Greece's largest shopping and leisure centre, The Mall Athens, opens its doors

28 Nov, 2005, Athens

A new era of shopping and leisure was marked in Athens on 24 November with the inauguration of The Mall Athens, the first and largest shopping and leisure centre of its kind in Greece, and also one of the largest in Southeastern Europe.

The scheme is located in the Maroussi district of Athens, near the Neratziotissa train station and Attiki Odos motorway, with easy access from every point of the greater region of Athens.

The Mall Athens is developed by Lamda Developments, with international property consultant Cushman & Wakefield Healey & Baker as letting agent and pre-opening marketing consultant. The Mall will be managed by ECE-Lamda Hellas SA, a joint venture between German shopping centre specialist ECE and Lamda.

The 58,500 sq m Mall is built on four levels and has around 200 retailers, 25 restaurants, a 15-screen multiplex cinema, family leisure and entertainment areas, as well as support services and storage space, all set within a pleasant natural environment. In addition, it has 90,000 sq m of parking.

Retailers to lease space in The Mall include: Virgin, Bitsiani, Grand Optical, Artisti Italiani, Calzedonia & Intimissimi, Accesorize, Monsoon, Celio, Ulla Popken, Starbucks, Bomb Cosmetics, Etam, Red Green, Tie Rack, Vardas, Marks & Spencer, Dixons, Sephora, Bijoux Brigitte, Maui & Sons, Funky Fish, Optical, In Shoes, Promod, Sfera, Footlocker, Notos Multibrand, Matou, Nine West, Early Learning Centre, Riza, Alter, Charalas, NAK, Betty Barclay, Longchamp, Springfield, Gem & Jewels, Bostonian Shoes and Fresh Line.

Thalia Drousiotou, Head of Retail of C&W/H&B in Greece, commented: "For the first time in Athens, the city has a single destination offering the largest and most-renowned retail chains, restaurants and leisure facilities, as well as special children's facilities."

"Greece is currently undergoing a rapid change in its retail market," Thalia continues. "In Athens, last year's holding of the Olympic Games has seen big investment in infrastructure in and around the city, which has helped to encourage international retail players to take an increasing level of interest in the market." Many of the retailers in The Mall Athens are international, and for some, including French retailer Promod, US sports footwear company Footlocker and Sfera, a subsidiary of Spanish retail giant El Corte Inglés, this marks their entry into the Greek market.

Greece is due to see nearly 190,000 sq m of new shopping centre space come onto the market between July 2005 and December 2006, according to C&W/H&B, which translates as more than 16 sq m per 1,000 of population. Currently Greece only has 24 sq m of shopping centre space per 1,000 inhabitants, one of the lowest levels in Europe.

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