TEXT-Fitch:Recent store closure trend expected, concern for U.S. CMBS

Mar 01 - Abercrombie & Fitch's recently announced store closures may be a harbinger of things to come for other retailers, the potential ramifications of which remain to be seen for U.S. CMBS, according to Fitch Ratings.

Other retailers like Best Buy, Sears, J.C. Penney, Office Depot, and Barnes & Noble have also announced store closures. JC Penney, in particular, is of some concern for Fitch-rated CMBS, a sizeable percentage of which contain JC Penney as part of the collateral makeup.

One development that may help stem the pain of recent store closures is that other retailers like Wal-Mart, Costco, Dollar Stores, and Forever 21 are actively expanding their store base and looking to expand.

That said, the advent of online shopping as an alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar shopping may limit the ultimate need for store space, which in turn could have implications for CMBS over time.

Additional information is available in Fitch's weekly e-newsletter, 'U.S. CMBS Market Trends', which also contains recent rating actions and an overview of newly released CMBS research, including Fitch presales and Focus reports. The link below enables market participants to sign up to receive future issues of the E-newsletter:

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