The World’s Largest Malls

The downturn of the economy has certainly taken it’s toll on malls, rendering in less shoppers everywhere.
However, this fact hasn’t halted developers from building malls that are proportionately larger and more grander than ever.

Asia is known for low cost labour and it appears that grand shopping malls are sprouting all over from Dubai to China to the Philippines. Dubai’s newest mall, the United Arab Emirates mall is more of a mini shopping metropolis featuring 1200 stores, five star hotel and 22-screen movie theatre.

Asia alone makes up 7 of the world’s largest 10 malls, six of which were recently built since 2004, adding a whopping 27 million square feet of shopping space. This fact is based on gross leasable area devoted to revenue-producing operations like stores, amusements and food.

While many malls are home to large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy, the economy in Asia is catering towards a new wave of consumers looking for places to shop and play. It comes as no surprise that Chinese malls such as the South China Mall in Dongguan and Golden Resources Mall in Beijing features attractions such as windmills, kids’ theme parks, newly built apartments and office buildings.

The list of the world’s largest 10 malls has changed significantly over the last five years where once upon a time, South Coast Plaza in California and Del Amo Fashion Center in Los Angeles would have made the list. Nowadays though, big-box retail stores seem to have lost their appeal, as Asia is rapidly building bigger, bolder and more beautiful malls than ever.