Power center

Categories: Banking

It sounds like a place where high-ranking members of the Illuminati gather to carve up the world's resources. Some secret room at the U.N., or maybe a lavishly furnished apartment high up in some Manhattan skyscraper.

But, nah...a power center actually refers to a bunch of stores clustered together.

The term essentially describes an outdoor mall made up of big box stores. It's usually a row or two of otherwise freestanding retailers: a Best Buy next to a PetSmart, next to a Dick's, next to a Party City, with a giant Walmart at the end of the parking lot.

The phrase "power center" mostly acts as a real estate term. The first one appeared in California n the mid-1980s.

Often, they work much like traditional malls, with big box stores (like Walmart) standing in as anchors, the way department stores like Macy's or JC Penney's would in an indoor mall. In-between, fast-food joints or other restaurants, as well as smaller retailers, often fill in the space.



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