Black Friday falls on November 27. In the weeks before it, US shopping centers open doors that were not there a year earlier, and the 2026 list shows who takes space. A streaming company refreshed a 100,000-square-foot anchor. A discounter built on a former department store pad. A grocer chose a flagship far larger than its usual store. Around them, four brands introduced new stores and concepts.
The common thread is simple. New space is going to tenants that bring their own reason to visit.
Three anchors, none of them a department store.
Netflix. KPop Demon Hunters: The Immersive Experience opens on November 12 at Netflix House in Galleria Dallas and on November 20 at King of Prussia Mall. In Dallas it takes the place of the Stranger Things experience that had run since the venue’s first weeks in late 2025. Each Netflix House fills about 100,000 square feet of former department store space. One lease, a second headline attraction inside 12 months: the anchor box gets re-merchandised without a backfill.
Target. Lima, Ohio, held the official opening of its Target on November 8, beside Lima Mall. The 128,000-square-foot store stands on the mall’s west end, on a site that once housed Lazarus and then Macy’s. It is a new market for the chain. “We’ve been waiting on Target for about 40 years,” Mayor Sharetta Smith told WLIO.
Whole Foods. The 63,082-square-foot flagship at Bloom on Third in Los Angeles, across from The Grove, was scheduled to open on November 11. A typical Whole Foods runs to about 40,000 square feet, and this one replaces the 2002 store next door. It adds a taproom, a charcuterie counter and a parking structure with more than 600 spaces. Grocery with a bar attached is a dwell-time tenant.
Four malls, four debuts.
One Piece, Los Angeles.
One Piece, Los Angeles. The first US One Piece Mugiwara Store opened on November 6 at Westfield Century City, with Toei Animation, Sony and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield at the ribbon. Entry required a reservation from November 6 through November 12.
Spyder, Minnesota. The ski brand’s 2,500-square-foot store began trading on November 10 at Mall of America.
AKIRA, New Jersey. Deptford Mall gained the Chicago fashion chain’s first South Jersey store, next to Round1 on the upper level.
Carter’s, New Jersey and Michigan. A concept store organized by a child’s size and stage debuted on November 5 at Cherry Hill Mall, and a second follows on November 12 at the Village at Rochester Hills. Four such stores are planned across the US in 2026.
For a leasing team, a first store is co-tenancy evidence. It shows which center a brand trusts with its debut.
Toys R Us turns a season into a lease.
Toys R Us.
Toys R Us is adding 120 standalone US stores for the holidays with operator Go! Retail Group, which takes its standalone count to 160. Announced locations include Gurnee Mills in Illinois and Zona Rosa in Kansas City. The brand’s owner told Forbes that some earlier seasonal stores sold well enough for their leases to be extended. A holiday shop is an audition for a permanent one.
Abercrombie & Fitch is next. Its 4,868-square-foot store at Annapolis Mall is under construction and aims to open before the end of November.
What we’re watching
→ Ferrari Style, New York. A two-level, 6,835-square-foot flagship is due to open on November 12 at 92 Prince Street in SoHo, WWD reports. Its tailoring atelier is one of two worldwide.
→ Bal Harbour Shops, Florida. The West Shops wing adds about 200,000 square feet, with Louis Vuitton, Celine and Khaite among the arrivals.
→ Harry Potter Shop, London. Warner Bros. Discovery took more than 21,000 square feet on two levels of Oxford Street for a store that opened on November 4.
→ Tampines Mall, Singapore. CapitaLand’s S$24 million refresh brings 21 brands new to the mall. Shiseido, Elemis and L’Occitane get standalone boutiques.
→ AEON MALL Ha Long, Vietnam. AEON’s tenth mall in the country holds its grand opening on November 14 with about 140 specialty stores.
New on Market
Openings and pipeline projects across the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East: Market: new projects.
A streamer, a discounter and a grocer took the largest boxes on this list. An anime studio, a ski brand and a toy chain took the smaller ones.
That is the leasing story of holiday 2026. The centers adding space are adding reasons to come, and the visit starts before anyone reaches a clothing rack.
Read the tenant list before you read the sales report.
Mati Brooks,
Editor, Malls Money
Malls.com tracks malls, brands, store openings, and retail expansion signals across 50+ countries.