Shopping mall (Redirected from Shopping centers)

A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refer to the walkway itself which was merely bordered by such shops), but in the late 1960s, it began to be used as a generic term for the large enclosed shopping centers that were becoming commonplace at the time. In the U.K., such complexes are considered shopping centres (Commonwealth English: shopping centre), though "shopping center" covers many more sizes and types of centers than the North American "mall". Other countries may follow U.S. usage (Philippines, India, and U.A.E.) while still others (Australia, etc.) follow U.K. usage. In Canadian English, and often in Australia and New Zealand, the term 'mall' may be used informally but 'shopping centre' or merely 'centre' will feature in the name of the complex (such as Toronto Eaton Centre). The term 'mall' is less-commonly a part of the name of the complex.

Many malls have declined considerably in Northern America, and some have closed and become so-called "dead malls". Successful exceptions have added entertainment and experiential features, added big-box stores as anchors, or converted to other specialized shopping center formats such as power centers, lifestyle centers, factory outlet centers, and festival marketplaces. In Canada, shopping centres have frequently been replaced with mixed-use highrise communities.

Types of shopping malls

The International Council of Shopping Centers, based in New York City, which classifies two types of shopping centers as malls: regional malls and superregional malls.

Regional mall

A regional mall, per the International Council of Shopping Centers, is a shopping mall with 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2) to 800,000 sq ft (74,000 m2) gross leasable area with at least two anchor stores.

Super-regional mall

A super-regional mall, per the International Council of Shopping Centers, is a shopping mall with over 800,000 sq ft (74,000 m2) of gross leasable area, three or more anchors, mass merchant, more variety, fashion apparel, and serves as the dominant shopping venue for the region (25 miles or 40 km) in which it is located.

Not malls

Not classified as malls are smaller formats such as strip malls and neighborhood shopping centers, and specialized formats such as power centers, festival marketplaces, and outlet centers.

Conversely in some countries, many shopping centers less than half or a quarter of the size of the U.S. minimum to be considered a mall, 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2), have "mall" in their names – for example in Namibia or Zambia.

The world's largest malls with over 500,000 square metres (5,400,000 sq ft) of gross leasable area are in China, Thailand, and the Philippines – more than half again as large as previous contenders such as the Dubai Mall.

List of types of shopping centers (including malls)

The International Council of Shopping Centers classifies Asia-Pacific, European, U.S., and Canadian shopping centers into the following types:

Abbreviations: SC=shopping center/centre, GLA = Gross Leasable Area, NLA = Net Leasable Area, AP=Asia-Pacific, EU=Europe, Can=Canada, US=United States of America
*does not apply to Europe

Type United States US GLA ft2 United States US GLA m2 European Union EU GLA m2 European Union EU GLA ft2 Canada Can GLA ft2 Canada Can GLA m2 ASEAN AP NLA ft2 ASEAN AP NLA m2 # anchors* Typical anchors
Large general-purpose centers (US/AP) / traditional shopping centres (EU/Can)
Mega-mall (AP) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,500,000+ 140,000+ 3+ Department stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, multiplexes, major entertainment/leisure
Super-regional mall/center
EU: Very large SC
800,000+ 74,000+ 80,000+ 860,000+ 800,000+ 74,000+ 800,000–1,499,999 74,000–139,999 3+ Regular/discount department stores, in Europe and Asia also supermarkets, hypermarkets, cinemas, major entertainment/leisure
Regional mall/center
EU: Large SC
400,000–800,000 37,000–74,000 40,000–79,999 430,000–859,999 300,000–799,999 28,000–73,999 500,000-800,000 46,000–74,000 2+
Small & medium general-purpose centers (US/AP) / traditional shopping centres (EU/Can)
Sub-regional SC (AP)
Europe: Medium SC
n/a n/a 20,000–39,999 220,000–429,999 n/a n/a 200,000–500,000 19,000–46,000 0–3 Supermarket, hypermarket, small/discount department stores
Small comparison-based SC (EU) n/a n/a 5,000–19,999 54,000–219,999 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Apparel, home furnishing, electronics, gifts, etc.
Small convenience-based SC (EU) n/a n/a 5,000–19,999 54,000–219,999 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Supermarket, hypermarket, pharmacy, convenience store, household goods, etc.
Community shopping center 125,000–400,000 11,600–37,000 n/a n/a 100,000–400,000 9,300–37,000 n/a n/a 2+ Discount store, supermarket, drugstore, category killer.

