Anchor tenant

In retail, an anchor store, draw tenant, anchor tenant, or key tenant is one of the larger stores in a shopping mall, usually a department store or a major retail chain. Current examples of common anchor stores in the USA include Younkers, Macy's, Kohl's, Sears, Bergner's, Dillard's, Carson's, Boscov's, The Bon-Ton, Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor, and JCPenney. Defunct examples include Montgomery Ward, Mervyns, Eaton's, Lazarus, Galyan's, Foley's, Marshall Field's, Hecht's, Sports Authority, Parisian, and Sanger-Harris.

When the planned shopping mall format was developed by Victor Gruen in the early to mid-1950s, signing larger department stores was necessary for the financial stability of the projects, and to draw retail traffic that would result in visits to the smaller stores in the mall as well. Anchors generally have their rents heavily discounted, and may even receive cash inducements from the mall to remain open.

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