Top 5 Biggest Malls in the World
This mall is located in the city of Dongguan in China. It has space for 2,350 stores. The mall is divided into seven zones, each of which are modeled after a particular area, namely Amsterdam, California, Caribbean, Egypt, Paris, Rome and Venice. It even has a replica of the famous tourist spots of those places, like the Arc de Triomphe of Paris and St. Mark’s Bell Tower of Venice. The well-planned layout however was not complimented by good overall business planning. New South China Mall is largely inaccessible to the general public. As a result, aside from a few fast food chains near the entrance, the rest of the mall remains vacant. Up to 99 percent of the leasable space is unoccupied.
2. Golden Resources Mall, Beijing, China – 557,419 square meters
The Golden Resources Mall is known as Jin Yuan. It is also known as the Great Mall of China. Location is also a bit of a problem for this mall though the opening of a new train station near it will probably solve the problem a bit. It is located in the Fourth Ring Road in Beijing, outside of the usual enclaves of foreigners. Most stores do not accept foreign credit cards. Still, prestigious brands like Ralph Lauren and Chanel and fast food companies like Papa John’s Pizza have branches in this mall. Analysts say that despite meager earnings from these branches, it still serves as a form of advertisement and it allows the companies to be in the right position once the mall finally takes off.
3. SM City North EDSA, Quezon City, Philippines – 482,878 square meters
SM City North EDSA is the largest shopping mall in Southeast Asia. It opened in 1985 but has gone on several expansions and redevelopment since then. It has more than 1,100 shops and 400 dining establishments. It also includes a residential condominium area. It is divided into eight sections, namely the City Center, Interior Zone, The Annex, The Block, The Warehouse Club, Sky Garden, Northlink and Grass Residences.
4. Isfahan City Center, Isfahan, Iran – 470,000 square meters
This is an ambitious project in Iran that is being built in four phases. It opened in November 2012 and features more than 750 stores. The mall has a hypermarket, shops, stalls, restaurants and airline offices. It will also have a seven-star hotel, seven cinema halls, a financial center, a trade center and an entertainment center. It is the largest shopping mall in Iran and the Middle East.
5. Utama, Selangor, Malaysia – 465,000 square meters
This shopping mall was opened in 1995, with a newer wing being inaugurated in 2003. The two wings feature more than 700 stores. There are also four department stores anchoring the entire mall, namely AEON, Isetan, Parkson and Tangs. There are also a couple of supermarkets, namely AEON and Cold Storage. Moviegoers can also watch the latest films through the mall’s two cinema providers, GSC and TGV