LONDON — Westfield has planted its flag in East London, and today opened a 1.9 million-square-foot retail and leisure center called Westfield Stratford City.
The sprawling mall — a ten-minute subway journey from central London — will stand at the gateway to London’s Olympic Park. The mall is a major retail opening for the area, which has traditionally been a less affluent part of London. Stratford City boasts over 300 retailers, which range from Next, New Look and Forever 21 to Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger and Reiss. The space is anchored by retailers John Lewis, Waitrose and a 136,000-square-foot Marks & Spencer store. But unlike the Westfield London mall in West London, the center won’t have a Village area dedicated to designer stores. “We haven’t tried to implement a cookie cutter approach,” said Myf Ryan, head of marketing for Westfield in the U.K., discussing the differences between Westfield’s two London malls. “We’ve very much designed the center, the environment and the retail mix to fit within the catchment where Westfield Stratford City sits.”
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Ryan said she expects the customer mix to be “incredibly broad,” attracting both local shoppers and tourists, with a “catchment area” that takes in 4 million people. And while Ryan acknowledged that the Olympic Games will be a major boost for drawing tourists to the mall – three quarters of all spectators are expected to walk through the mall to access the park – she also believes that the development will continue to attract tourists and new local customers alike after the 2012 games.
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“I think people will come and stay out at Stratford and the Olympic legacy is a key part of that…post the Olympics there will absolutely be a new community that will grow around the center with the residential offering and the planned office developments as well,” said Ryan. The development also houses hotels, which will open in time for the games, and offices and residential areas, which will open after the games.
The center has been hailed as an important jobs creator — the mall has generated 10,000 permanent jobs, 2,000 of which have gone to those who are classed as long-term unemployed. Boris Johnson, London’s mayor, said today that the mall has “helped secure a bright future for this long-neglected corner of the capital.”
Westfield has also taken an ethical approach to the mall’s design. The center has built a rainwater harvesting system, which allows 60 percent of the mall’s water to be sourced from rainwater, and an on-site combined cooling, heat and power plant will generate 75 percent of the mall’s electrical power. And the company has tapped local London designers and artists to create elements of the space — designer Julian J Smith has designed the concierges’ uniforms, while designer Lee Broom designed fairground style lighting to adorn the mall’s welcome halls.
Several retailers have launched new store concepts specifically for the center — the Marks & Spencer store features the retailer’s newest store innovations, such as clearly defined areas for its different clothing brands and a new food hall design. Meanwhile, Uniqlo’s store in Stratford City is the first in the U.K. to showcase the retailer’s new global design, with features such as a floor to ceiling glass display unit.
Despite the downbeat economic climate, Westfield is optimistic about the mall’s prospects. Ryan said that the Stratford City mall is expected, “in time,” to achieve similar visitor numbers and sales to that of Westfield London, which attracted 26 million visitors and achieved a turnover of 870 million pounds, or $1.38 billion, in 2010. Steven Lowy, co-chief executive officer of Westfield Group, said that he expects the two London malls to be the company’s top two performing urban centers in Europe, with a combined 50 million consumer visits each year and combined retail sales of over 2 billion pounds, or $3.17 billion.