US retail Reits struggle despite high occupancy

New York

FOR an industry under siege by e-commerce and searching for relief, mall owner GGP Inc's announcement earlier on Wednesday that it is shelving plans to explore asset sales hit the stock hard and underscored the struggles facing brick-and-mortar retailers.

GGP chief executive Sandeep Mathrani, while discussing the company's outlook with analysts on Wednesday, said despite a gap in the publicly traded and private market value of GGP, staying the course would produce the best long-term results for shareholders.