Shenyang to Welcome New 325k Sqm Mall on May 24th

The $300 million Star Mall Shenyang Plaza is due to hold its grand opening in northeastern China on the 24th of this month, illustrating continued investor faith in the future of China’s retail sector.

The 325,000 square metre shopping centre includes 128,00 square metres of gross leasable area and is located in the city’s Tiexi district.

Developed by Turkish conglomerate Fiba Holding, Star Mall Shenyang Plaza began construction in 2009 and was co-invested by the State General Reserve Fund of the Sultanate of Oman. The project is said to be the largest Turkish investment in China to date.

The mall will feature shops from seven different brands belonging to Spain’s Inditex, including Zara, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Pull and Bear, and Stradivarius.

The shopping complex will include a 12 screen multi-plex from China’s Huayi Brothers, as well as the first hypermarket opened in Liaoning province by France’s Auchan.

Other brands opening the new development include The GAP, H&M, Only, and Vero Moda. The mall’s management said in a statement that they expect visitors to total more than one million each month.

In addition to the mall, the project includes a 45,000 square metre office tower invested by Malaysia’s KH Group.

Shenyang Becomes Centre for New Mall Projects

The Star Mall project in Shenyang is one of a series of new retail developments in the city which has begun to raise questions concerning an overabundance of shopping space.

According to recent report from real estate consultancy Colliers, Shenyang – which is the largest city in Liaoning – has already added more than three million square metres of new retail space since 2010, and is set to welcome 570,000 more square metres this year.

The same report by Colliers found that the city’s retail market already had the highest vacancy rate in northeast China, reaching 17.1 percent at the end of last year.