The Westfield Group

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The Westfield Group (ASX: WDC) is an Australian-owned company that owns shopping centres in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Their shopping centres were typically branded as Westfield Shoppingtowns, however the company discontinued the "Shoppingtown" moniker in June 2005. The company pioneered the incorporation of entertainment and dining precincts into shopping centres.

Contents

Westfield history

In 1959, Australian businessmen Frank Lowy and John Saunders (businessman) opened a delicatessen in western Sydney. When the business proved successful, the pair purchased nearby land in Blacktown, and built a shopping centre with two department stores, twelve specialty shops, and parking for 50 cars. They named this centre "Westfield Place", "west" because it was located in the western suburbs, and "field" because the centre had a view across the sprawling market gardens. The centre's name was later shortened to simply "Westfield".

Westfield Holdings was publicly listed in 1960, and in the 1960s and 1970s, the company constructed or acquired 14 centres on the Australian east coast. Westfield entered the United States market in 1977, and the New Zealand and United Kingdom markets in 2000. It soon established dominance in a number of regions, most notably the crucial Los Angeles and New York, New York markets. Prior to its destruction in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the underground shopping mall at the World Trade Center was one of Westfield's crown jewels, having acquired it in June 2001. Its 99-year lease enabled Westfield to have a powerful say in the redevelopment of the site, but faced with a protracted process for rebuilding, Westfield sold its rights to the site back to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2003.

Westfield today

Today, Westfield has interests in total assets worth A$41.6 billion, representing 129 shopping centres in four countries with over 10 million square meters of retail space. It is the world's largest retail property group by equity market capitalization, yet it is still chaired by Frank Lowy, one of its founders.

Since entering the United States market in 1977, Westfield has aggressively acquired, renovated and expanded many mall properties in order to draw wealthier consumers from longer distances. It has also financed large advertising campaigns to increase awareness of its Westfield brand.

It currently has a B£400 million plan to expand and renovate the Broadmarsh shopping centre in Nottingham.

Locations

Australia

Australian Capital Territory

  • Belconnen
  • Woden

New South Wales

  • Bondi Junction
  • Burwood
  • Centrepoint (Sydney)
  • Chatswood
  • Eastgardens
  • Figtree
  • Hornsby
  • Hurstville
  • Kotara
  • Liverpool
  • Miranda
  • Mount Druitt
  • North Rocks
  • Parramatta
  • Penrith
  • Sydney Central Plaza (Sydney)
  • Tuggerah
  • Warrawong

Victoria

Queensland

South Australia

  • Marion (Oaklands Park)
  • Tea Tree Plaza (Modbury)
  • West Lakes
  • Rundle Mall (Closed)

Western Australia

  • Carousel (Cannington)
  • Innaloo
  • Whitford City (Hillarys)

New Zealand

Auckland Metro Area

Christchurch Metro Area

Hamilton Metro Area

Wellington Metro Area

United Kingdom

England

  • Westfield Merry Hill [[Dudley, England|]]
  • Westfield Mill Gate Shopping Centre Bury
  • Westfield Eagle Centre Derby
  • Westfield The Friary Shopping Centre Guildford
  • Westfield Broadmarsh Nottingham
  • Westfield Royal Victoria Place Tunbridge Wells

Northern Ireland

|}

United States

California

Northern California

Southern California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Illinois

  • Chicago Metro Area
    • Westfield Fox Valley (formerly Fox Valley Center), Aurora
    • Westfield North Bridge (formerly The Shops at North Bridge), Chicago
    • Westfield Chicago Ridge (formerly Chicago Ridge Mall), Chicago
    • Westfield Louis Joliet (formerly Louis Joliet Mall), Joliet
    • Westfield Old Orchard (formerly Old Orchard Shopping Center), Skokie
    • Westfield Hawthorn (formerly Hawthorn Center), Vernon Hills

Indiana

Maryland

Missouri

Nebraska

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Washington

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.freepedia.org/The_Westfield_Group.html"


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