MARKET INSIGHT · JUNE 2026
By Ken Schuckman · President & CEO, Schuckman Realty Inc.
While much of the retail conversation fixates on store closures, the off-price segment keeps quietly turning in some of the strongest performance in all of retail. TJX, Burlington, and Ross continue to open stores, grow comps, and expand their real estate footprints at a pace that makes them among the most reliable anchor and junior-anchor tenants a Long Island landlord can sign. For owners with mid-size boxes to fill, off-price is not a fallback. It is a feature.
Why off-price keeps winning
The off-price model is built for exactly the consumer environment we are in. Value-conscious shoppers across every income bracket are hunting for brand names at a discount, and the treasure-hunt format keeps them coming back to see what is new. Crucially, the model is hard to replicate online: the constantly changing, opportunistically sourced inventory does not translate cleanly to e-commerce, which insulates these retailers from the pressure that has hollowed out so many other apparel categories. That durability is what makes their leases so financeable.
The expansion math
The three majors have collectively signaled thousands of additional store openings over their long-term horizons, and their banners now stretch well beyond the original off-price apparel concept into home, beauty, and specialty formats. For landlords, that breadth means a single operator may have several concepts that fit several different box sizes, from a full anchor down to a junior position. An off-price commitment also tends to lift the rest of the rent roll, because the daytime and weekend traffic it generates is exactly what in-line tenants and QSRs underwrite their own rents against.
What landlords should negotiate for
Off-price tenants know their value and negotiate accordingly. They will push for favorable co-tenancy clauses, generous signage, and competitive base rents. The landlord’s leverage is the box itself: well-located, properly sized space in a high-traffic Long Island corridor is genuinely scarce, and these retailers are in expansion mode. The art of the deal is trading rent concessions for term, escalations, and percentage-rent participation that lets you share in the upside if the store outperforms, which off-price boxes frequently do.
Owner takeaway: If you have a vacant or soon-to-be-vacant mid-size box, off-price should be at the top of your prospect list. These are credit tenants in a growth posture whose presence stabilizes your traffic, strengthens your co-tenancy, and supports the rest of your rents. Treat the deal as a long-term anchor relationship, not a stopgap.
How we can help
Schuckman Realty has long-standing relationships with the national off-price retailers and their tenant rep teams. We track their expansion criteria, their box-size requirements, and the comps in our market in real time. If you are filling an anchor or junior box, we welcome the conversation.
SOURCES
TJX Companies — “Investor Relations: Store Growth Outlook 2026”
Burlington Stores — “Long-Term Store Expansion Targets”
Coresight Research — “Off-Price Retail: Outperformance in a Value Era”
ICSC — “The Off-Price Channel and Shopping Center Anchoring”