This article has been a personal interest of mine for a while now. I grew up constantly going to malls. When I was a kid in Los Angeles, malls were equivalent to meeting at the playground; you went with your friends, ate at the food court, and used a few bucks to buy a “buy two get 50% off one deal” on one tchotchke or another at a chain retailer. As I got older, malls became a way for me to bond with my mother, choose from a variety of inexpensive food options in the food courts, take walks inside to escape the snow in the Massachusetts winter, and to shop, of course.
A few years ago, I believe at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis, MA, I noticed the words “Simon” on the monitors around the mall. When I went home to Los Angeles, CA, “Simon” showed up again. A few conversations with friends from other states and other trips to various malls in Massachusetts and, again, “Simon” appeared on the side of buildings, on the signs to the restroom, everywhere. The only mall they didn’t seem to own was The Mall of America. So, in the “pursuit of knowledge unto its innermost parts,” here is everything I could find about the Simon Malls Property Group.
The first and most obvious question: Who is Simon of “Simon Malls”? Well, turns out Simon is a surname, and, while brothers Herbert and Melvin Simon started the business with strip malls in Indianapolis in 1960, David Simon, the most recent Chairman of the board, CEO, and President, who is credited with building up the Simon Property Group, actually recently passed away on March 23 of this year. One of his five children, Eli Simon, took over his position following his passing. A press release from the company said the following about David Simon,
“In 1993, at just 31 years old, he orchestrated the Company’s initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange—raising nearly $1 billion in what was then the largest real estate public stock offering in history … Named Chief Executive Officer in 1995 at the age of 33, David became one of the youngest CEOs of a major publicly traded company in America … Under his leadership, Simon Property Group delivered a cumulative total shareholder return of more than 4,500% since its IPO—a record that places David among the most successful value creators in the history of public markets, in any industry … At the time of his passing, Simon Property Group owned or held interests in more than 250 properties comprising over 200 million square feet across North America, Europe, and Asia, generating billions in annual revenue.”
While there is some indication that the Simon Property Group was created through several acquisitions, leading to questions about the ethical dubiousness of monopolies and conglomerate practices, it is certainly clear that the Simon Property Group is leading in its industry. The press release also indicated that contributions would be made to the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, UJA Federation of New York, and Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, following David Simon’s passing, so it does seem that Simon Property Group, or at least the Simon family, participates in some advocacy efforts with their financial success.
“We look at malls in our portfolio as living, breathing organisms. If the mall’s not getting better, it’s getting worse,” said Eli Simon in an interview with the Financial Times about the changes being introduced in some of the “Simon Malls,” including Roosevelt Field, King of Prussia, Phipps Plaza, and Southdale Center, as well as their general pursuit of “redevelopment” since 2024. While it was challenging to find information about “Simon Malls” and Simon Property Group from non-Simon sources, and there are a lot of shareholder and investment intricacies that are simply above my pay grade to explain in this Hoot article, Simon does seem to be pursuing some unconventional technological additions to the mall experience with their Simon Innovation Group digital “ecosystem.” Aka, I think they just made an app for the mall, because everything needs an app these days …
In terms of competitors in the industry, it seems like their main competition is from Westfield Group, an Australian-based company that also operates in New Zealand, with their United States company titled “Westfield Corporation,” because I guess all the Simons weren’t hard enough to keep straight. The Westfield company actually owns the malls I frequent the most in Los Angeles, including Westfield Century City and Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks–Simon owns the Beverly Center, though, which, for you non-Angelinos, has more “icon” status and is featured in a lot of LA reality TV B-roll (see The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 3 during the LA Press Tour episodes). Some random facts worth noting are that the family associated with the Westfield company is the Lowy family, and they have been pursuing ticketless parking in some of their locations, which, in my opinion, is the kind of “innovation” of which Simon Property Group should take notice.
So what does this knowledge about Simon mean for the average mall-enthusiast? Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t think I feel any better, really. If you are curious if your local mall is a “Simon Mall,” keep an eye out for two diamond shapes with touching points and the word “Simon” nearby, and you’ll have your answer. The Burlington Mall is a “Simon Mall,” for example. A fun fact you can tell your friends is that the difference between a “mall” and a “shopping center” is whether or not it is enclosed … so there’s something actually useful for you. Now, if you need me, you can find me at a Simon-owned mall food court, wishing I didn’t eat so much of that rubbery chicken from the Americanized Japanese stir-fry place …
