“他们必须交租”，美国购物中心和商铺关系越来越紧张
西蒙地产集团是美国多家顶级购物中心的运营商，旗下产业包括纽约长岛的Roosevelt Field和加州帕洛阿尔托的Stanford Mall。现在，该公司正因为4月的租金问题而与租户争得不可开交，涉及Gap、芝士蛋糕工厂和Urban Outfitters等商家。受新冠疫情影响，全美许多商店处于停业状态，有些商家甚至连5月的店租也尚未支付。
但该公司联合创始人之子大卫·西蒙在周一晚间向华尔街分析师表示，歇业期间，虽然各家公司为保持现金流均已采取多种措施，包括：无薪假、缩减信贷规模、减少分红等，但他仍希望租户能如约履行合同。
“我们有约在身，他们必须付钱。” 西蒙说。
不过他并未透露拒绝支付店租的租户数量。其竞争对手、购物中心运营商Macerich在周一表示，截至目前，公司仅收到了26%的4月租金和18%的5月租金。Brookfield在 4月收到的租金占应收金额的20%，此种迹象表明，西蒙地产的租金收缴情况应该也不甚乐观。
虽然如此，但在该公司宣布其将支付股息后，其股票依然出现了10%的上涨。随着美国多州放宽封城限制，西蒙地产旗下超过100家购物中心已重新开放营业。下周，该公司旗下半数的零售商场将恢复营业。（西蒙地产还拥有数十家奥特莱斯。）
但就目前而言，由于许多零售商4月的销售额大幅下滑，加之对未来营收的恢复速度不甚看好，导致西蒙地产在与零售商谈判时势必会面临诸多困难。上周，梅西百货首席执行官杰夫·根内特告诉《财富》杂志，恢复营业后首周的销量可能仅能达到正常水平的20%，之后才会慢慢回升。Gap首席执行官索尼娅·辛加尔拒绝透露该公司是否已在5月恢复支付店租（仅在北美，该公司旗下店铺的月租金支出就达1.15亿美元），但承认其确实认为这是重新考虑永久关闭一些店铺Gap与Banana Republic店铺的机会。
无论如何，地产业主都不可能在零售商蒙受损失时置身事外，西蒙地产也应为更多店家拒付租金做好准备。
房地产研究机构GreenStreet Advisors在一份分析报告中写道：“认为这些租户有能力补上租金有点不切实际。无论话说得多漂亮，我们都认为这些欠缴租金最后大多要做减免处理，而不是延后支付。”此外，该研究机构还警告称，西蒙地产和其他运营商也应为租金下跌做好准备。
多家扮演引流角色的主要百货商店关门歇业无疑会让情况雪上加霜。梅西百货原已计划关闭125家门店，而受新冠疫情影响，这一数字或将进一步扩大。上周，诺德斯特龙表示，该公司将关闭旗下16家全产品线百货公司，这也是该公司有史以来首次采取如此大规模的关店举措。尼曼百货已依据美国《破产法》第11章之条款申请破产保护，此举将提高该公司关闭门店的可能性，至少会有几家门店难以幸免。据报道，拥有800家门店的彭尼公司也在依据美国《破产法》第11章之条款申请破产保护。
对商场而言，主要引流租户关门歇业将给他们造成两方面的打击。一方面是客流量的减少，主要引流租户能给整个购物中心带来大量客流，也正因此他们的租金通常很低。但对西蒙地产及其同行而言，更令人担忧的问题则在于，主要引流租客离场可能触发所谓的“共同租赁条款”，使得部分入驻商家可以据此要求中断租约。此类条款要求购物中心必须将一定比例的空间留给能够引流的知名商户，如百货公司或杂货店等。
就目前而言，西蒙更愿意将注意力放在复苏之上。西蒙表示：“开门营业的零售商很好地利用了报复性消费带来的机会，他们正在扩大自己的市场份额。”他指出，现在的销售情况实际上好于预期。但由于大多数零售商仍然处于歇业或者限流状态，他们的经营状况难以在短期之内得到恢复。
但西蒙认为这并非问题的重点所在。他表示，虽然恢复客流是一个渐进的过程，但现在的当务之急还是要促使人们重拾去商店购物的习惯，此外就是要找出适当的安全措施，为重新开放的购物中心保驾护航。
“消费者跟我们一样，也希望看到越来越多的商家开门营业，但我认为这是一个渐进的过程，先要迈出第一步，然后再不断前行。” 西蒙说。(财富中文网）
译者：Feb
西蒙地产集团是美国多家顶级购物中心的运营商，旗下产业包括纽约长岛的Roosevelt Field和加州帕洛阿尔托的Stanford Mall。现在，该公司正因为4月的租金问题而与租户争得不可开交，涉及Gap、芝士蛋糕工厂和Urban Outfitters等商家。受新冠疫情影响，全美许多商店处于停业状态，有些商家甚至连5月的店租也尚未支付。
但该公司联合创始人之子大卫·西蒙在周一晚间向华尔街分析师表示，歇业期间，虽然各家公司为保持现金流均已采取多种措施，包括：无薪假、缩减信贷规模、减少分红等，但他仍希望租户能如约履行合同。
“我们有约在身，他们必须付钱。” 西蒙说。
不过他并未透露拒绝支付店租的租户数量。其竞争对手、购物中心运营商Macerich在周一表示，截至目前，公司仅收到了26%的4月租金和18%的5月租金。Brookfield在 4月收到的租金占应收金额的20%，此种迹象表明，西蒙地产的租金收缴情况应该也不甚乐观。
虽然如此，但在该公司宣布其将支付股息后，其股票依然出现了10%的上涨。随着美国多州放宽封城限制，西蒙地产旗下超过100家购物中心已重新开放营业。下周，该公司旗下半数的零售商场将恢复营业。（西蒙地产还拥有数十家奥特莱斯。）
但就目前而言，由于许多零售商4月的销售额大幅下滑，加之对未来营收的恢复速度不甚看好，导致西蒙地产在与零售商谈判时势必会面临诸多困难。上周，梅西百货首席执行官杰夫·根内特告诉《财富》杂志，恢复营业后首周的销量可能仅能达到正常水平的20%，之后才会慢慢回升。Gap首席执行官索尼娅·辛加尔拒绝透露该公司是否已在5月恢复支付店租（仅在北美，该公司旗下店铺的月租金支出就达1.15亿美元），但承认其确实认为这是重新考虑永久关闭一些店铺Gap与Banana Republic店铺的机会。
无论如何，地产业主都不可能在零售商蒙受损失时置身事外，西蒙地产也应为更多店家拒付租金做好准备。
