Friendly Center

What Friendly Center does

Friendly Center is a 126-acre open-air shopping center located in Greensboro, North Carolina, owned and operated by CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (NYSE: CBL), a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT). The property functions as a multi-tenant retail platform aggregating more than 70 tenants across four integrated pillars: retail shopping (fashion, accessories, jewelry, footwear, specialty stores), dining and restaurants (over 16 food and beverage options ranging from quick-service to full-service), entertainment and services (Regal Cinemas, O2 Fitness, salon studios, piercing studios), and a centralized deals and events program. Market-exclusive tenancies with Apple, Pottery Barn, and Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant distinguish the property within the Greensboro / Piedmont Triad trade area, where it sits adjacent to the city's top Class A office submarket with direct I-40 access and is surrounded on three sides by single-family residential.

The business operates on a retail-space leasing revenue model, generating rental income from tenants under recurring lease arrangements; individual tenant pricing varies by store and visitor parking is free. Friendly Center's go-to-market motion is a retail storefront — drawing consumers through physical presence, anchor tenancy, and curated events (e.g., the Battle of the Backpacks back-to-school giveaway, Lancôme National Makeup Artist events) while supporting foot traffic through a digital ecosystem comprising a Contentstack-powered website, email newsletter, Facebook page, and Instagram (@shopfriendlycenter). Customer segments center on general retail consumers, dining and entertainment seekers, and the local Greensboro community, with horizontal segmentation across demographics.

The property employs 101-250 people (per firmographic data), has a long operating history dating to the original Friendly Shopping Center development (with Jay's Deli as an anchor tenant since 1956), and operates standard mall hours Monday-Saturday 10:00 AM-8:00 PM and Sunday 12:00 PM-6:00 PM. CBL & Associates Properties is the parent entity and consolidated legal owner of record; Friendly Center itself is a private, non-traded property within CBL's national shopping center portfolio.

Name

Friendly Center

Legal name

CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.

Website

https://friendlycenter.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1923

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Friendly Center is a 126-acre open-air shopping center in Greensboro, NC, owned by CBL & Associates Properties (NYSE: CBL). It aggregates 70+ tenants across retail, dining, entertainment, and services, serving Piedmont Triad regional consumers via market-exclusive brands like Apple and Pottery Barn.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Greensboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Space Leasing: Friendly Center generates revenue by leasing retail space to various tenants including fashion retailers, restaurants, and service providers. The shopping center is owned by CBL & Associates Properties, Inc.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Friendly Center is a 126-acre open-air shopping center in Greensboro, NC that leases retail, dining, entertainment, and service space to national chains and local tenants. It operates as a multi-tenant retail property offering fashion, restaurants, a movie theater, a fitness center, salon studios, and specialty stores under a unified property managed by CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. Revenue is generated through recurring rental income from tenants, supported by on-site marketing, events, and a digital deals platform.

Product overview

Friendly Center is a large open-air shopping center on 126 acres in Greensboro, NC, owned and operated by CBL & Associates Properties. The property functions as a multi-tenant retail platform offering four integrated service pillars: (1) Retail Shopping through over 50 national and local fashion, jewelry, footwear, and specialty stores; (2) Dining & Restaurants featuring over 16 food and beverage options ranging from quick-service to full-service restaurants; (3) Entertainment & Services including a movie theater, fitness center, and personal services like salon studios and piercing; and (4) Deals & Offers aggregating promotions from tenant stores. Key market-exclusive tenants include Apple, Pottery Barn, Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant, lululemon, and Sephora. The center also hosts community events and provides a digital directory and deals platform accessible through its website.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Shops at Friendly: A section of the Friendly Center complex featuring various retail stores and restaurants.

Products and services

• Retail Space Leasing Leasing of retail, restaurant, and service storefront space at the 126-acre Friendly Center open-air shopping center in Greensboro, NC to national chains, regional brands, and local independent tenants.
• Shopping Center Property Management On-site management of the Friendly Center property by CBL & Associates Properties, Inc., including security, maintenance, common-area upkeep, and tenant coordination for the 126-acre open-air center.
• Center Deals & Offers Platform Aggregation and promotion of 72 exclusive deals, limited-time offers, birthday rewards, student discounts, first responder discounts, and seasonal promotions from tenant stores at Friendly Center.
• In-Center Events & Community Programs Programming and hosting of community events at Friendly Center, including the Battle of the Backpacks back-to-school giveaway and brand activation events such as the Lancôme National Makeup Artist launch party at Macy's.
• Online Store Directory & Center Information Content-managed digital store directory at friendlycenter.com listing all tenants, hours, contact information, and category browsing to help shoppers navigate the 126-acre center.

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Cameron Village: Cameron Village is an open-air mixed-use shopping center in Raleigh, NC, with a curated mix of specialty retail, dining, and services. Its format and tenant mix closely mirror Friendly Center's positioning as a community-anchored lifestyle center rather than an enclosed mall.
• Streets at Southpoint: Streets at Southpoint is an open-air lifestyle shopping center in Durham, NC, owned by Brookfield Properties. It is highly comparable to Friendly Center in format (open-air), tenant mix (upscale retail, dining, entertainment), and target demographic (middle-to-upper income North Carolina households).
• SouthPark Mall: SouthPark is an upscale regional shopping center in Charlotte, NC, owned by Brookfield Properties. It is highly comparable to Friendly Center in offering market-exclusive luxury and premium retail tenants (Apple, Nordstrom, Crate & Barrel) along with dining and services in a high-income North Carolina catchment.
• Crabtree Valley Mall: Crabtree Valley Mall is a large enclosed regional shopping center in Raleigh, NC, owned by Brookfield Properties. It competes with Friendly Center for upper-tier retail tenants and shopper visits within the broader Triangle/Triad region of North Carolina, with a similar mix of anchors, dining, and entertainment.
• Hanes Mall: Hanes Mall is a large enclosed regional shopping center in Winston-Salem, NC, also owned by CBL & Associates Properties. It is the closest CBL-portfolio sibling to Friendly Center, sharing the same parent-operator playbook and competing directly for Triad-region shopper traffic.

Broad incumbents

• Simon Property Group: Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) is the largest US shopping center REIT and a broad incumbent competitor to CBL's portfolio, including Friendly Center. Simon operates premium and tier-one mall properties nationwide and competes for the same anchor tenant relationships that drive Friendly Center's tenant mix.
• Brookfield Properties: Brookfield Properties is one of the largest owners and operators of shopping centers in North America, with key Triangle/Triad-region assets like Crabtree Valley Mall, SouthPark, and Streets at Southpoint. It directly competes with Friendly Center for premium retail tenants and regional shopper visits.
• Macerich Company: Macerich (NYSE: MAC) is a publicly traded shopping center REIT operating a portfolio of regional malls across the US. While it does not directly compete with Friendly Center geographically, it competes for the same national tenant relationships and faces the same secular e-commerce headwinds affecting the broader mall category.
• Taubman Centers: Taubman Centers (formerly NYSE: TCO) operated a portfolio of premium regional shopping centers before being taken private by Simon Property Group. Its curated, upscale tenant mix strategy closely parallels Friendly Center's market-exclusive positioning and serves as a benchmark for premium-asset management in the mall category.
• CBL & Associates Properties: CBL & Associates Properties (NYSE: CBL) is the publicly traded REIT that owns and operates Friendly Center. As parent, it is the closest broad-incumbent comparator for portfolio-level strategy, capital structure, and asset management approach, and operates several comparable regional malls (e.g., Hanes Mall) in similar US markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FriendlyCenter
• Instagraminstagram.com/shopfriendlycenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Friendly Center