a.k.a. large neighborhood shopping center in US, Can

Neighborhood shopping center 30,000–125,000 2,800–11,600 n/a n/a 40,000–99,000 3,700–9,200 20,000–200,000 1,900–19,000 1+ (US/Can)
0–2 (AP)
Supermarket, in Asia also hypermarket
Convenience center
US/Can also "Strip mall"
<30,000 <2,800 n/a n/a 10,000–39,000 930–3,600 n/a n/a 0–1 Convenience store anchor or anchorless
Type United States US GLA ft2 United States US GLA m2 European Union EU GLA m2 European Union EU GLA ft2 Canada Can GLA ft2 Canada Can GLA m2 ASEAN AP NLA ft2 ASEAN AP NLA m2 # anchors* Typical anchors
Specialized shopping centers
Power center
EU: a.k.a. "Retail park"
250,000–600,000 23,000–56,000 S:5,000–9,999
M:10,000–19,999
L:20,000+
S:54,000–109,999
M:110,000–219,999
L:220,000+
100,000–1,000,000 9,300–93,000 >50,000 >4,600 3+ (US/Can)
n/a (AP)
Category killers, warehouse clubs, large discount stores. In Asia 90% of NLA must be these.
Lifestyle center (US) 150,000–500,000 14,000–46,000 n/a n/a 150,000–500,000 14,000–46,000 n/a n/a 0–2 Large-format upscale specialty stores
Outlet mall/center 50,000–400,000 4,600–37,000 5,000+ 54,000+ 50,000–400,000 4,600–37,000 "no max. size" "no max. size" n/a Manufacturers' and retail outlet stores
Theme/Festival (US)
(Festival marketplace)
80,000–250,000 7,400–23,000 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Restaurants, specialty stores catering to visitors, entertainment
Leisure/entertainment centre (AP)
Leisure-based SC (EU)
n/a n/a 5,000+ 54,000+ n/a n/a <500,000 <46,000 N/A Entertainment and/or F&B (food and beverage) (in Asia, 50%+ of tenants are these), plus specialty stores catering to visitors, fast fashion, electronics, sports. Europe: usually anchored by a multiplex cinema and also may include bowling, fitness. Excludes centers at transport hubs.
Specialty SC (AP) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a <500,000 <46,000 0 Specialty shops with general product mix (apparel, F&B, electronics, etc.)
Single category SC (AP)
Non-leisure-based themed SC (EU)
n/a n/a 5,000+ 54,000+ n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Dedicated to single product type other than F&B, groceries or fashion, e.g. information technology, homewares/furniture. In Asia, 80% of NLA should be dedicated to the theme.
Major transportation hub SC (AP) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a >50,000 >4,600 n/a Retail at public transportation hubs including airside airport retail
Limited-purpose property
Airport retail 75,000–300,000 7,000–28,000 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0 Speciality retail and restaurants
Shopping centre hybrids (Canada only)
Hybrid SC (Can) n/a n/a n/a n/a 250,000+ 23,000+ n/a n/a varies Has characteristics of two or more shopping center types e.g. power center + regional mall

History

Forerunners to the American mall

Shopping centers in general, may have their origins in public markets and, in the Middle East, covered bazaars. In 1798 the first covered shopping passage was built in Paris, the Passage du Caire. The Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island claims to be the first shopping arcade in the United States in 1828.

Dayton Arcade in the 1920s

In the mid-20th century, with the rise of the suburb and automobile culture in the United States, a new style of shopping center was created away from downtowns. Early shopping centers designed for the automobile include Market Square, Lake Forest, Illinois (1916), and Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, Missouri (1924).

