Great western movies make comeback

The WestCity Shopping Centre was launched to retailers with much fanfare and a loud pyrotechnic bang on Tuesday night.

The $80 million extension to WestCity Shopping Centre will take its total floor space to 28,400sq m from 17,000sq m, behind only St Lukes and Manukau Shopping Centres.

Work began two weeks ago on the centre which, in a first for New Zealand, will include eight cinemas with seating for up to 1800 people.

Including cinemas in shopping centres has a proven track record overseas for increasing turnover and making malls more of an entertainment and shopping destination. It is a step some analysts have said is necessary to combat the growth in online shopping. St Lukes Group chief executive officer David Kennedy said anecdotal evidence from Australia had indicated a 3%-5% increase in turnover was achievable.

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