French retailer Auchan is planning to invest €250 million in the relaunch of its shopping malls in Italy by 2018, by expanding and remodelling existing outlets, business daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
The starting point will be Sardinia, where the French retailer is investing €50 million in four shopping malls - two in Cagliari (Santa Gilla and Marconi), one in Sassari (Predda Niedda) and another in Olbia.
In 2016, the island’s malls saw approximately 20 million visitors and a turnover of over €230 million, not including that of Auchan superstores.
The most important structural action concerns Cagliari’s Marconi mall. Its layout will be entirely revised so 'the mall will become more functional for business and for shopping at the Auchan superstore', the company said.
The project involves an investment of €40 million, expanding existing space by 8,000 metres-square. It will double the number of shops to 100, and include a parking area with a capacity of 2,000 cars.
According to the CEO of GCI (the real estate unit of Auchan), Edoardo Favro, the investment in redeveloping the shopping malls will "raise them to the highest levels of international excellence in real estate standards", offering quality new-generation structures.
Food and entertainment will be central to the revamped malls, with the catering area as a ‘pole of attraction.’
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