The suburban shopping center concept evolved further in the United States after World War II (see table above) with larger open-air shopping centers anchored by major department stores, such as the 550,000-square-foot (51,000 m2) Broadway-Crenshaw Center in Los Angeles built in 1947, anchored by a five-story Broadway and a May Company California.

Downtown pedestrian malls and use of term mall

In the late 1950s and into the 1960s, the term "shopping mall" was first used, but in the original sense of the word "mall", meaning a pedestrian promenade in the U.S., or in U.K. usage, a "shopping precinct". Early downtown pedestrianized malls included the Kalamazoo Mall (the first, in 1959), "Shoppers' See-Way" in Toledo, Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach, Santa Monica Mall (1965). Although Bergen Mall (opened 1957) led other suburban shopping centers in using "mall" in their names, these types of properties were still referred to as "shopping centers" until the late 1960s, when the term "shopping mall" started to be used generically for large suburban shopping centers.[page needed]

Enclosed malls

Original interior of "Shopping" one of the first enclosed malls in the world, Luleå, Sweden, 1955.

The enclosed shopping center, which would eventually be known as the shopping mall, did not appear in mainstream until the mid-1950s. One of the earliest examples was the Valley Fair Shopping Center in Appleton, Wisconsin, which opened on March 10, 1955. Valley Fair featured a number of modern features including central heating and cooling, a large outdoor parking area, semi-detached anchor stores, and restaurants. Later that year the world's first fully enclosed shopping mall was opened in Luleå, in northern Sweden (architect: Ralph Erskine) and was named Shopping; the region now claims the highest shopping center density in Europe.

The idea of a regionally-sized, fully enclosed shopping complex was pioneered in 1956 by the Austrian-born architect and American immigrant Victor Gruen. This new generation of regional-size shopping centers began with the Gruen-designed Southdale Center, which opened in the Twin Cities suburb of Edina, Minnesota, United States in October 1956. For pioneering the soon-to-be enormously popular mall concept in this form, Gruen has been called the "most influential architect of the twentieth century" by Malcolm Gladwell.

The first retail complex to be promoted as a "mall" was Paramus, New Jersey's Bergen Mall. The center, which opened with an open-air format on November 14, 1957 and was enclosed in 1973. Aside from Southdale Center, significant early enclosed shopping malls were Harundale Mall (1958) in Glen Burnie, Maryland, Big Town Mall (1959) in Mesquite, Texas, Chris-Town Mall (1961) in Phoenix, Arizona, and Randhurst Center (1962) in Mount Prospect, Illinois.

Other early malls moved retailing away from the dense, commercial downtowns into the largely residential suburbs. This formula (enclosed space with stores attached, away from downtown, and accessible only by automobile) became a popular way to build retail across the world. Gruen himself came to abhor this effect of his new design; he decried the creation of enormous "land wasting seas of parking" and the spread of suburban sprawl.

Even though malls mostly appeared in suburban areas in the U.S., some U.S. cities facilitated the construction of enclosed malls downtown as an effort to revive city centers and allow them to compete effectively with suburban malls. Examples included Main Place Mall in Buffalo (1969) and The Gallery (1977, now Fashion District Philadelphia) in Philadelphia. Other cities created open-air pedestrian malls.

In the United States, developers such as A. Alfred Taubman of Taubman Centers extended the concept further in 1980, with terrazzo tiles at the Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey, indoor fountains, and two levels allowing a shopper to make a circuit of all the stores. Taubman believed carpeting increased friction, slowing down customers, so it was removed. Fading daylight through glass panels was supplemented by gradually increased electric lighting, making it seem like the afternoon was lasting longer, which encouraged shoppers to linger.

Decline of shopping malls

Belz Factory Outlet Mall, an abandoned shopping mall in Allen, Texas, United States

In the United States, in the mid-1990s, malls were still being constructed at a rate of 140 a year. But in 2001, a PricewaterhouseCoopers study found that underperforming and vacant malls, known as "greyfield" and "dead mall" estates, were an emerging problem. In 2007, a year before the Great Recession, no new malls were built in America, for the first time in 50 years. City Creek Center Mall in Salt Lake City, which opened in March 2012, was the first to be built since the recession.

