(U.S.) Mall owner turns focus to Brazil

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Houston Chronicle/Bloomberg News

Feb. 12, 2008, 8:24PM
Mall owner turns focus to Brazil

By DANIEL TAUB
Bloomberg News

General Growth Properties, the second-largest U.S. owner of malls behind Simon Property Group, will delay the redevelopment of malls at home and expand in Brazil to cope with slowing U.S. retail sales, Chief Executive John Bucksbaum said.

"Difficult times call for difficult decisions, and we are not afraid to make them," Bucksbaum, also chairman of the Chicago-based company, said Tuesday during a conference call with analysts and investors. "The world we live in now has changed dramatically from just six months ago."

Sales at U.S. retailers may rise no more than 1 percent this month as consumers trim spending amid falling home values and a shrinking job market, the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities said. The forecast follows the worst holiday season for U.S. retailers since 2002 and the slow January sales growth.



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