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Letter to the editor

If you didn't call them 'shoppingtowns,' don't

Three local malls that called themselves by the Australian name will quietly drop the label.

By MARK ALBRIGHT
Published June 1, 2005

Westfield Group has stopped calling its U.S. malls "shoppingtowns."

The Australian developer, which drew a lot of attention with the unusual monicker when the company made landfall in the states three years ago, began phasing it out May 1.

With no fanfare, the owner of three malls in the Tampa Bay area stopped ordering business cards, signs, brochures and other materials that make any reference to "shoppingtown."

"We won't be taking down signs to change the name, you just won't see us putting it on replacements as time goes by," said Catherine Dickey, spokeswoman for the chain. "The name served its purpose."

While rival malls in the market have made "mall" or "plaza" part of their formal name, Westfield did not. So the three local malls now will be called Westfield Citrus Park, Westfield Brandon and Westfield Countryside. "People know they are malls," Dickey said.

Westfield imported the "shoppingtown" label for its U.S. properties from what they are called in Australia. One reason was to send a signal to shoppers that things had changed at their nearby mall. Many shoppers never picked up the hint or ignored it. But Westfield officials are unconcerned that "shoppingtown" never became a household word.

"Shoppingtown is part of our heritage, but Westfield is the brand," Dickey said.

Meanwhile, Westfield said it had signed new leases at its Brandon property for Frederick's of Hollywood, Hot Topic, Lindt Master Chocolatier, Perfumania, Stride Rite and Mall House, a real estate sales center.

Mark Albright can be reached at albright@sptimes.com or 727 893-8252.

[Last modified June 1, 2005, 00:38:18]