Westfield shopping centre

It’s a bright new future for London shoppers; the Westfield Mall is finally open, 20 years the making at a cost of about 3 billion dollars
Well, it’s opening day here at the Westfield but as you can see it’s packed in fact they expect more than 20 million people a year to walk at these doors. The question is in the middle of a financial crisis will people be buying. It’s got all the big names and a few luxury ones too, but are our customers shopping or just window shopping.
The Westfield is not the only shopping centre hoping for such optimism. The Dubai mall is due to open next week after several delays. The developers say it will be one of the world‘s largest, with an ice-skating rink and aquarium. But behind the glids there’s genuine concern. Retail sales in the UK has slumped for six out of the last seven months and the story is the same across Europe and the US.
Managing Director Michael Gutman insists that Westfield can weather the storm.
“These building are built for the long term and lastly we prefer building in a different environment and retailers is a cyclical business and I think retailers understand that we are investing for the long term. To build up a business in a new location and there’s a huge level of confidence”.

How long will it be before window shopping becomes actual sales.