Shopping malls have two main weaknesses. First, mall visits take an inordinate amount of time. Only the largest anchors (department stores) have their own exterior entrances and direct access to outside parking. For most mall tenants (boutique stores), consumers must first search for available parking in a vast parking lot or cavernous parking garage, walk around the mall to locate their desired boutique, find and buy whatever they are looking for, then retrace their steps to return to their car. Second, engineering, constructing, heating, cooling, ventilating, and securing the lengthy interior corridors of a shopping mall are all extremely expensive. That cost is passed on from mall owners to tenants through common area fees, on top of the cost of renting one's own space, and ultimately borne by mall shoppers in the form of high prices. For these two reasons, malls began to lose consumers to open-air power centers and lifestyle centers during the 1990s, as consumers preferred to park right in front of and walk directly into big-box stores which featured much lower prices because they lacked the overhead of traditional shopping malls.

Another issue was that the growth-crazed American commercial real estate industry had simply built too many nice places to shop—far more than could be reasonably justified by the actual growth of the American population, retail sales, or any other economic indicator. The number of American shopping centers exploded from 4,500 in 1960 to 70,000 by 1986 to just under 108,000 by 2010.

Thus, the number of dead malls increased significantly in the early 21st century. The economic health of malls across the United States has been in decline, as revealed by high vacancy rates. From 2006 to 2010, the percentage of malls that are considered to be "dying" by real estate experts (have a vacancy rate of at least 40%), unhealthy (20–40%), or in trouble (10–20%) all increased greatly, and these high vacancy rates only partially decreased from 2010 to 2014. In 2014, nearly 3% of all malls in the United States were considered to be "dying" (40% or higher vacancy rates) and nearly one-fifth of all malls had vacancy rates considered "troubling" (10% or higher). Some real estate experts say the "fundamental problem" is a glut of malls in many parts of the country creating a market that is "extremely over-retailed". By the time shopping mall operator Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield decided to exit the American market in 2022, the United States had an average of 24.5 square feet of retail space per capita (in contrast to 4.5 square feet per capita in Europe).

In 2019, The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards opened as an upscale mall in New York City with "a 'Fifth Avenue' mix of shops", such as H&M, Zara, and Sephora below them. This is one the first two malls built recently, along with American Dream in which both opened in 2019 since City Creek Center.

Online shopping has also emerged as a major competitor to shopping malls. In the United States, online shopping has accounted for an increasing share of total retail sales. In 2013, roughly 200 out of 1,300 malls across the United States were going out of business. To combat this trend, developers have converted malls into other uses including attractions such as parks, movie theaters, gyms, and even fishing lakes. In the United States, the 600,000 square foot Highland Mall will be a campus for Austin Community College. In France, the So Ouest mall outside of Paris was designed to resemble elegant, Louis XV-style apartments and includes 17,000 square metres (180,000 sq ft) of green space. The Australian mall company Westfield launched an online mall (and later a mobile app) with 150 stores, 3,000 brands and over 1 million products.

The COVID-19 pandemic also significantly impacted the retail industry. Government regulations temporarily closed malls, increased entrance controls, and imposed strict public sanitation requirements.

Mall design

The former Camp Snoopy Amusement park before it was Nickelodeon Universe at the center of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the largest shopping mall in the United States
The 31 story tall ISQUARE vertical mall.

Vertical malls

High land prices in populous cities have led to the concept of the "vertical mall", in which space allocated to retail is configured over a number of stories accessible by elevators and/or escalators (usually both) linking the different levels of the mall. The challenge of this type of mall is to overcome the natural tendency of shoppers to move horizontally and encourage shoppers to move upwards and downwards. The concept of a vertical mall was originally conceived in the late 1960s by the Mafco Company, former shopping center development division of Marshall Field & Co. The Water Tower Place skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois was built in 1975 by Urban Retail Properties. It contains a hotel, luxury condominiums, and office space and sits atop a block-long base containing an eight-level atrium-style retail mall that fronts on the Magnificent Mile.[citation needed]

Vertical malls are common in densely populated conurbations in East and Southeast Asia. Hong Kong in particular has numerous examples such as Times Square, Dragon Centre, Apm, Langham Place, ISQUARE, Hysan Place and The One.

