The 1.74m sq ft shopping behemoth in London’s White City caused quite a stir when it opened on 30 October 2008. At the time, doom and gloom surrounded the UK economy, with the country embarking on a long recession and the retail market beginning a long road of misery with many closures on the horizon.
Yet Westfield London has proved to be a mighty success: so much so that a 550,000 sq ft extension is planned.
Bill Giouroukos, Westfield’s director of operations, says: “Opening in the depths of one of the worst financial crises had people saying to us ‘why did you open?’ ‘could you have delayed the opening?’. But you know what – you’re in it for the long term. It’s all about the fundamentals being right, and they were right in a great city like London.”
Giouroukos says the planned extension, which will start construction next year, is exciting for Westfield and will be a “terrific addition to the centre”.
And Hammersmith and Fulham council is clearly delighted with the Australian developer. Council leader Nicholas Botterill says: “There can be no doubt that Westfield has been a real shot in the arm for Hammersmith and Fulham, acting as a major catalyst for regeneration in Shepherd’s Bush and White City.”
Below is a new exclusive image of Westfield London plus scenes from the past five years.
Footfall and sales
• More than £4bn of sales over the past five years.
• Over 100m customers have visited the mall since it opened.
• Sales have grown by more than 40% and footfall by over 20% during the past five years.
Regeneration
• The shopping centre has created more than 8,000 jobs for London.
• It created 100 new apprentice positions in 2013.
• It was one of the first signatories to the London Living Wage, setting a minimum wage higher than the national minimum.
• The footfall of more than 27m shoppers every year has benefited the surrounding area. For example, West 12 shopping centre, which is directly opposite Westfield London, reported an 11% increase in footfall year-on-year in 2011/12.
The future
• Plans for a high-quality retail and residential mixed-use development: 550,000 sq ft retail/leisure and more than 1,550 residential units. • Once completed, the scheme is expected to generate more than 6,500 new jobs and will link Shepherd’s Bush, Kensington and Chelsea and the rest of the White City Opportunity Area.
New store openings
• Thirty-five retailers new to the UK have launched their brands at Westfield London, including Coach, Tesla, Gilly Hicks, Kidzania and Bobbi Brown.
• Westfield London was the first shopping mall to open a luxury precinct – The Village, which features over 40 high-end retailers, including Louis Vuitton, Prada, Miu Miu, Gucci and Searcy’s Champagne Bar.
Tourism
• Westfield London is one of the top five tourist destinations in London.
