2025 Sohn Montreal: Oasis Capital’s Seth Fischer Says Buy This Japanese Stock To Benefit From The Mall Apocalypse

At the 2025 Sohn Montreal Conference, Seth Fischer, founder and Chief Investment Officer of Oasis Management, a global investment firm focused on opportunities across Asia, outlined how the collapse of traditional retail in the U.S. is creating space for a new wave of experiential concepts. Fischer highlighted the cultural and financial potential of bringing immersive Japanese entertainment and dining experiences to underused mall spaces, positioning the trend as a scalable and contrarian opportunity in a shifting consumer landscape.

• Background: He is introduced as a strong supporter of the Sohn Foundation. He has previously spoken at Sohn events in New York and presented in Hong Kong, where he founded the Sohn HK event. Fischer typically invests in businesses that are suffering and are often years or decades removed from their founders. He usually favors value plays.
• Firm Focus: Oasis Management. The source describes their typical investment approach as value plays in struggling businesses. The investment idea presented was noted as being different from their usual investments because the founder is still engaged.
• Time at Firm: As founder, he has been with the firm since its inception.

Also see our interview with Seth Fischer here.

2025 Sohn Montreal Conference – Oasis Capital’s Seth Fischer

The problem: Malls are dying

• Malls are dying.
• Department stores are dying.
• Asks: When was the last time you were in a department store?
• Everyone shops online now.
• Department store sales are continuing to decline.
• Department stores keep closing in malls.
• Malls used to be the place to be seen, now there’s nobody to be seen there.
• Shows a video of malls from years ago.
• Says unless you think we’re replaying a movie from 1995 ; it’s all gone.
• That’s what malls look like today. Many malls in America are in desperate need of revitalization.