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Birth of a Titan
It's official; we're inside the 150 days until Westfield Stratford City opens. As the largest urban shopping centre in Europe, on the doorstep of the Olympics and featuring a state-of-the-art, 3D, 14-screen cinema and a 65,000 sq ft casino on top of hundreds of retail and dining brands there is a lot to live up to. We revisit the project ahead of its opening on September 13th.
What will it look like?
Westfield Stratford City will create a metropolitan centre for East London with a fusion of indoor and outdoor environments joining the two major rail interchanges. A pedestrianised walkway is flanked by a three-storey shopping centre as well as "sleek fashion stores and edgy urban" outlets.
Mirroring the pedestrianised street is another circulatory route, the northern arcade; a three-storey, gently curving space with the proportion of Milan's Galleria, connecting the two transportation hubs of Stratford regional and Stratford international station, as well as the two major anchor stores of John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. These two main routes connect through the central arcade, which showcases two levels of retail, a contemporary dining hall and restaurants with terrace views overlooking the Olympic Park.
Overall, there is provision at Westfield Stratford City for 2.9 million square feet of retail and leisure space, 5 million sq ft of commercial office district, 1.3 million square feet of hotel space, and new homes and community spaces. Approximately 130,000 square feet of the Phase One high-quality office space development is already under construction and due to open next year ahead of the Olympic Games.
The Athletes Village will have up to 2,800 homes completed before the Games with a further 1,500 following afterwards. As with the offices, these homes will be located with easy access to the shopping centre, leisure and transport facilities.
Occupancy
Westfield are being cagey about this, understandably, only revealing that its family dining area, The Loft, is fully leased and overall occupancy is over 80%.
Stores such as anchor tenant M&S already have their branding up.
The site also features Westfield's most compelling leisure offer to date including a 14-screen, digital, 3D Vue cinema; the UK's largest casino - Aspers Westfield Stratford City; a 14-lane bowling alley and hotels including 4-star flagship Holiday Inn, executive Staybridge Suites and Premier Inn.
On top of this there are 50 cafes and restaurants including the UK's first fresh food market in a shopping centre - The Great Eastern Market.
Location and catchment
Westfield Stratford City is located in one of the most diverse and cosmopolitan catchment areas in the UK; from the affluent leafy suburbs of Essex and Kent to the vibrant, densely populated, inner city streets of the City and East End.
This unique trade area is projected to encompass over 4 million people with an estimated weighted spend of £3.24 billion.
It will be a key strategic location for retailers as a result of its scale and exceptional public transport links and is forecast to rank in the top 10 shopping destinations in the UK.
The catchment area for the site is home to 4.1 million people, with over 40% of those people classified in the two most affluent ACORN groups, Wealthy Achievers and Urban Prosperity. (ACORN is the geodemographic segmentation of the UK's population).
In addition, Westfield predicts that 70% of visitors to the Games will pass through the centre and with 10 million people visiting the Olympics that is quite a statistic.
However, after the games it is unclear what the footfall will be.
A tenant's perspective:
Jo Barr - European recruitment manager, Forever21
Q: What made your company particularly want to open a store at Westfield Stratford City?
We open in the best locations around the world! Stratford will be a world focus for the Olympic games and we want to be in the locations which are being talked about. Westfield forms part of our European plan following on from imminent store openings in Vienna, Barcelona, London Oxford Street, Brussels and Antwerp, extending to Dublin and Birmingham later this year.
Q: To what extent does the high profile of the Westfield Stratford City development help your recruitment process?
It's great; it shows we are here to stay and mean business!
Q: What positions will you be recruiting for?
As we are still newcomers to the UK, we need to recruit the whole team. Our store sizes are so large we need a senior retail manager with department store manager experience or high turnover area manager experience and senior managers reporting into them. We have high standards and expectation of our store teams and want fashion-passionate individuals, so we have strict criteria for all new members of the team, no matter how senior or junior their role may be.
Q: Are there any exciting plans for your new Stratford City store?
With such a large space we have the opportunity to play! We are very focused on visual display and our creative team are excited about using the space to show London what the Forever 21 brand is all about. We have high-profile large spaces across the world and Stratford is the perfect location for us to continue our European expansion.
A tenant's perspective:
Tracy McCarthy - People and development manager, Liz Earle
Q: What made your company particularly want to open a store at Westfield Stratford City?
As John Lewis vitally shares our values of commitment to quality, service and honesty, and with Stratford set to be one of London's top visitor and leisure destinations, it makes perfect sense for us to open a counter in John Lewis Stratford City.
Q: To what extent does the high profile of the Westfield Stratford City development help your recruitment process?
As Stratford is set to be one of London's top visitor and leisure destinations, it has generated huge interest and excitement which people want to be part of. This in turn means there are talented, high-calibre candidates applying for positions.
Q: What positions will you be recruiting for?
We are recruiting for a counter manager working 37.5 hours per week, two customer advisors working 37.5 hours per week, one customer advisor working 22.5 hours per week and one working 15 hours per week.
Q: Are there any exciting plans for your new Stratford City store?
Our Liz Earle counter at the John Lewis Stratford City store will have knowledgeable members of the Liz Earle team on hand to guide customers through the range, offering advice on the brand 'face-to-face'.For those in the Stratford City area, this is the perfect opportunity to discover 'Britain's best-kept beauty secret'.
A tenant's perspective:
Tim Cincotta - Vice-president marketing, Foot Locker Europe
Q: What made your company particularly want to open a store at Westfield Stratford City?
Foot Locker supports London in hosting the Olympic Games in 2012 by offering customers from around the globe an exciting shopping experience. Obviously Foot Locker hopes to benefit from the traffic the Games will bring to town and hope to welcome as many as customers as possible.
Q: To what extent does the high profile of the Westfield Stratford City development help your recruitment process?
This is a high-profile shopping mall in London based on the fringe of the Olympic Village for London 2012.
As such this will be a very high-profile area of London where candidates will be able to represent Foot Locker, the world's leading sports footwear retailer, during this event and beyond.
Q: What positions will you be recruiting for?
We're recruiting for full- and part-time sales associates for our store in Stratford Westfield.
Q: Are there any exciting plans for your new Stratford City store?
The store will be outfitted to the latest store concept. The layout will ensure consumers will feel right at home and can explore the latest products at their leisure. Established in 1974 and now with over 500 stores around Europe, we source and stock the best styles from the biggest brands, as well as offering the consumer exclusive lines, designed especially for us.
