The Westfield Trumbull Shopping Center aesthetic improvements are time sensitive, with mass appeal at its prime during the holiday season.
“The holidays are a decisive season in retail, we had to be able to be open and in top form,” said Amy Johnstone, marketing director of Westfield.
In less than a year and a half the Australian-based Westfield Group, parent company of the mall, and it”™s in-house Westfield Construction company has completed a $35 million renovation of the facility, which houses 1.2 million square feet of leasable space and 150Â stores.
The renovations were kept on a tight pace despite a roof collapse in the food court in June.
According to recent studies by the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C., many retailers are looking at the 2010 season as the one in which to make up lost ground from the past two years.
“While many consumers will be wishing for apparel and electronics this holiday season, retailers are hoping the holidays bring sustainable economic growth,” said Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation. “Though the retail industry is on stronger footing than last year, companies are closely watching key economic indicators, like employment and consumer confidence, before getting too optimistic that the recession is behind them.”
The organization predicts sales for the 2010 holiday season, which includes November and December, to rise by about 2.3 percent, an increase that would put national retail sales this year at around $447 billion. That would be the best season since 2007, when sales topped $452 billion and prove to be a notable recovery from 2008, when sales fell to $435 billion.
“It’s definitely going to bring a new elegance and retail atmosphere to the center,” said Johnstone. She said achieving that initial impression in area shoppers, with a radius that stretches up into New Haven County, is critical and the holidays are a great time to hit the right note for the largest volume of people seen all year.
The mall now features a new dining area, porcelain-glass tile flooring on the lower level and new carpeting on the second level. The 11 eateries of the mall have been given facelifts and new restaurants have been brought in, including Di A Sushi, Ching Mai Thai, Salad Works, Panera Bread, and the Mongolian Grill. The mall also has new furnished common areas, as well as new lighting fixtures and skylight installations. To embrace the holiday spirit, the mall’s exterior will display red ribbon wrapping with 26,516 lights, while the dining terrace will feature a 30-foot tall Christmas tree with 34,000 lights.
Johnstone said the renovation has also made a push toward convenience for families, adding a new family lounge in the JCPenney court on the lower level with dedicated lower-level parking, private nursing rooms, a microwave oven, furniture and kid-friendly videos. A new play space for children has been built near the lounge.
“We’ve needed to make it well-situated for families,” said Johnstone. She said with the ability to shop online, any sense that coming to the mall is a hassle is that much more negative.
The National Retail Federation numbers showed e-commerce sales increasing 15 percent during November and December of this year over the same months last year.
The shopping center, which is anchored by Target, JCPenney, Lord & Taylor and Macy’s, has brought in H&M as it”™s fifth in major footprint retailers. Westfield has also brought in a Skechers shoe store, and an LA Fitness outlet in a 40,000-square-foot standalone space formerly occupied by Circuit City. Other new stores to the mall include beauty products retailer Sephora, Metropark clothing, and Teavana specialty tea shop.
