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Shopping Centers Today -> May 2003
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Zara enters Rrussia
Fashion retailer Zara, Coruña, Spain, opened its first store in Russia in March at Mega, the 1.6 million-square-foot retail-entertainment center in Moscow. There it will occupy 19,375 square feet. The center’s first phase opened in December, and developers are considering a 30-store expansion. Swedish furniture giant Ikea developed the project.Sonae Imobiliaria to open two centers in Portugal
Leasing is under way at two of Portugal’s newest shopping centers, both developed by Sonae Imobiliaria, the country’s leading center developer. The two are Parque Atlantico, Ponta Delgada, located on San Miguel, one of the Azores Islands; and Estacao Viana (do Castel) Shopping, about 200 miles north of Lisbon. The 236,806-square-foot Parque Atlantico, an enclosed two-level mall, is being built onto the existing Modelo Hypermarket. Besides the hypermarket, other anchors are appliance store Worten/Vobis; a Maxmat DIY home improvement store; and Sportzone, a sports equipment and clothing retailer. The center will also feature 75 in-line stores, including Bershka, Massimo Dutti and Zara. There will be a 15-restaurant food court and a four-screen cinema operated by Castello Lopes. Estacao Viana Shopping will be incorporated into Viana do Castelo’s train and bus station. The project will feature 75 stores, a food court with 27 restaurants, a five-screen cinema and an entertainment area with a bowling alley and supermarket. Anchors are a Castello Lopes cinema; Vobis, a multimedia retailer; Worten/Vobis; and a supermarket. Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Sportzone and Zara have already committed to the project. Sonae Imobiliaria expects to open Parque Atlantico in October and Estacao Viana Shopping next March.German retail restrictions challenged
Government officials and retailers in Germany are calling for changes in an old law that restricts promotions. The law, which is enforced by the government’s Competition Center, allows price reductions on small lots of merchandise anytime, but bans storewide sales unless they occur during a two-week period in the winter and another in the summer. Anniversary sales are allowed too, but only major ones divisible by 25 years. In recent years the Competition Center has taken on such companies as Lufthansa, which wanted to link frequent-flier miles to credit cards, and U.S. retailer Wal-Mart, which advertised that it would beat any competitor’s price if a shopper presented an ad from the competing retailer.Trizec Canada sells TriGranit
Trizec Canada raised enough cash to pay off some debt when it sold its 50 percent stake in TriGranit, a Hungarian real estate company. In February Trizec used the nearly $136 million in proceeds to pay off a $51 million loan facility and closed on the transaction in late March. TriGranit is now owned jointly by Sándor Demján, a Hungarian entrepreneur and real estate investor, and a group of private investors led by Peter Munk, chairman, president and CEO of Trizec Canada. TriGranit’s shopping centers include West End City Center in Budapest, Hungary, and Polus City Center in Bratislava, Slovakia.Westfield buys Sydney mall
Westfield Trust has bought the 581,251-square-foot Sydney (Australia) Central Plaza, a shopping center in the heart of the city’s retailing district. Grace Brothers, a major Australian department store, anchors the two-level center, which features more than 70 specialty retailers. Westfield also plans to renovate and expand the 520,402-square-foot Centrepoint, a mixed-use center in downtown Sydney. It is adding retail, three new towers above the existing complex and an underground tunnel leading to Sydney Central Plaza.U.K. centers planned
Modus Properties, a developer based in Manchester, England, is planning a couple of downtown shopping centers. One project, the 350,000-square-foot Grand Arcade Shopping Centre, will feature 24 shops in the northern town of Wigan. Debenhams Department Store will anchor the $86.1 million (£55 million) project, along with six other yet-unnamed major stores. No completion date has been set. Modus is also developing the 55,000-square-foot Park View Shopping Centre in Whitley Bay, a coastal town in the north of England. The center will feature 22 shops and form Whitley Bay’s new retail core. Modus, which is investing about $17.2 million in Park View, expects to complete the project by next spring.Fitmart opens Philippines mall
FitMart Group, a Philippine developer, opened the FitMart Mall in Koronadal City, the Philippines, in March. The two-level retail and entertainment center is designed to serve residents who currently have to drive several hours to Davao City to shop. Major retailers include Nike and Kodak, plus a strong contingent of Filipino retailers, including Jollibee, a fast-food chain; National Book Store; and Rusty Lopez, a shoe retailer. FitMart expects to add four cinemas and a bowling alley, although the company is not saying when those projects will be finished.Malaysia to get first lifestyle center
Malaysian developer Mutiara Rini is developing the 700,000-square-foot Curve, the country’s first lifestyle center. Located in Petaling Jaya, just outside Kuala Lumpur, the Curve will feature 220 stores, including Ikea and a Tesco hypermarket. The $68.5 million (M$260 million) development is slated to open in October 2004. About one-third of the project’s gross leasable area will comprise food and beverage purveyors, compared with 15 percent in conventional Malaysian shopping centers, the developer says.Australian developer to buy Brisbane retail center
Investa Property Group, a property investment and management group, is buying the MacArthur Central Retail Centre, Brisbane, Australia. Completed last November, the three-level center comprises 154,000 square feet of retail gross leasable area in the city’s central business district. Anchors include Big W, a discount department store; book retailer Dymocks; and Woolworths. Sydney, Australia-based Investa says it intends to complete the purchase in June and will allow the public to invest in the property.Canadian developers partner to expand Market Mall
The Cadillac Fairview Corp., Toronto, and Ivanhoe Cambridge, Montréal, are planning a major expansion of Market Mall, a regional shopping center in Calgary, Alberta. The developers will add 150,000 square feet of gross leasable area (GLA), a 620-space underground parking facility and a renovated food court, all at a cost of about $61.2 million (C$90 million). The mall’s interior will be completely renovated with upgraded entrances and new ceilings, lighting and flooring. The additional 150,000 square feet of GLA will consist of a single-level wing modeled after a racetrack and include 59 new retail tenants. The developers plan to add four new food court units and expand the seating capacity from 520 to 750. They expect to complete the expansion by the fall of 2004.
Shopping Centers Today
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