Great western movies make comeback

By Campbell McIlroy

Friday 14th April 2000

Westfield has launched the country's first combined shopping mall and movie theatre complex in West Auckland.

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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