Saturday, October 31, 2009 BEIJING: It should be busy with families having fun and hordes of shoppers seeking out bargains - but the largest mall in the world stands empty. Shops and, more importantly, shoppers, have steered clear of the 890,000sq m 9.6million sq ft) New South China Mall. It has space for more than 1,500 stores, as well as fun fairs, hotels and luxury apartments. The mall was even heralded by The New York Times as part of 'China's astonishing new consumer culture'. But the global depression has hit China hard and the Asian powerhouse is now struggling to perform anywhere near as well as during the past few decades of rapid economic growth. On the ground, this means 99 per cent of the stores in the huge mall have remained empty since its opening in 2005, collecting dust as paint peels from the walls. The only occupied areas are near the entrance, where several Western fast food chains sell burgers next to an abandoned go-kart track. The mall was built in a poor suburb of Dongguan known for its popularity with low paid factory workers. 'They set out to be the biggest and hoped that being the biggest would be the attracting factor,' said David Hand, a corporate analyst in Beijing. 'It hasn't delivered.'
Saturday, October 31, 2009 BEIJING: It should be busy with families having fun and hordes of shoppers seeking out bargains - but the largest mall in the world stands empty. Shops and, more importantly, shoppers, have steered clear of the 890,000sq m 9.6million sq ft) New South China Mall. It has space for more than 1,500 stores, as well as fun fairs, hotels and luxury apartments. The mall was even heralded by The New York Times as part of 'China's astonishing new consumer culture'. But the global depression has hit China hard and the Asian powerhouse is now struggling to perform anywhere near as well as during the past few decades of rapid economic growth. On the ground, this means 99 per cent of the stores in the huge mall have remained empty since its opening in 2005, collecting dust as paint peels from the walls. The only occupied areas are near the entrance, where several Western fast food chains sell burgers next to an abandoned go-kart track. The mall was built in a poor suburb of Dongguan known for its popularity with low paid factory workers. 'They set out to be the biggest and hoped that being the biggest would be the attracting factor,' said David Hand, a corporate analyst in Beijing. 'It hasn't delivered.'
Comments