Leiria, Portugal - 24th March 2010
Reinforcing commercial and leisure offer in the region
Sonae Sierra opens LeiriaShopping 100% let
- An Investment of €79 million
- 116 shops and 44.312 m2 of GLA
- Vitalization of the local economy, with the creation of 900 new jobs and an investment of €6 million in local suppliers
- Architecture inspired by Leiria Pine Forest and glass
- The shopping centre is certified according to Environmental Management System, under the ISO 18001, for the construction stage
- First shopping centre in Europe to be certified, during the construction stage, under the OHSAS 18001:2007 standard (Safety and Health at Work Management System)
- The shopping centre is certified according to Global Accessibility Management System, under the UNE 170001:2001
LeiriaShopping, the new shopping centre from Sonae Sierra, opens its doors tomorrow, 25th of March. The new centre, the 52nd in the company's portfolio, represented an investment of €79 million, has the totality of its Gross Lettable Area 100% let, which confirms the project's success.
LeiriaShopping will make available a total of 116 shops in a 44.312 m2 GLA, combining prestigious national and international brands, with local ones. Of the vast tenant mix we highlight the nine large dimension shops: Continente hypermarket, seven screens from Castello Lopes cinemas, C&A, FNAC, H&M, Modalfa, Sportzone, Worten and Zara. Other brands present include Bershka, Bertrand, Blanco, Boutique dos Relógios, Douglas, General Óptica, Imaginarium, Lanidor, Levi's, Loja do Gato Preto, Mango, Massimo Dutti, Multiopticas, Natura, O Boticário, Oysho, Pandora, Parfois, Perfumes & Ca., Pull&Bear, Sacoor, Salsa, Samsonite, Springfield, Stradivarius, Tezenis, Tintoretto, Tiffosi, Tutto Chicco and Women's Secret, among many others.
The new shopping centre has a wide food court which offers a warm atmosphere in a pleasant ambiance for the whole family with 19 restaurants which provide visitors a huge variety of choice with brands like McDonald's, Pizza-Hut, Burger King, Portugália, Vitaminas, H3, Loja das Sopas, Brasa Rio, Alentejo Pão Azeite e Alho, Martin & Thomas, Wok To Walk, among others that reinforce the variety and quality of the commercial offer this centre will bring to the region.
LeiriaShopping has also a parking lot free of charge and will make available 1.980 parking spaces.
With the opening of the new shopping centre, the annual number of visits is expected to grow from the current 5 million to 8 million, and sales in the first year of operation are expected to reach €77 million.
With a privileged location in terms of access roads (A8, A17, IC2, N113 and N242), the centre will serve a population of 529,000 inhabitants in a catchment area of 30 minutes, 80% of which already use the current Continente Hypermarket.
Vitalization of the local economy
The new centre represents a strong renovation and vitalization of the local commerce and economy, through the creation of 900 jobs, and the hiring of local companies for different areas, representing an investment in the region of about €6 million.
About 23% of the tenants present in LeiriaShopping are local companies, which include Plush, Bianca, Lizquadro, Gráfia, Equipe Donna, Mais Bela, San Luís and Leitão com Pão. These 23% also include local franchisees, such as Chiquíssimo (Triumph), TNC Telecomunicações (Vodafone) and Grupo Caixeiro (Mango, Giovani Gali, Salsa and Upstyle).
Architectural concept inspired by Leiria Pine Forest and glass
The architecture of the Shopping Centre is inspired by Leiria pine forest, the coastal area of Leiria and in the traditional local glass manufacture.
LeiriaShopping, through its architecture and decoration, will create an illusion of the coast, the collision between earth and water, reproducing the different material and typical elements of the region: wood, glass, sand and water.
Environment, Safety & Health and Global Accessibility
Like all shopping centres developed by Sonae Sierra, this centre was designed in compliance with the Company's Environmental Management System, fulfilling the most rigorous and demanding quality requirements for all its developments, namely in terms of comfort, safety and environmental protection.
The centre will feature sophisticated solutions to separate and manage appropriately all waste produced, re-use rain water and monitor environmental aspects in real time. This last item will be ensured by the installation of a centralized technical management system which will monitor the quality of the air indoors and the water and energy consumptions in each sector of the building, allowing water supply cuts in case of leaks, or lighting adjustments in unoccupied areas.
In terms of Safety and Health at Work, LeiriaShopping recently became the first shopping centre in Europe to be certified, during the construction stage, under the OHSAS 18001:2007 standard (Safety and Health at Work Management System).
This certification acknowledges the importance of Sonae Sierra's Safety and Health System, implemented during the construction of the centre, which reduces accidents by continuously monitoring the working conditions on site, and systematically identifying improvement opportunities.
LeiriaShopping was also certified according to Global Accessibility Management System, under the UNE 170001:2001, which ensures that all visitors have a universal access to the shopping centre, besides the mobility conditionings one might have.
Involvement with local community
During the 20 months of construction of LeiriaShopping, Sonae Sierra committed to involve local community in information initiatives about the new road accesses close to the construction site, through a mailing sent to 8.000 homes of the neighbourhood parishes. This mailing also included pine seeds, inviting all people from Leiria to plant the seeds sent by Sonae Sierra and watch the little pine trees grow at the same time as the construction of the centre was going forward.
Still under the policy of involving local community, LeiriaShoping team developed another initiative targeted to the children that had a very positive impact in the population. This initiative, together with Leiria Municipality Environment Interpretation Centre, involved three schools from the shopping centre catchment area and about 80 children participated in the decoration of the tunnel that gives access from the underground parking to the existing shopping gallery from Continente hypermarket.
The fauna and flora from Leiria's region was the theme chosen to tell stories to children about species that were unknown rare species to the big majority of them and was used as an inspiration to the drawings they created to cheer that local and, at the same time, allowed local community to identify themselves with the species of its region.
About Sonae Sierra
Sonae Sierra, www.sonaesierra.com, is an international shopping centre specialist, with a passion for bringing innovation and excitement to the shopping centre industry. The Company owns 52 Shopping Centres in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece, Romania and Brazil, with a total Gross Lettable Area (GLA) of about 2 million m². Sonae Sierra has 2 projects under construction, and 9 new projects in different phases of development in Portugal, Italy, Germany, Greece, Romania and Brazil. In 2009, its centres welcomed more than 436 million visits.