Apple is closing three of its stores at malls across the country that it claims have lost tenants and are in decline.
The Cupertino, California-based consumer tech giant in June will be shutting its brick-and-mortar retail locations at Trumball Mall at 5065 Main St. in Trumball, Connecticut; Towson Town Center at 825 Dulaney Valley Road in Towson, Maryland; and the North County Mall at 272 E. Via Rancho Parkway in Escondido, California. The Towson location was the first Apple store to unionize.
Apple is considered a prize tenant for a mall, driving foot traffic to its fellow retailers. Its decision to exit the trio of retail centers illustrates how when a mall loses some tenants it can trigger a downward spiral of others leaving.
Apple didn't respond to an email from CoStar News on Friday asking for comment on its store closings. But the company issued the same prepared statement to a variety of media outlets about shutting those retail locations.
"As we continue investing to expand and enhance our retail stores and offerings worldwide, we remain deliberate about evaluating our existing locations to ensure that we can meet our customers' needs in the best way," Apple said in its statement.
"Following the departure of several retailers and declining conditions at Trumbull Mall, the Shops at North County, and Towson Town Center, we've made the difficult decision to close our stores at these locations," the company said.
Trumball mall for sale
The Trumball Mall is owned by Namdar Realty of Great Neck, New York. It defaulted on a loan on the property, which last month was listed for sale by Newmark. On its website, the brokerage cited the Apple store as part of the mall's solid tenant roster.
"The mall is anchored by Macy’s, J.C. Penney, and Target, and features a vacant former Lord & Taylor anchor (unowned) that presents future repositioning potential," Newmark said. "The in-line tenant mix includes a strong roster of national and regional retailers, service providers, and dining concepts such as Apple, The Cheesecake Factory, Foot Locker, and Victoria's Secret."
Namdar didn't return an email from CoStar News seeking comment.
At least one Trumball official expressed concern about Apple's departure from the mall and asked the company to reconsider.
"The town of Trumbull is deeply disappointed by Apple's decision to leave the Trumbull Mall," First Selectman Vicki Tesoro said in a statement. "The region has come to depend on the store for technology services and for employment. This closure leaves a major gap in services for customers. We will be reaching out to Apple to ask them to reconsider closure of the Trumbull location."
The Towson mall that Apple is leaving has lost some major anchors. And earlier this year, Banana Republic, Madewell and Tommy Bahama announced they were exiting the retail center. The mall is owned by Chicago-based GGP, which didn't respond to an email from CoStar News seeking comment.
Escondido blues
In 2022 the Towson store was the first Apple location to unionize, and its workers are being treated differently than those at the other two stores going dark.
"Our team members at Trumbull and North County will continue their roles at nearby Apple retail stores," Apple said in its statement. "Towson employees will be eligible to apply for open roles at Apple in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement."
Those workers are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Coalition of Organized Retail Employees, which criticized Apple for the way the employees were being treated.
"Apple's claim that the collective bargaining agreement prevents relocation is simply false and raises serious concerns that this closure is a cynical attempt to bust the union," AIM said in a statement.
Over the years, the Escondido North County mall has lost anchor tenants such as Sears and Nordstrom. Plans for Costco to take over the vacant Sears space fell through.
Mershops and Steerpoint Capital purchased the mall in February 2023 for $57 million from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, according to CoStar data.
The new California-based landlords didn't respond to an email from CoStar News seeking comment on Apple's closing.