A vertical mall may also be built where the geography prevents building outward or there are other restrictions on construction, such as historical buildings or significant archeology. The Darwin Shopping Centre and associated malls in Shrewsbury, UK, are built on the side of a steep hill, around the former town walls; consequently the shopping center is split over seven floors vertically – two locations horizontally – connected by elevators, escalators and bridge walkways. Some establishments incorporate such designs into their layout, such as Shrewsbury's former McDonald's, split into four stories with multiple mezzanines which featured medieval castle vaults – complete with arrowslits – in the basement dining rooms.

Components

Food court

A common feature of shopping malls is a food court: this typically consists of a number of fast food vendors of various types, surrounding a shared seating area.

Department stores

When the shopping mall format was developed by Victor Gruen in the mid-1950s, signing larger department stores was necessary for the financial stability of the projects, and to draw retail traffic that would result in visits to the smaller stores in the mall as well. These larger stores are termed anchor store or draw tenant. In physical configuration, anchor stores are normally located as far from each other as possible to maximize the amount of traffic from one anchor to another.[citation needed]

Regional differences

Express Avenue Chennai, India
Shopping arcade in Tokyo, Japan

"Mall" versus "shopping center/centre"

Shopping mall is a term used predominantly in North America and some other countries that follow U.S. usage (India, U.A.E., etc.) and others (Australia, etc.) follow U.K. usage.

In the United States, Persian Gulf countries, and India, the term shopping mall is usually applied to enclosed retail structures (and is generally abbreviated to simply mall), while shopping center/centre usually refers to open-air retail complexes; both types of facilities usually have large parking lots, face major traffic arterials, and have few pedestrian connections to surrounding neighbourhoods. Outside of North America, "shopping precinct" and "shopping arcade" are also used. In Canada, "shopping centre" is often used officially (as in Square One Shopping Centre), but conversationally, "mall" is mostly used.

Europe

There are a reported 222 malls in Europe. In 2014, these malls had combined sales of US$12.47 billion. This represented a 10% bump in revenues from the prior year.

U.K. and Ireland

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, both open-air and enclosed centers are commonly referred to as shopping centres. Mall primarily refers to either a shopping mall – a place where a collection of shops all adjoin a pedestrian area – or an exclusively pedestrianized street that allows shoppers to walk without interference from vehicle traffic.

The majority of British enclosed shopping centres, the equivalent of a U.S. mall, are located in city centres, usually found in old and historic shopping districts and surrounded by subsidiary open air shopping streets. Large examples include West Quay in Southampton; Manchester Arndale; Bullring Birmingham; Liverpool One; Trinity Leeds; Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow; and Eldon Square in Newcastle upon Tyne. In addition to the inner city shopping centres, large UK conurbations will also have large out-of-town "regional malls" such as the Metrocentre in Gateshead; Meadowhall Centre, Sheffield serving South Yorkshire; the Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester; White Rose Centre in Leeds; the Merry Hill Centre near Dudley; and Bluewater in Kent. These centres were built in the 1980s and 1990s, but planning regulations prohibit the construction of any more. Out-of-town shopping developments in the UK are now focused on retail parks, which consist of groups of warehouse style shops with individual entrances from outdoors. Planning policy prioritizes the development of existing town centres, although with patchy success. Westfield London (White City) is the largest shopping centre in Europe.[citation needed]

Russia

In Russia, on the other hand, as of 2013 a large number of new malls had been built near major cities, notably the MEGA malls such as Mega Belaya Dacha mall near Moscow. In large part they were financed by international investors and were popular with shoppers from the emerging middle class.

