10. Sunway Pyramid, Subang Jaya, Malaysia – 396,000 square meters
You
won’t miss this place if you are in the Bandar Sunway area in Subang
Jaya. It has a pyramid design with a giant lion standing guard at the
entrance. The mall opened in 1997 with some redevelopment done in 2007.
It has more than 800 shops and services available. The entire building
has an Egyptian-inspired design, with pseudo hieroglyphics and pharaoh
statues.
9. Cehavir Mall, Istanbul, Turkey – 420,000 square meters
The
complete name is Istanbul Cehavir Shopping and Entertainment Centre
and it is also known as Sisli Kultur ve Ticaret Merkezi. It opened on
October 15, 2005 and is considered to be the largest shopping mall in
the European continent. The mall is located in the Sisli district of
Istanbul and features 343 shops, 48 restaurants, 12 movie houses, a show
stage, a bowling hall and even a roller coaster ride. With six floors
available for retail shops, international brands and fast food
restaurant chains have all established a branch in the mall.
8. Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 420,000 square meters
Mid
Valley Megamall opened in the latter part of 1999 and features 430
stores and services. Aside from the shopping mall, it also has a
convention center, a 646-room business hotel called the Cititel
Midvalley, Boulevard Hotel and an 11-storey exclusive office tower.
....
7. Central World, Bangkok, Thailand – 429,500 square meters
Central
World opened in 1990, though it briefly closed down in May 2010 after
anti-government demonstrators set part of it on fire. It features 495
shops and services. It also has a five-star hotel, convention center,
office tower and parking structure. It was originally the World Trade
Center before it was renamed to Central World Plaza in 2002 and to
Central World in 2005.
6. Persian Gulf Complex, Shiraz, Iran – 450,000 square meters
Also
known as the Fars Shopping Complex, this mall is the largest mall in
the world in terms of number of shops and services with 2,500. It
opened in September 2011 with the Carrefour Hypermarket serving as its
anchor store. The plan is to eventually have a hotel, swimming pools,
tennis court, convention center, amusement parks, bowling alley,
billiard hall and six cinema theaters included in the mall. It is
located in the city of Shiraz, which is considered to be the cultural
capital of Iran.
5. 1 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.
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.
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.
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.
1. New South China Mall, Dongguan, China – 659,612 square meters
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.
