Melco Crown and Taubman Asia to Open New Macau Shopping Destination

Casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment and mall developer Taubman Asia have joined forces to create a new entertainment-focused shopping experience at the soon to be opened Studio City resort in Macau.

The new mall will be part of the family oriented integrated destination which Melco is developing in cooperation with Time Warner of the US as Macau works to woo China’s growing consumer class.

A Globally Inspired Asian Shopping Destination

The Boulevard will be a destination-themed 28,000 square metre (300,000 square foot) retail destination offering guests globally inspired streets and squares re-creating shopping and entertainment locations such as New York’s Times Square and Beverly Hills.

Taubman Asia, which is a subsidiary of US mall REIT Taubman Centers, Inc, will provide merchandising, marketing and management services for the development. The company already operates a successful shopping centre in Seoul, Korea and currently has two more projects underway in the cities of Xi’an and Zhengzhou on the Chinese mainland.

“Taubman Asia is in the business of creating world-class experiences for our customers,” said Mr. René Tremblay, President of Taubman Asia. “Along with Melco Crown Entertainment, we are developing a one-of-a-kind retail entertainment experience that will cater to the discerning tastes of Greater China’s consumers.”

Providing the Retail Experience at a $3.2 Bil Resort

The new mall is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2015, to coincide with the debut of Studio City, a $3.2 billion integrated resort being developed by Melco Crown – a joint venture between billionaire businessmen Lawrence Ho of Macau and James Packer of Australia.

Studio City is banking on the appeal of a 130-metre tall indoor ferris wheel, Batman-themed attractions and even Wonder Woman go-karts to pull in more visitors to a resort industry that can no longer rely on high rolling gamblers to help it keep setting revenue records.

Mr. Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment said, “Studio City is an entertainment-inspired leisure destination that will fulfil Melco Crown Entertainment’s aims to be a strategic catalyst in furthering Macau’s economic diversification.

“With the combination of Melco Crown Entertainment’s expertise in developing world-class integrated entertainment resorts and Taubman Asia’s deep experience in the global retail industry, I am confident that The Boulevard at Studio City will deliver an exciting and dynamic shopping environment that will delight customers and bring a further, new and unique non-gaming attraction to Macau.”

The Melco Crown co-chairman is the son of casino tycoon Stanley Ho, who dominated the city’s gambling industry for decades.

In addition to the shopping centre and its 2,787-square-meter (30,000-square-foot) Warner Bros. Family Entertainment Center, Studio City will also include a television broadcast studio and a 5,000-seat center for concerts, sports and theatrical events.