Management and legal issues

Shopping property management firms

A shopping property management firm is a company that specializes in owning and managing shopping malls. Most shopping property management firms own at least 20 malls. Some firms use a similar naming scheme for most of their malls; for example, Mills Corporation puts "Mills" in most of its mall names and SM Prime Holdings of the Philippines puts "SM" in all of its malls, as well as anchor stores such as The SM Store, SM Appliance Center, SM Hypermarket, SM Cinema, and SM Supermarket. In the UK, The Mall Fund changes the name of any center it buys to "The Mall (location)", using its pink-M logo; when it sells a mall the center reverts to its own name and branding, such as the Ashley Centre in Epsom. Similarly, following its rebranding from Capital Shopping Centres, intu Properties renamed many of its centres to "intu (name/location)" (such as intu Lakeside); again, malls removed from the network revert to their own brand (see for instance The Glades in Bromley).

Legal issues

One controversial aspect of malls has been their effective displacement of traditional main streets or high streets. Some consumers prefer malls, with their parking garages, controlled environments, and private security guards, over Central business districts (CBD) or downtowns, which frequently have limited parking, poor maintenance, outdoor weather, and limited police coverage.

In response, a few jurisdictions, notably California, have expanded the right of freedom of speech to ensure that speakers will be able to reach consumers who prefer to shop, eat, and socialize within the boundaries of privately owned malls. The Supreme Court decision Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins was issued on 9 June 1980 which affirmed the decision of the California Supreme Court in a case that arose out of a free speech dispute between the Pruneyard Shopping Center in Campbell, California, and several local high school students.

World's largest malls

This is an incomplete list of the world's largest shopping malls based on their gross leasable area (GLA), with a GLA of at least 250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft).

Rank Mall Country City (metropolitan area) Year opened Gross leasable
area (GLA)
Shops Remarks
1 Iran Mall Iran Tehran 2018 1,950,000 m2 (21,000,000 sq ft) 2,500+ Largest mall in Iran
2 IOI City Mall Malaysia Putrajaya 2014 821,000 m²

(8,840,000 sq ft)

