Mall of Africa Celebrates its 2nd Birthday: This is what is has Achieved in the last two years

Mall of Africa, South Africa’s largest shopping mall, recently celebrated its second birthday. The mall opened its doors on the 28th of April 2016 and welcomed roughly 123,000 shoppers on its opening day. The Midrand-based shopping centre was built in a single phase and has over 130,000m2 of retail outlets, eateries and entertainment spaces.

Mall of Africa hosts a healthy mix of South African and international retailers, with some of the mall’s most popular outlets including Krispy Kreme Donuts, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Zara, Edgars, Jeep, Dis-Chem, and Woolworths. On top of being home to over 300 retail stores, Mall of Africa also plays host to a wide variety of shows and exhibitions. 

Despite the ever-growing popularity of online shopping, especially amongst younger generations, the brick-and-mortar shopping experience offered at Mall of Africa still remains highly attractive to South African shoppers. Between December 2016 and December 2017, Mall of Africa experienced an impressive 11% growth in turnover. The total amount generated was between R3.6bn and R3.8bn. Industry experts predict that the mall and its revenue will continue to grow as the South African economy recovers and stabilises. Experts believe that the mall’s continued popularity and growth (when other malls have hit rock bottom) is due to Mall of Africa’s ideal location and the fact that most South Africans still prefer going to shopping centres as opposed to doing their shopping online.

Although Mall of Africa did experience financial growth during 2017, they were not short of setbacks. Many retailers struggled to commit to a 5 to 10-year lease. Some of which included Mango and River Island, who both closed down their Mall of Africa branches as well as national ones. Edcon’s other brands also came under immense pressure as did Stuttafords. However the mall itself remained resilient. 

The multi-level shopping centre has kept up with international sustainability trends by using environmentally friendly materials and technology. The entire design is based on the New Urbanism design principles, and incorporates walk-able, multi-use spaces to create a modern shopping experience. While the mall’s most impressive accolade is the fact that it is the largest in SA, it also boasts the only EFTE roof in the country as well as the longest curved LED screen in any South African mall.

Mall of Africa brings prominence and a major point of interest to the area of Midrand. Midrand is an already thriving commercial node, with many amenities and facilities in the area. Midrand is known for being one of Joburg’s hippest work and play destinations, due to its enormous variety of restaurants, clubs, retail outlets and prominent office parks.

Having one of the biggest malls in Africa in Midrand’s vicinity increases national and international confidence in the area.  With a mall of a such a magnitude, comes increased security in the suburb, as well as an influx of tourists, which helps in creating job opportunities, as well as it being a focal en point for residents in terms of entertainment. Leading South African commercial property specialists OfficePlace have many prime commercial spaces in the Midrand area, with upmarket office spaces for as little as R91 per sqm. 

Looking ahead, Mall of Africa’s developers expect positive things to come. They have hired a second auditing firm, with the goal to increase the mall’s foot traffic and financial turnover significantly by the year 2020.

The Mall of Africa brings in much international trade and investment and it would seem that now is the perfect time to move your office space to the thriving area of Midrand. Be a part of this bustling commercial hub. Get in touch with a professional OfficePlace broker today to find out more about their commercial properties on offer in the Midrand area.