房地产研究机构GreenStreet Advisors在一份分析报告中写道：“认为这些租户有能力补上租金有点不切实际。无论话说得多漂亮，我们都认为这些欠缴租金最后大多要做减免处理，而不是延后支付。”此外，该研究机构还警告称，西蒙地产和其他运营商也应为租金下跌做好准备。
多家扮演引流角色的主要百货商店关门歇业无疑会让情况雪上加霜。梅西百货原已计划关闭125家门店，而受新冠疫情影响，这一数字或将进一步扩大。上周，诺德斯特龙表示，该公司将关闭旗下16家全产品线百货公司，这也是该公司有史以来首次采取如此大规模的关店举措。尼曼百货已依据美国《破产法》第11章之条款申请破产保护，此举将提高该公司关闭门店的可能性，至少会有几家门店难以幸免。据报道，拥有800家门店的彭尼公司也在依据美国《破产法》第11章之条款申请破产保护。
对商场而言，主要引流租户关门歇业将给他们造成两方面的打击。一方面是客流量的减少，主要引流租户能给整个购物中心带来大量客流，也正因此他们的租金通常很低。但对西蒙地产及其同行而言，更令人担忧的问题则在于，主要引流租客离场可能触发所谓的“共同租赁条款”，使得部分入驻商家可以据此要求中断租约。此类条款要求购物中心必须将一定比例的空间留给能够引流的知名商户，如百货公司或杂货店等。
就目前而言，西蒙更愿意将注意力放在复苏之上。西蒙表示：“开门营业的零售商很好地利用了报复性消费带来的机会，他们正在扩大自己的市场份额。”他指出，现在的销售情况实际上好于预期。但由于大多数零售商仍然处于歇业或者限流状态，他们的经营状况难以在短期之内得到恢复。
但西蒙认为这并非问题的重点所在。他表示，虽然恢复客流是一个渐进的过程，但现在的当务之急还是要促使人们重拾去商店购物的习惯，此外就是要找出适当的安全措施，为重新开放的购物中心保驾护航。
“消费者跟我们一样，也希望看到越来越多的商家开门营业，但我认为这是一个渐进的过程，先要迈出第一步，然后再不断前行。” 西蒙说。（财富中文网）
译者：Feb
Simon Property Group, the operator of many top caliber U.S. malls, such as Roosevelt Field on Long Island, N.Y. and Stanford Mall in Palo Alto, Calif., is contending with many tenants like Gap, Cheesecake Factory, and Urban Outfitters declining to pay rent for April. Some are holding out for May, too, as stores have been largely closed across the country because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
But David Simon, the son of the company's co-founder, told Wall Street analysts on Monday night he expects tenants to honor their contracts, even as the companies have taken dramatic steps to preserve cash during mass store closings: furloughing staff, drawing down credit, and cutting dividends.
"We have a lease, and they have to pay," Simon said.
He declined to say how many tenants have declined to pay. Rival mall developer Macerich on Monday said it has so far collected 26% of rents billed for April and 18% for May. Brookfield was at 20% for April, suggesting collections have been paltry for Simon, too.
Still, Simon's shares rose 10% after the company said it would pay its dividend, that dozens of its more than 100 malls had already reopened as some states ease their lockdowns, and that by next week, half of its retail space would be open to the public. (Simon also operates several dozen outlet centers.)
For now though, Simon faces tough negotiations with many retailers grappling with the vaporization of sales in April and are anticipating a slow return when they do reopen stores. Last week, Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette told Fortune sales might be 20% of normal levels in their first week after reopening, coming back gradually. Gap Inc CEO Sonia Syngal wouldn't say if her company, which pays $115 million in monthly rent for its North American stores, had resumed paying in May, but did allow that she sees the opportunity to rethink (code for permanently close) the size of the Gap and Banana Republic fleets.