650+ Largest mall in Malaysia
3 South China Mall China Dongguan 2005 659,612 m2 (7,100,000 sq ft) 2,350 Until at least 2014 most of the stores were empty, with occupancy rates of only 10%.
4 Isfahan City Center Iran Isfahan 2012 650,000 m2 (7,000,000 sq ft) 350+ Contains the biggest indoor amusement park in the Middle East at 345,000 m2 (3,710,000 sq ft). Built in two phases in 2012 and 2019.
5 SM Mall of Asia Philippines Pasay (Metro Manila) 2006 589,891 m2 (6,349,530 sq ft) 3,500+ The largest mall in the Philippines with IT parks, MoA Arena, hotels, an IKEA building, bay-area resorts, and amusement parks; a total reclamation of 1,047 hectares (2,590 acres) is anticipated upon completion
6 SM Tianjin China Tianjin 2016 565,000 m2 (6,080,000 sq ft) 1,000+ The largest SM mall outside of the Philippines
7 Golden Resources Mall China Beijing 2004 557,419 m2 (6,000,010 sq ft) 750+
8 Central WestGate Thailand Nonthaburi (Bangkok Metropolitan Region) 2015 550,278 m2 (5,923,140 sq ft) 500+ The gross floor area of the mall includes the floor area of the mall building with various shops which is 500,000 square meters and the floor area of the IKEA store which is 50,278 square meters.
9 CentralWorld Thailand Bangkok 1990 550,000 m2 (5,900,000 sq ft) 600 Area of the full complex is 1,024,000 m2 (11,020,000 sq ft) including two skyscrapers.
10 ICONSIAM Thailand Bangkok 2018 525,000 m2 (5,650,000 sq ft) 550+
11 Mall of America United States Bloomington, MN (Minneapolis–Saint Paul) 1992 520,257 m2 (5,600,000 sq ft) 520 The ranking area does not include Nickelodeon Universe, a large indoor amusement park at the center of the mall with an area of 28,000 m2 (300,000 sq ft); Largest mall in United States.
12 1 Utama Malaysia Petaling Jaya 1995 519,328 m2 (5,590,000 sq ft) 503 The 2nd largest shopping mall in Malaysia. Built in three phases in 1995, 2003 and 2018.
13 SM City North EDSA Philippines Quezon City (Metro Manila) 1985 497,213 m2 (5,351,960 sq ft) 1,000+ Formerly the largest mall in the Philippines (2008–2011, 201?–2014, and 2015–2021), until IKEA opened in SM Mall of Asia on November 25, 2021
14 Global Harbor China Shanghai 2013 480,000 m2 (5,200,000 sq ft) 450+
15 SM Megamall Philippines Mandaluyong (Metro Manila) 1991 474,000 m2 (5,100,000 sq ft) 1,000+ Has the most cinema screens (14) in the Philippines.
16 SM Seaside City Cebu Philippines Cebu City 2015 470,486 m2 (5,064,270 sq ft) 700+ Largest shopping mall in the Philippines outside Metro Manila.
17 Persian Gulf Complex Iran Shiraz 2011 450,000 m2 (4,800,000 sq ft) 355 Second largest shopping mall by number of stores after Iran Mall.
18 The Avenues Mall Kuwait Al Rai 2007 425,000 m2 (4,570,000 sq ft) 1100+
19 (tie) Sunway Pyramid Malaysia Subang Jaya 1997 400,000 m2 (4,300,000 sq ft) 1000+ Third largest shopping mall in Malaysia behind 1 Utama. Built in three phases in 1997, 2007 and 2016.
19 (tie) New Century Global Center China Chengdu 2013 400,000 m2 (4,300,000 sq ft) 2,300
19 (tie) Dream Mall Taiwan Kaohsiung 2007 400,000 m2 (4,300,000 sq ft) 250
19 (tie) Siam Paragon Thailand Bangkok 2005 400,000 m2 (4,300,000 sq ft) 200+
19 (tie) Central Phuket Thailand Phuket 2004 400,000 m2 (4,300,000 sq ft) 250+ Major expansion ("Floresta" building) in 2018.
19 (tie) Festival Alabang Philippines Muntinlupa (Metro Manila) 1998 400,000 m2 (4,300,000 sq ft) 250+
25 Lotte World Mall South Korea Seoul 2014 383,470 m2 (4,127,600 sq ft) 200+ Largest shopping mall in South Korea.
26 (tie) Jamuna Future Park Bangladesh Dhaka 2013 380,000 m2 (4,100,000 sq ft) 200 Largest shopping mall in South Asia.
26 (tie) Albrook Mall Panama Panama City 2002 380,000 m2 (4,100,000 sq ft) 200+ Second largest shopping mall in the Americas; the largest until 2013.
28 Mal Taman Anggrek Indonesia Jakarta 1996 360,000 m2 (3,900,000 sq ft) 150 Hosts the world's largest LED display.
29 (tie) Fashion Island (Thailand) Thailand Bangkok 1995 350,000 m2 (3,800,000 sq ft) 150
29 (tie) West Edmonton Mall Canada Edmonton, Alberta 1981 350,000 m2 (3,800,000 sq ft) 800+ Largest shopping mall in Canada. The gross leasable area does not include Galaxyland, a large indoor amusement park with an area of 70,160 m2 (755,200 sq ft).
29 (tie) The Dubai Mall United Arab Emirates Dubai 2008 350,000 m2 (3,800,000 sq ft) 400+ The second largest mall in the world by total land area.
32 Lucky One Mall Pakistan Karachi 2017 340,000 m2 (3,700,000 sq ft) 200+ Largest mall in Pakistan.
33 Gandaria City Indonesia Jakarta 2010 336,279 m2 (3,619,680 sq ft) 250
34 (tie) Limketkai Center Philippines Cagayan de Oro 1992 320,000 m2 (3,400,000 sq ft) 250
34 (tie) Berjaya Times Square Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 2003 320,000 m2 (3,400,000 sq ft) 200+ The largest shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur and 4th largest shopping mall in Malaysia behind IOI City Mall, 1 Utama and Sunway Pyramid.
36 SM City Fairview Philippines Quezon City (Metro Manila) 1997 312,749 m2 (3,366,400 sq ft) 350
37 The Grand Central Mall Pakistan Faisalabad Under-Construction 310,000 m²

