// Westfield brand introduced across 10 flagship shopping centres in mainland Europe
// The centres will have the “Westfield” moniker added to their name along with a complete rebrand
// The 10 centres are located in France, Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic
Westfield is launching across mainland Europe for the first time with 10 flagship destinations poised to be rebranded with the shopping centre giant’s moniker.
The Westfield brand – already a shopping centre chain in the US, the UK, New Zealand, and in its native Australia – will be introduced for the first time in France, Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic this month.
In France, the shopping centres known as Les Quatre Temps, Vélizy 2, Parly 2, Carré Sénart, Rosny 2 and Forum des Halles in Paris along with Euralille in Lille will all be rebranded and have “Westfield” added to their names.
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The Westfield rebranding will also take place in Sweden’s Mall of Scandinavia near Stockholm, Poland’s Arkadia in Warsaw and the Czech Republic’s Chodov in Prague.
Unibail-Radamco-Westfield (URW) – the name of the parent company after Unibail-Radamco acquired the non-antipodean arm of Westfield last year – said further destinations across its portfolio in Europe are set to be rebranded in 2020.
URW said the initial batch of rebranded centres were already “leading” assets in its portfolio.
It added that as they become Westfield, “they will retain their strong heritage, local identity and community links” while benefiting from “enhanced events, experiences, services, retailers and brand partnerships”.
“The launch of the world-famous Westfield brand in Continental Europe comes at a time when consumers are expecting more from their shopping trip,” URW group chief executive Christophe Cuvillier said.
“Following the acquisition of Westfield in 2018, this is a major milestone as we deliver on our global strategy and the first time a rebranding exercise of such a wide scale has been undertaken in the industry.”
URW chief marketing officer Myf Ryan said: “We will keep the centres’ local identity and relevance whilst building on the success of other global Westfield shopping destinations such as Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City to take experience to a new level.”
To help celebrate the rebranding, Westfield is drafting in the help of international music acts , including John Legend and the UK’s own Rita Ora, to perform live at the centres.
Westfield said it expected more than 25,000 people to attend the performances.
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