In North American, Ireland, United Kingdom, Australian and New Zealand retail, an anchor tenant, sometimes called an anchor store, draw tenant, or key tenant, is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are typically located at the ends of malls, sometimes in the middle. With their broad appeal, they are intended to attract a significant cross-section of the shopping public to the center. They often are offered steep discounts on rent in exchange for signing long-term leases in order to provide steady cash flows for the mall owners.
Some examples of anchor stores in the United States are Macy's, Sears, JCPenney, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Dick's Sporting Goods, Dillard's, Kohl's, Walmart, and Target. Canadian examples are Nordstrom, TJX Canada (HomeSense, Winners, Marshalls), Walmart, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Sporting Life. Anchor stores that left Canada include Zellers, Hudson's Bay, Nordstrom Rack, Sears, and Target.