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As many theaters remained closed, upscale movie theater chain Cinepolis paid none of its rent in February. The chain operates theaters in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Florida, Texas, Ohio and Maryland.
AMC Theatres announced it was going to reopen 98 percent of its theaters on March 19. In February, however, as its locations remained closed, it paid only 13.09 percent of its rent due.
After keeping its theaters closed for six months, the movie theater chain, which is owned by U.K.-based Cineworld Group plc, was on track to reopen 500 of its U.S. locations last week, with attendance at 25 to 50 percent capacity. In February, while its theaters remained closed, Regal paid 32.93 percent of its rent.
Gym chain operator, 24 Hour Fitness paid 50.19 percent of its rent for February. The company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December of 2020, with plans to close a portion of its locations.
The upscale gym chain paid 53.98 percent of its rent due for the month.
The restaurant chain reported that its same-store sales for the fourth quarter declined by 70 percent, in line with the results for the year overall. Dave & Buster’s paid 59.39 percent of its rent in February.
In spite of reporting healthy sales last year—Lululemon’s same-store sales went up by 21 percent during the fourth quarter of 2020—the upscale gym apparel seller paid only 62.23 percent of its rent in February. Lululemon’s company-operated store net revenue did decline by 34 percent last year. (Its direct-to-consumer revenue increased by 101 percent).
The women’s clothing boutique struggled through most of 2020. At the end of January, Francesca’s Holding Corp. sold its assets to TerraMar Capital LLC. The new owner plans to keep at least 275 of the retailer’s locations operating going forward. Francesca’s paid 66.04 percent of its rent in February.
Sports clubs and fitness studios have been among the hardest-hit retail segments during the pandemic as they have been deemed non-essential during lockdown periods. LA Fitness also struggled with its sizeable debt load last year. The company paid 66.98 percent of its rent in February.
The sports bar chain paid 72.63 percent of its rent in February. Full-service restaurants and bars have also been among the segments of the retail industry hardest hit by the COVID-19 restrictions.
Restaurant chain Domino’s Pizza paid 99.98 percent of the rent it owed in February. In its fourth quarter of 2020 report, the company posted same-store sales growth of 11.2 percent for the quarter and 11.5 percent for the year.
Chili’s parent, Brinker International, reported that in the second fiscal quarter of 2021, Chili’s same-store sales declined 6.3 percent compared to the year before, mostly due to constrained dining room capacity. At the same time, Brinker executives noted that limits on indoor dining were “partially offset by increased off-premise sales including It's Just Wings.” Chili’s paid 99.99 percent of its rent in February.
The insurance provider reported that its consolidated revenues went up by 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 and by 0.3 percent year over year. It paid 99.99 percent of the rent for its locations.
The department store chain paid almost all of its rent in February at 99.99 percent. J.C. Penney, which filed for bankruptcy protection in the spring of 2020, completed its sale to landlords Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management in December.
Wingstop Inc. paid all of the rent due for its restaurants in February. The company reported that in the first quarter of 2021, its domestic same-store sales rose by 20.7 percent and it opened 41 net new restaurants.
As it has done for much of the past year, Sportsman’s Warehouse outperformed on rent payment in February, paying all of its rent due. The sporting goods retailer announced a “record performance” for the fourth quarter and full year 2020, with same-store sales rising by 57.7 percent for the quarter and 48.3 percent for the year.
Supermarket operator ShopRite, which is operated by the Wakefern Food Corp., paid all of its rent for the month. Supermarket operators have been among the essential retailers that benefited from both an exemption from lockdown orders over the past year and from greater demand for groceries as fewer people visited restaurants.
The women’s clothing retailer paid 100 percent of its rent for the month. The company operates roughly 1,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada.
The more affordable division of Gap Inc. reported that its global same-store sales increased by 7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, in spite of some forced store closures. In the U.S., Old Navy paid all of its rent due for February.
Mid-market women’s apparel chains Ann Taylor and Loft paid all of the rent due in February. Ann Taylor and Loft parent Ascena Retail Group, which filed for bankruptcy protection in the middle of last year, sold the brands to private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $540 million in December.
