Leiria, Portugal - 29th March 2010
Opening success for Sonae Sierra' new shopping centre
LeiriaShopping receives more than 120.000 visitors in just 4 days
- LeiriaShopping opened its doors last Friday
- 116 shops, including 19 restaurants, in 44.312 m2 GLA
- 9 large dimension shops: Continente hypermarket, Castello Lopes cinemas, C&A, FNAC, H&M, Modalfa, Sportzone, Worten and Zara
- 1.980 free parking spaces
LeiriaShopping, the new shopping centre from Sonae Sierra, that opened its doors last 25th March, has already registered 120 thousand visitors in just 4 days, which shows the success of the new shopping spot in Leiria region.
The new centre, the 52nd in the company's portfolio, represented an investment of €79 million and opened with the totality of its Gross Lettable Area let. LeiriaShopping will make available a total of 116 shops in a 44.312 m2 GLA, combining prestigious national and international brands, with local ones.
The important figures registered in the first days after opening show the quality and variety of the tenant mix, from which we highlight the nine large dimension shops: Continente hypermarket, seven screens from Castello Lopes cinemas, C&A, FNAC, H&M, Modalfa, Sportzone, Worten and Zara. Other brands present include Bershka, Bertrand, Blanco, Boutique dos Relógios, Douglas, General Óptica, Imaginarium, Lanidor, Levi's, Loja do Gato Preto, Mango, Massimo Dutti, Multiopticas, Natura, O Boticário, Oysho, Pandora, Parfois, Perfumes & Ca., Pull&Bear, Sacoor, Salsa, Samsonite, Springfield, Stradivarius, Tezenis, Tintoretto, Tiffosi, Tutto Chicco and Women's Secret.
The new shopping centre has a wide food court which offers a warm atmosphere in a pleasant ambiance for the whole family with 19 restaurants which provide visitors a huge variety of choice with brands like McDonald's, Pizza-Hut, Burger King, Portugália, Vitaminas, H3, Loja das Sopas, Brasa Rio, Alentejo, Pão, Azeite e Alho, Martin & Thomas, Wok to Walk, among others that reinforce the variety and quality of the commercial offer this centre will bring to the region.
LeiriaShopping has also a parking lot free of charge and will make available 1.980 parking spaces.
With the opening of the new shopping centre, the annual number of visits is expected to grow from the current 5 million to 8 million, and sales in the first year of operation are expected to reach €77 million.
With a privileged location in terms of access roads (A8, A17, IC2, N113 and N242), the centre will serve a population of 529,000 inhabitants in a catchment area of 30 minutes, 80% of which already use the current Continente Hypermarket.
Vitalization of the local economy
The new centre represents a strong renovation and vitalization of the local commerce and economy, through the creation of 900 jobs, and the hiring of local companies for different areas, representing an investment in the region of about €6 million.
About 23% of the tenants present in LeiriaShopping are local companies, in a total of 27 shops, which include Plush, Bianca, Lizquadro, Gráfia, Equipe Donna, Mais Bela, San Luís and Leitão com Pão. These 23% also include local franchisees, such as Chiquíssimo (Triumph), TNC Telecomunicações (Vodafone) and Grupo Caixeiro (Mango, Giovani Gali, Salsa and Upstyle).
About Sonae Sierra
Sonae Sierra, www.sonaesierra.com, is an international shopping centre specialist, with a passion for bringing innovation and excitement to the shopping centre industry. The Company owns 52 Shopping Centres in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece, Romania and Brazil, with a total Gross Lettable Area (GLA) of about 2 million m². Sonae Sierra has 2 projects under construction, and 9 new projects in different phases of development in Portugal, Italy, Germany, Greece, Romania and Brazil. In 2009, its centres welcomed more than 436 million visits.