(33,3681223 sq ft)

2nd-largest mall in Pakistan
38 (tie) Zhengjia Plaza (Grandview Mall) China Guangzhou 2005 280,000 m2 (3,000,000 sq ft) 180+[citation needed]
38 (tie) Centro Mayor Colombia Bogota 2010 280,000 m2 (3,000,000 sq ft)[citation needed] 250
38 (tie) American Dream Meadowlands United States East Rutherford, NJ (New York City area) 2019 280,000 m2 (3,000,000 sq ft) 200 Includes Nickelodeon Universe, DreamWorks Water Park, and Big Snow American Dream
38 (tie) Haikou International Duty Free City China Haikou, Hainan 2022 280,000 m2 (3,000,000 sq ft) Largest duty-free shopping mall in the world
42 SM City Cebu Philippines Cebu City 1993 273,804 m2 (2,947,200 sq ft) 680
43 The Avenues, Bahrain Bahrain Bahrain Bay 2017 273,000m2 (2,940,000 sq ft)
44 (tie) Medan Centre Point Indonesia Medan 2013 270,000 m2 (2,900,000 sq ft)2 The biggest shopping mall in North Sumatra. Medan Center Point Complex consists two of the tallest five buildings in North Sumatra.
44 (tie) Mal Artha Gading Indonesia Jakarta 2004 270,000 m2 (2,900,000 sq ft) 330
46 Mall of Arabia Saudi Arabia Jeddah 2010 261,000 m2 (2,810,000 sq ft) 187
47 King of Prussia United States King of Prussia (Philadelphia metropolitan area) 1963 259,500 m2 (2,793,000 sq ft) 200+ Originally built as two buildings, a 2016 renovation made it one continuous building, larger than Mall of America by 1,300 m2 (14,000 sq ft).
48 Greenwich Mall Russia Ekaterinburg 2006 258,673 m2 (2,788,000 sq ft) 250 the largest shopping center in Europe
49 Tunjungan Plaza Indonesia Surabaya 1986 253,187 m2 (2,725,280 sq ft) 250 The biggest mall in East Java
50 (tie) Emporium Mall Pakistan Lahore 2016 250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft) 200+ 3rd largest mall in Pakistan
50 (tie) Centro Sambil Venezuela Caracas 1998 250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft) 300
50 (tie) Aventura Mall United States Aventura (Miami area) 1983 250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft) 300+ Largest shopping mall in Florida.
50 (tie) Glorietta Philippines Makati (Metro Manila) 1991 250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft) 300+ Glorietta is integrated with Greenbelt, both of which are owned by the Ayala Corporation.
50 (tie) Greenbelt Philippines Makati (Metro Manila) 1991 250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft) 300+ Greenbelt is integrated with Glorietta, both of which are owned by the Ayala Corporation.
50 (tie) South Coast Plaza United States Costa Mesa (Greater Los Angeles) 1967 250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft) 286 The largest shopping mall in California besides Del Amo.
50 (tie) Centro Comercial Santafé Colombia Bogotá 2006 250,000 m2 (2,700,000 sq ft) 150

Combination retail and wholesale shopping malls

Some wholesale market complexes also function as shopping malls in that they contain retail space which operate as stores in normal malls do but also act as producer vendor outlets that can take large orders for export.

Name Country City Year opened Gross leasable area Shops Remarks
Yiwu International luTrade City China Yiwu 2002 5,500,000 m2 (59,000,000 sq ft) 75,000+ Much of the retail area is divided into small booths, hence the disproportionately greater number of shops than other malls listed.

Gallery

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-04-19 17:34 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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