re: Why do some malls endure in the 21st century while other's don't?

Wife (no pics) and I stopped at Lakeside mall on Sat evening after dinner.

Wife did some shopping. When she went to Dillards, I went to Starbucks, got a cup of coffee, and sat on a nice faux-leather sofa and read stories on my phone about the Saints upcoming game.

We went to several other stores, with her going inside to shop, and me sitting outside the store, on nice benches or chairs.

When we passed by the Apple store, it was packed.

I never saw ANYONE that looked even remotely threatening or like they were just "hanging out". And the place was packed.

I think it's the store selection. Lakeside has some upscale stores - Kendra Scott, Apple, Lee Michaels, Lulumon, Pandora, Restoration Hardware, Vera Bradley, etc.

They do have a foot locker, and a Vans. But not a ton of the foot and baby stores. No urban brands.

I think there are only X number of good mall stores to go around. There isn't enough to fill each open mall, so some malls do better than others.