IFC Mall in Pudong, the city’s financial district across the river from downtown Shanghai, has just been named the International Council of Shopping Centres’ best shopping centre in Asia.
With name tenants already trading, IFC Mall in Pudong lifts the bar (at last) for shopping centre design in China.
It’s grand, luxurious, functional and welcoming. It is home to end luxury brands such as Cartier, Prada, Gucci, Chanel, Hermes, Tiffany, Dunhill, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Bulgari, Ermenegildo Zegna, Salvatore Ferragamo, Giorgio Armani and and Dolce & Gabbana – along with burgeoning lifestyle brands from home and abroad including Nike, New Balance and Apple.And then there is the food offer: name restaurants like Mortons Steakhouse, the first for the chain in Shanghai, the Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Lei Garden and the popular Italian restaurant Isola.A featured food zone on LG2 – Fast Menu – offers hamburgers, BBQ, sushi, curry, ice cream and other quick foods. It is designed to attract local office workers, food lovers and shoppers.
This six storey 100,000sqm mall only opened in September and still some of the 200 retail spaces have yet to be occupied. But it’s already a destination for Shanghai’s more affluent consumers (and there are a lot of those these days!) as well as the aspiring middle class.
The centre is owned by Hong Kong’s Sun Hung Kai Properties, and in turn the wealthy Kwok family, who are now planning further developments in mainland China. The company owns the IFC Mall in Hong Kong, whose tenants include Harvey Nichols department store and the 360 supermarket concept.
A further 10,000sqm has yet to be completed in a second phase – but with the majority open, most visitors won’t be able to tell where phase two will be added on.
The first phase hosts more than 180 premium international retailers and the culinary delights. Mall management says nearly 15 per cent of tenants are opening in the Chinese market for the first time and 40 per cent making their Shanghai debut.
The centre will also feature the first deluxe Palace Cinema in Shanghai, with six theatres and 800 luxury seats equipped with high-end audio.
Shanghai IFC Mall is located in the heart of Lujiazui and adjacent to major global banks and insurance companies, as well as a cluster of five-star hotels. Driving to The Bund takes 10 minutes and Puxi 15. The mall has direct access from to the Lujiazui station on Metro Line 2 and a further rail link with the Lujiazui Metro Line 14 is under construction.There are three levels of parking with 1900 spaces – making it the largest parking lot in Shanghai.
