The narrative that malls are dying isn’t entirely true, but retailers are still closing stores as shopping shifts create a widening gap between winners and losers.
Store closures are no longer just a sign of retail weakness. They’re increasingly a strategic decision about which malls are worth staying in and which are no longer viable.
“Traffic to malls increased in Q1 2026 across all three formats analyzed — indoor malls, open-air shopping centers, and outlet malls — largely thanks to strong performances in the first two months of the year, according to Placer.ai’s March 2026 Mall Index.
That’s the broad trend, but it does not tell the full story about the state of malls.
“The American mall is not dying — it’s dividing… Yet this headline obscures a more nuanced reality: Premier shopping centers with luxury tenants and experiential offerings are flourishing, while lower-tier properties struggle to survive,” according to Coldwell Banker Commercial.
That’s a situation smart retailers understand, which has forced some tough decisions on store locations. Genesco, the owner of Journeys, a traditionally mall-based sneaker and footwear retailer, has been closing stores as part of a broader plan to address the changing nature of malls.
Genesco has been working to shift its store presence since late 2023.
“Amid declining sales, Genesco is shifting the store presence of Journeys away from malls,” RetailDive reported.
The Company closed 94 Journeys stores in Fiscal 2024 and is targeting up to 50 more closures in Fiscal 2025, according to its fourth-quarter 2024 earnings release.
Genesco CEO Mimi Vaughn called the situation at Journeys a turnaround.
“Given our strong track record of turning businesses around in challenging times, an even greater call to action to accelerate the pace of Journeys improvement and initiatives already underway, we are well positioned to unlock Journeys’ considerable earnings potential and value,” she said in the call.
The shutdowns have continued into 2026 with 15 stores closing this year, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
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Vaughn thinks that Journeys’ revival has progressed well.
“We have been really pleased by Journeys’ growth and performance over the last couple of years, and I’ll just take you back and say that this is our first full year of the Journeys’ turnaround. And so when you look to see where comps have been, we increased comps by 6% in fiscal ’25 and then followed by 9% in fiscal ’26,” she said during Genesco’s fourth-quarter 2026 earnings call.
