The Consultant - Q1 2009 - (Page 32) MARKET PERSPECTIVES europe The Southern Terrace's “High Street” look includes a horizontal fountain fronting a long wall of greenery and the ability of all operators to employ outside seating terraces, giving them extra seating capacity in good weather as well as a refuge for smokers. INTERNATIONAL multiplex cinema and the country's largest underground car park. • The Swiss lakeside city of Zurich, which boasts a world-beating “quality of life” rating, as well as innovative foodservice (such as the “market” style fresh food courts seen at many department stores) now has the Sihl City mall in a south central location. It opened in March 2007 and qualifies as both a regeneration and a conservation project, occupying a former paper mill on 42,000m² of riverside industrial land. A mixture of 14 foodservice outlets with seating for 850 cover the spectrum from fast food to the ground-breaking Vapiano, an Italian fast casual diner, plus music bars and fine dining. The foodservice occupies just 19,000m² – about 7 percent of total space – but has proved very significant in turning Sihl City into a trendy destination. • The multi-storey Palladium mall, opened in 2008 in the centre of Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, is likewise in a reclaimed building, utilizing a former military barracks. Its 39,000m² of retail space includes 170 shops over five floors but the 30-unit choice of foodservice units – covering the spectrum from French and Italian to South American, Lebanese and Indian – have done most to boost the aspirational focus of the mall and attract shoppers. More than half of the units are on a special “Gourmet Floor” accessed by its own special escalator and wellpositioned for the centre's entertainment facilities. From a foodservice standpoint, a key factor of these new centres is the redefinition of the role of restaurant and cafes beyond simply refreshing shoppers and encouraging traffic to less frequented parts of the building. Aspirational food concepts are be- coming a prime reason for visiting. That is very much the case at the Westfield Mall, opened in November 2008 and thought to be Europe's largest ever urban mall. It cost £1.6bn and is located at White City, a suburb just west of central London which is not noted for its style. But, thanks to several new rail stations, Westfield Mall is easily accessible from most parts of the city, Its Australian-owned parent company operates nearly 120 malls, comprising 23,000 individual rental units, in Australia, New Zealand, USA and UK. The company is a highly experienced operator but this latest venture is by no means a reworking of previous mall projects. Operating alongside the 270 retail stores – which includes many top-end fashion and lifestyle brands as well as mainstream retail heavyweights – are nearly 50 foodservice units, several of which are not just new to mall operation but actually new and untried concepts. 32 theconsultant
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