Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/109754
W O R L D AT A G L A N C E U.K. asset manager Henderson Global Investors aims to redevelop parts of Londonís historic Smithfield Market, on the edge of the cityís financial district. Much of the old meat market has sat unused for decades, but retail and office space could provide a fresh start, as at other historic former markets in London, such as Covent Garden. Sales boomed at shopping centers in Argentina, Brazil and Peru last year, according to government data and local trade groups. Thirty-six malls in Buenos Aires reported a 22.5 percent sales increase versus 2011. Meanwhile, Brazilís 457 malls posted $60.1 billion in sales, up 11 percent. Sales at Peruís 57 retail centers grew 20 percent to $5.3 billion. 10 SC T / M A R C H 2 0 1 3 Developers are busy in Colombia. Mall Plaza opened Mall Plaza El Castillo, in Cartagena, and plans to develop a mall in Manizales. Parque Arauco will open Parque Caracolí this month in Bucaramanga. Spectrum will break ground this year on a mall in Chía, and Grupo Roble will build the Metrocentro La Felicidad mall in Bogotá. Gulf Related, a joint venture between Gulf Capital, of Abu Dhabi, and The Related Cos., will build a 214,000-square-meter (about 2.3 million square feet) retail center on Al Maryah Island, in Abu Dhabi. The developers say the $1 billion mall, slated to open in 2017, will be Abu Dhabiís first superregional urban shopping center. The capital of Russia is also Europeís new mall capital. Moscowís nearly 3.2 million square meters (about 34 million square feet) of mall floor space exceeds that of any other European city. Avia Park, a mall in northwest Moscow, will soon boost that number by some 464,500 square meters of interior space. Avia Park is one of the largest malls in the world, outside Asia. Dutch food retailer Spar International, which operates some 12,000 stores worldwide, is poised to enter the Middle East. The company aims to have 30 stores in the region by the end of 2015, including eight stores in Abu Dhabi, two in Qatar and one in Lebanon. Central Pattana, which has three retail complexes set to open in Thailand this year, has begun construction on the three-phase CentralWestGate project, in Nonthaburi. The first phase, comprising some 300,000 square meters (about 3.2 million square feet) of retail space, is slated to open in 2015, and the project in its entirety is scheduled for completion in 2021. Retailers continue to enter Hong Kong, despite CBREís ranking of the city as the worldís most expensive location in rent terms. The latest arrival is U.S. clothing chain Tommy Bahama, which opened a store in the Wan Chai district. Topshop is opening its first Hong Kong store in May.