Echo Investment has recently attracted three new brands to be tenants of Galeria Libero, a retail and entertainment building being erected on Kościuszki St.
The first tenant is Polish clothing brand Diverse, one of the leading fashion brands in Poland. It was founded in 1993 and since then it has been meeting original requirements of active people who appreciate comfort, quality and style. The shop will occupy an area of 300 sq. meters.
“We always choose the location of our stores carefully. We take into consideration the geographical aspect as well as the standard offered by the facility. Libero combined both of these things – lack of a similar offer in the south of the city, easy access to the mall as well as good quality of architecture and the interior offered by the investor. Diverse is a modern brand which was created for active people who appreciate convenience and urban, casual lifestyle. So we wanted to open a shop in a location which is associated with modern lifestyle and comfort” – says Krystian Essel, development director at Diverse.
The second secured tenant is the KFC international restaurant chain. “Newly opened restaurants are characterized by a refreshed design, which is strongly embedded in the values and history of the KFC brand. That is why we decided to join Libero, where a modern concept of the food court corresponds to our standards. A significant element of the restaurant’s interior design is its open kitchen, thanks to which guests can see how KFC chicken is prepared. Adding our chain to Libero’s offer is an important step in the development of the KFC brand on the Polish market” – says Adrian Wnęk from AmRest’s press office.
KFC is a global chain of restaurants serving chicken dishes and a pioneer of fast food restaurants. About 12 million guests are serviced daily in over 18 000 restaurants of the chain in more than 100 countries all over the world. In Poland the KFC brand is managed by AmRest, which currently operates over 500 KFC restaurants in 9 European countries.
The third tenant will be the American clothing brand Forever 21, which is going to open its first store in Katowice and in the Silesia region. The firm is currently present in three cities in Poland: Łódź, Poznań and Warsaw.
“The current development strategy of F21 has been based on choosing proven and prospering projects which are leaders in their regions. Thus we are even more pleased about the fact that F21’s debut on the map of Silesia will take place in Libero. I believe that F21 opted for Libero because our project fulfilled all the key requirements of the American brand. Its location in the southern part of the city, which guarantees a broad catchment area that stretches well beyond the limits of Katowice, as well as excellent visibility of the building and very good infrastructure played an important part here” – says Szymon Mińczuk, regional leasing director from Echo Investment’s Shopping Center Department.
Forever 21, Inc. with its seat in Los Angeles in California is a retailer of clothing as well as women’s and men’s accessories. It is famous for offering the hottest fashion trends at an affordable price. Its sales model is based on maintaining interest through the daily delivery of new products. Founded in 1984, Forever 21 operates over 750 retail stores in the United States, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Latin America, Mexico, the Philippines and the United Kingdom.
The construction of Galeria Libero is on schedule. Advanced commercialization process is conducted regardless of the progressing construction work. Over 70 pct of Libero’s retail area has been leased. Libero is characterized by its location at the junction of Kościuszki and Kolejowa streets, which are used by over 15 000 vehicles per hour at peak times. The crossroad is being redeveloped by the developer and will provide grade-separated and fast access to the mall.
The opening of Libero is planned for the spring of 2018.