Simon Property Group, the owner of the King of Prussia Mall and the Philadelphia Premium Outlets in Limerick has sold off some of its shares of Authentic Brands Group, writes James Alexander for News Leaflets.

Simon cut its stake in the company to just under 10 percent, according to CEO David Simon.

Authentic Brands manages brands like Barneys New York and David Beckham.

The sale of shares added $117.4 million to Simon’s coffers.

While many malls have been struggling since the pandemic, Simon’s portfolio of high-profile malls including the King of Prussia Mall continues to thrive.

The occupancy rate at its malls at the end of the quarter on Dec. 31 was 95.8 percent and minimum rent per square foot increased from $55.13 to $56.82.

Despite the challenges malls continue to face, David Simon said the future still looks bright.

“The importance of brick-and-mortar-has never been higher,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, e-commerce is critically important, but all of this stuff about e-commerce, cost of customer acquisition, returns, stickiness, etc., it all continues to be a challenge. If you’ve looked at the [pure online] marketplaces, they run into problems, so they really need to be connected to a brick-and-mortar for survivability. So all of those things are pointing to a positive picture.”

Read more about Simon Property Group at News Leaflets.

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