by Sasha Taylor | ARCHIVES
London visionaries are gearing up for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom, July 27-August 12, 2012. In preparation of capitalizing on the massive revenue potential, job growth, and jump starting a blink economy, a gigantic shopping center called Westfield Stratford City, the largest urban shopping centre in Europe was built. 70 per cent of Olympic visitors will walk through the mall on their way to the Games.
Westfield Stratford City is adjacent to the London Olympic Park, Stratford Regional and Stratford International stations. The shopping centre is part of a large multi-purpose development project called Stratford City. Using innovative technology, Westfield Stratford City has been reported to be the first large scale use of Pavegen floor tiles to harness the kinetic energy of pedestrian foot traffic to generate usable electricity.
The complex will house 300+ stores including Apple, Prada, Nike, Topshop, 70+ restaurants, a 14 screen all-digital Vue cinema, a gym, a spa, a library, 3 hotels, a bowling alley as well as 5,000 parking spaces. The super mall has created 18,000 jobs, 10,000 permanent jobs, including 2,000 jobs going to people in the local area as well as new transport infrastructure. For the luxury minded shopper the mall has a concierge team of 60 who speak 14 languages in all. It will house the UK’s Largest Casino and first ‘Super Casino’ in the country.
Westfield Stratford City, the centre’s Australian developer, has defied the pessimists by opening it 95 percent full, although convincing retailers to take a store in the mall, which forms the gateway to the 2012 Olympic Games, has not been easy. Its location to the London Olympic Park means more than 200,000 people a day will walk through the shopping centre on their way to the Games in 2012.
London is the greatest golden goose of global shopping capitals, exceeding New York, Paris and Tokyo with its $62 billion in retail sales in 2010. So it’s no great wonder that 95 per cent of Westfield Straford City’s retail space has already been leased to the likes of Nike, Prada, New Look, Mulberry, Topshop and Apple.
BCSC’s Cooke explains the attractiveness of London for retail investment: “London consumers feel more secure in their jobs than elsewhere in the UK, due to more positive growth in the city and less reliance on public sector jobs, which are being cut.” The exchange rate lures in foreign visitors too. The value they bring to the UK is expected to grow by 60 per cent in real terms over the next decade, according to Deloitte. Cooke says it’s not just the Chinese and Russians spending in London either – “Nigerian spend is up 52 per cent on last year.”
LONDON’S LARGEST MALL GALLERY
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