Rent

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing retailers to rethink the role of the brick-and-mortar store.

Simon Property Group Chief Executive David Simon said Monday that the company is still looking to salvage additional distressed retailers, having already made bids for bankrupted Lucky Brand, Brooks Brothers and J.C. Penney.

"Pandemic pricing," as some agents call it, has arrived across the country as landlords react to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. With many people either losing their jobs or working from home due to the shutdowns, many tenants have chosen to leave their apartments behind in major US cities.

Simon Property Group, the country’s largest mall owner, filed a lawsuit against Gap Inc. on Tuesday over unpaid rents and other charges it says amount to $66 million.

Rent the Runway, Uber and other sharing economy services are being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Gap said it must take further action to find liquidity over the next 12 months, such as additional job cuts and new debt financing. The company said it did not pay rent on its shuttered stores in April, which amounts to roughly $115 million in monthly expenses in North America.