It took somewhat over a year for the Erbud S.A. prime contractor to extend Silesia City Center (SCC) thanks to EUR 50 million. For five days the fifth largest shopping mall in Poland has celebrated the grand opening of the new part gathering about 300 000 visitors. More than 250 media representatives were reporting the event.
Apart from concerts, new shops, discounts during the shopping night, it seems that Paris Hilton was the biggest attraction of the opening. The celebrity was visiting the center for two days to attend a press conference, and a VIP night, to do some shopping and to meet with fans. “263 journalists and press photographers from Poland, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and the United Stated were accredited to cover the grand opening. The Advertising Value Equivalents (AVE) amounts more than PLN 6 million for today” – said Tomasz Pietrzak, press spokesman at SCC. The AVE shows what an editorial coverage would cost if it was advertising space or time.
Silesia City Center gained not only the publicity but also gets a prestige. “The bigger total retail space makes SCC one of the top five Polish shopping centers and strengthens our position in the region. We succeeded by diversifying and extending the offer of brands which can not be found in any other locations in Upper Silesia and Zagłębie. Silesia City Center is positioned as an A-class shopping center at present where, apart from popular chain retailers, exclusive brands are available. It makes SCC more competitive against shopping centers in Kraków, Warsaw and Wrocław where our region’s inhabitants do shopping as well” – said Ewa Marcinek, Managing Director at SCC.
The investor, Immofinanz Group, also wanted the center to be distinguished by architecture. According to the Warsaw’s Bose International Planning and Architecture Studio – which designed the extension and the first part of Silesia City Center had opened six years ago – the aim was to realize a concept that breaks up the stereotypical image of shopping malls. The result is a 200 meter semi-circular facade with glass, ceramics and aluminum as decorative elements to achieve an outstanding, individual character.
The investor claims that a fair value of the extension is more than EUR 100 million.
