Mapic 2012: Italy’s economic woes will not stop Westfield’s plans to open a giant shopping centre in Milan.
Bill Giouroukos, Westfield’s director of operations, said this morning that the scheme at Milan’s Linate airport, on which it spent €115m (£100m) for a 50% share of the site last year, would be as successful as Westfield London, and Stratford.
“We are still very much in the planning stage and getting the retail mix right. But as time keeps going we are very confident by the way retailers have shown their interest. When we show retailers the scheme they are interested in taking a larger format than just an outlet so that gives us the confidence that they are seeing this opportunity the way we are.”
Giouroukos said that the economic crisis was not a worry for Westfield as the company planned to be in Europe “for the long term”.
He said: “You can go in and out of economic cycles, [but] the demand is still there.”
However, despite reports that Milan would open in 2015, Gioroukous said there was no opening date yet set.
For the full interview listen here or download, MAPIC 2012: Westfield, from Estates Gazette’s iTunes channel.
noella.pio.kivlehan@estatesgaztte.com
