Page 28 - Sphere No.18 (Feb 2007)

26 SPHERE
THE SOLACE
to be found in
retail therapy has few
equals. An afternoon mean-
dering around a shopping mall can appeal
to all five senses, lift flagging spirits and do wonders for the
self-esteem, if not the wallet, purse, or credit card. Even the
humble window shopper is free to let their imagination soar,
entertaining dreams of expensive purchases that they can
almost reach out and touch.
It was ever thus; indoor shopping is hardly a re-
cent innovation. Perhaps the earliest recorded ex-
ample is Isfahan’s sprawling grand bazaar, which
dates from the 10th century and is still teeming
with shoppers today. This Iranian city was a major
trading centre and eventually became part of the
Silk Road that linked China with Europe.
Over the centuries, the bazaar has evolved into the
modern shopping mall, the product of the rise of au-
tomobile culture
and the growth of
suburban life in the Unit-
ed States in the 1950s. Today’s
full-service mall is a global phenomenon and a
stark contrast to the more sedate shopping experience offered in
traditional department store settings back in the 1980s. Today’s
malls are seductive, marble clad behemoths that offer 360-degree
retail opportunities on a grand scale.
Where better to focus on than Hong Kong, the shopping mall
paradise and retail mecca that attracts both legions of domes-
tic consumers as well as shoppers from all over the world. But
fashion and food, footwear and flat-screen televisions, beauty
products and baby wear are simply not enough by themselves
any more. Malls need to stand out from the crowd in what has
become a very congested market place.
Permanent fixtures such as children’s playgrounds, ice-skat-
ing rinks and bowling alleys are leavened with temporary at-
tractions of ever-increasing sophistication, from food fairs and
A whole new
MALL GAME
Redefining the shopping experience
By Andrea Li
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P R O P E R T Y