I've seen this picture show before. Strip out the real estate and in a few years the retailing business goes bust and thousands of people have no jobs......  A so-called NY private equity firm did that just over 10 years ago to a firm primarily operating in CA. Then leased the stores back to the retailer business - the 2008 downturn came and the company went bust. 20,000 people thrown out of work, many of whom had worked there for many years...... Oh yeah, the private equity firm walked away with $100 million for doing the deed.....