Business has been down the this quarter for Ohio based Abercrombie & Fitch and although some stores have already closed in the first quarter (which honestly I haven't noticed in Northeastern Ohio) they say there will be more by the end of the year as leases begin to naturally run out. (article here)
Here is an article from Citybizlist New York that has excerpts from a conference call between analysts and Abercrombie & Fitch. From the excerpts it sounds like "C" malls will have their shops closed and the focus will be on "A" list malls that have higher sales volume, which makes sense.
I talked to the Abercrombie & Fitch and Summit Mall in Akron and the associates haven't heard if there store will be closing as they consider themselves a "b" level malls versus a "c" level such as Chapel Hill in Akron. The associates I talked to had heard rumblings of store closing from other patrons but don't fear their location as they have a high sales volume.
