A wave of store closings and retailer bankruptcies is coming in early 2018, as the industry deteriorates faster than analysts had expected a year ago, according to Credit Suisse Group AG, Bloomberg News reported. The retail business’s “large and undeniable transformation” will crimp rents and vacancy rates this year, strategists Roger Lehman and Benjamin Rozyn wrote in a note Thursday. Bonds backed by these loans will likely weaken, they added. Even if the just-ended Christmas shopping season was the best for retailers in a decade, according to early estimates, mall staples like Macy’s Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. haven’t wowed investors with their results. Although those companies are far from bankruptcy, Macy’s said yesterday that it was closing 11 stores in early 2018. While most commercial mortgages for retail space will continue to perform in the coming years, the reduction in financing options available to mall and store owners “could spell trouble” when the loans mature, the analysts wrote.
