PREIT Reports Significant Increase in Traffic at Repositioned Properties over Thanksgiving Weekend

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PREIT (NYSE: PEI) today announces strong results to kick off the holiday shopping season, reporting a significant increase in traffic throughout the four-day Thanksgiving weekend (Thursday through Sunday) at properties with recent anchor redevelopment or remerchandising initiatives, in comparison to 2017.

Viewmont Mall – Scranton, PA
Traffic at the mall grew 11 percent, one of the largest increases across the portfolio.  PREIT proactively recaptured and replaced the former Sears store with DICK's Sporting Goods, Field & Stream, and HomeGoods – all of which opened in September 2017. This year's holiday weekend results underscore the overwhelming success of these efforts and the reimagined mall overall.

Woodland Mall – Grand Rapids, MI
The property, which is currently undergoing a large-scale remerchandising initiative, experienced a 13 percent increase in traffic. Upcoming additions or refreshed formats include Altar'd State, Hollister, Victoria's Secret and several other in-demand retailers. New tenants set to open in 2019 include Von Maur, Urban Outfitters and REI.

Moorestown Mall – Moorestown, NJ
With the recent opening of HomeSense and Five Below in the former Macy's space, Moorestown Mall kicked off the season with a nearly 9 percent increase in traffic. Sierra Trading Post will join the two off-price retailers in 2019, alongside new dining additions Hash House a Go Go and Joe Italiano's Maplewood.

MPG – Hyattsville, MD
PREIT has invested $30 million in the transformation of this powerhouse property in the DC suburbs, and the remerchandising initiative is paying off. On the heels of recent additions – including ULTA Beauty, DSW, Five Below, &pizza, Express Factory Outlet and more than a dozen other tenants over the past two years – the mall saw a 6 percent traffic uptick throughout the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  

"We're already off to an incredibly successful start to holiday shopping, as evidenced by the results from the kickoff weekend, and we're confident that this data is a strong indicator for the rest of the season," said Joseph F. Coradino, CEO of PREIT. "To experience this notable upswing in traffic at the properties where we've made significant investments is a testament to the strength of our strategy and the potential for long-term impact on sales and value."

About PREIT
PREIT (NYSE:PEI) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns and manages quality properties in compelling markets.  PREIT's robust portfolio of carefully curated retail and lifestyle offerings mixed with destination dining and entertainment experiences are located primarily in the densely-populated eastern U.S. with concentrations in the mid-Atlantic's top MSAs.   Since 2012, the company has driven a transformation guided by an emphasis on portfolio quality and balance sheet strength driven by disciplined capital expenditures. Additional information is available at www.preit.com or on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "may" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans, strategies, anticipated events, trends and other matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events, achievements or results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that might cause future events, achievements or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In particular, our business might be materially and adversely affected by changes in the retail and real estate industries, including consolidation and store closings, particularly among anchor tenants; current economic conditions and the corresponding effects on tenant business performance, prospects, solvency and leasing decisions; our inability to collect rent due to the bankruptcy or insolvency of tenants or otherwise; our ability to maintain and increase property occupancy, sales and rental rates; increases in operating costs that cannot be passed on to tenants; the effects of online shopping and other uses of technology on our retail tenants; risks related to our development and redevelopment activities, including delays, cost overruns and our inability to reach projected occupancy or rental rates; acts of violence at malls, including our properties, or at other similar spaces, and the potential effect on traffic and sales; our ability to sell properties that we seek to dispose of or our ability to obtain prices we seek; our substantial debt and the liquidation preference of our preferred shares and our high leverage ratio; our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness when it matures, on favorable terms or at all; our ability to raise capital, including through sales of properties or interests in properties and through the issuance of equity or equity-related securities if market conditions are favorable; and potential dilution from any capital raising transactions or other equity issuances.

Additional factors that might cause future events, achievements or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements include those discussed herein and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 in the section entitled "Item 1A. Risk Factors." We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

contact:
Heather Crowell
SVP, Strategy and Communications
(215) 454-1241
[email protected]

SOURCE PREIT

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