Shopping Center Business is the leading monthly business magazine for the retail real estate industry.
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VALLEY FAIR 288 • SHOPPING CENTER BUSINESS • May 2017 W estfield Corporation is on the move in a big way. The com- pany's proactive approach to the evolving retail times has led to some major power plays as the shopping center giant refocuses its efforts and redeploys its capital as it adapts to the new shopping landscape. This included a trimming down of non-core, less productive assets that has currently left Westfield with 35 shopping centers under management at a value of $31 billion. The company is also in the middle of a $9.5 billion retail develop- ment program that targets its flagship as- sets, including Westfield Valley Fair in the Silicon Valley submarket of Santa Clara, California. The nearly 1.4-million-square-foot shopping center already achieves annual specialty sales of about $1,200 per square foot, which is why it might be a surprise to some that Westfield has decided to in- vest $1.1 billion to revitalize and expand this center. "Westfield has never been content with resting on past success," says Wil- liam Hecht, Westfield's chief operating officer in the United States. "Instead, the company has a strong history of antici- pating global retail trends and changes to shopping environments — and proactive- ly redeveloping our best flagship assets in order stay ahead of those trends and changes." Valley Fair's revitalization includes a new 150,000-square-foot, three-level flagship Bloomingdale's department store, a one- of-a-kind ShowPlace ICON cinema and the refinement of its prestigious Luxury Col- lection, which already boasts names like Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Tiffany & Co., Burberry, Giorgio Armani, Montblanc and Versace. The center will be expanded to include a total of 2.2 million square feet with more than 360 retail tenants. It will also feature a new dining district, the lat- est integrated digital technology, and new event and entertainment concepts. FASHION MEETS TECHNOLOGY One of the trends Westfield is hoping to stay ahead of is the adoption of tech- nology to both simplify and enhance the shopping experience — something that's very important to a tech-savvy crowd like Silicon Valley. Evolving With The Market The ever-changing nature of the retail environment means even successful shopping centers like Westfield's Valley Fair in Silicon Valley can't remain stagnant. Nellie Day Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, California, is undergoing a massive $1.1 billion redevelopment, despite already achieving annual specialty sales of approximately $1,200 per square foot. It is part of Westfield's philosophy to not rely on past success for the future.