, we travel around the world to figure out why we go to the mall, how to build them more sustainably and how failing malls are being reimagined.

As head of the California Fashion Association, Ilse Metchek visits a different mall every week. She believes malls are no longer about shopping, they’re about experiences. To get a sense of how top-tier experience malls work, we head to Singapore, where restaurateur Howard Lo takes us inside the world-renowned Jewel Changi. Next up: Melbourne Australia, where architect Stephen Choi gives us a tour of Burwood Brickworks, a mall designed around sustainability and climate change. Lastly, we visit the Landmark Mall in Virginia, where Monise Quidley helped turn a defunct department store into a homeless shelter.

Disclaimers: The guest speakers are neither employees nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. (“Morgan Stanley”). The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and data contained herein has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley is not responsible for the information or data contained in this podcast. This podcast does not provide individually tailored investment advice and is not a solicitation of any offer to buy or sell any security or other financial instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. It has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it. © 2021 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Members SIPC.