Mall operator PREIT's February comparable sales at core malls hit an "all-time high" of $618 per square foot, according to a press release, Retail Dive reported. The company, which filed and emerged from bankruptcy in 2020, also said that over 60% of that portfolio had sales productivity of more than $550 per square foot. After filing for bankruptcy in 2020, PREIT recapitalized, grew its sales and cut its losses by nearly half. Its losses, though, still remained substantial at $135.9 million for 2021. "We've continued our recovery ahead of expectation, capitalizing on broad based momentum, and confirming that the work we've done in shaping our portfolio, replacing anchors and remerchandising has positioned [the] portfolio to perform," CEO and Chairman Joe Coradino told analysts earlier in March, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. A massive shortfall in rent payments sent PREIT into chapter 11, along with its peer CBL Properties, as retailers worked through the financial impact of temporary store closures and lingering traffic declines during the early phases of the pandemic. For PREIT and other mall operators, the challenges of the pandemic followed years of decline in revenue as the mall's place in the U.S. continued to diminish through the past decade.
