The arrival of a top-class shopping centre is always a cause for celebration, and the citizens of Kumasi arrived in their thousands to be among the first to cross the threshold into Atterbury’s newest development in Ghana. An estimated 61 000 shoppers flocked to the opening of Kumasi City Mall, surpassing all expectations. Atterbury’s man on the ground, Roux Gerber, tells us more.
You must be thrilled at the turnout!
The opening was amazing and the turnout was really the cherry on the cake. We expected the first mall in Kumasi to attract a large number of people, but the Ghanaians flocking to Kumasi City Mall on the opening weekend exceeded our expectations with positive feedback from very happy tenants.
Who were the guests of honour at the opening?
The tenants were the guests of honour on opening day. The night before we had a celebration where the development managers, Atterbury Property, and owners, thanked everyone involved in the project for their part in the project: developers, shareholders, contractors, consultants, suppliers and tenants were present at this event. The asset management and development teams are planning a formal inauguration function in May to which various Ghanaian dignitaries and royalty will be invited.
What percentage of the tenants were ready on opening day?
On the 20th 42 percent of them were ready, and by 27 April, that number stood at 70 percent.
Who was literally the last one to add a finishing touch in time for the opening?
A few smaller line shops were installing signage and final finishes till minutes before the cut-off date prior to opening!
Were there any last-minute dramas that had to be handled?
Luckily we had the “normal opening-day rainstorm” a day before rather than on the actual day! It resulted in extra cleaning activities that were completed in shifts for longer than 24 hours prior to opening. The drive from tenants to open on time created bottlenecks in delivery and one tenant took the initiative to drive his small delivery van on the polished mall floor… amicably resolved in the end!
What was the highlight of the opening?
It had to be the faces of all the very happy tenants! Asset management arranged a splendid opening-day programme with festivities in the mall. Kumasi finally has “A PLACE TO BE!”
Do you have tenant feedback yet in terms of how sales went over the opening weekend?
Game reported the best opening weekend in West Africa so far and every tenant reported sales above expectation, so everyone is happy.
Any attendance stats yet for opening weekend?
Over the first four days around 230 000 visitors were recorded – a daily average of around 58 000 people…
How many cars came into the parking garage, for instance?
Kumasi City Mall has more than 750 parking bays; a combination of open and basement parking, which handled the visitors and traffic sufficiently.
What was the best feedback received?
I’m not allowed to use strong language, but let’s just say that various tenants expressed the turnout as “overwhelmingly” amazing!
WHAT SHOPPERS HAVE TO SAY ON FACEBOOK:
Emmanuel Abanti: A fantastic mall and it’s gonna revolutionalize shopping in Kumasi. Kudos to the people behind this grandiose project.
Nathaniel Osei Kwakye: It’s the place to be. You can get all your needs for very competitive prices. The architecture is also top notch with state of the art technology.
Adjei Kwarteng Collins: We are very happy to have such an ultra-modern mall. It’s the best among the rest. #MakeKumasiGreatAgain.
Kwaku Ofosu: World-class… The parking lot looks just like, or even better than most parking lots I’ve seen in Europe and the United States of America… Biggest mall I’ve seen in a long time…. beautiful inside out… This is a place you need not just see it on the TV, it’s a must visit place….
Oseibonsu Prince: Just love the Kumasi City Mall … exciting ambience and shopping experience. It’s only on point to be situated in the golden kingdom.