Either way, landlords won't escape retail's pain, and Simon should brace for more stores withholding rent payments.、
"It seems unrealistic to believe these tenants will be able to pay deferred rent," GreenStreet Advisors wrote in an analyst note. "Despite the aforementioned rhetoric, we continue to believe most rent not collected on time will turn into rent abatement, not deferral." What's more, the research firm warned, Simon and other developers should brace for a downward re-setting of rent rates.
Adding to the pain: the closing of many anchor department stores. Macy's was already planning to close 125 stores, and the COVID-19 crisis could lead it to close more. Last week, Nordstrom said it was closing 16 of its full line department stores, the first large-scale closure program in its history, and Neiman Marcus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, raising the likelihood it will close at least a few stores. J.C. Penney, which has 800 stores, is reportedly looking into seeking Chapter 11 protection too.
Anchor tenants disappearing is painful for mall owners in two ways. They generate a ton of shopper traffic for the mall as a whole, which is why they typically pay a very modest rent. But more worryingly for Simon and its peers, the disappearance of anchors can set off so-called co-tenancy clauses that can allow some tenants to break their lease. Such clauses call for a certain percentage of space in a mall to be occupied or for there to be an anchor tenant, typically a department store or a grocer.
For now, Simon prefers to focus on some green shoots. "For the retailers that are opening, they're gaining market share. They're taking advantage of pent-up demand," Simon said, noting that sales have been better than expected. But with the majority of retailers still dark and many opting for measures that limit store visits, business won't pick up all that quickly.
Simon suggested that was beside the point. The pressing need, he said, is to get people back in the habit of going to stores, even if the ramp up is gradual, and to see what safety measures work as more centers reopen.
"[Shoppers] want to see more stores open, as do we, but I think it's a process, and you got to get started and you go from there," said Simon.
