Written by: Mfundo Knowledge Mthembu

Umlazi Mega City relaunch manifested the pivotal landmark for the economic growth and township upliftment.

Since the mall was established in 2006, Umlazi Mega City has delivered a true essence of a township shopping experience to its community, and has played a crucial role in shifting perceptions in the retail sector and particularly those of major retail chains.

“Three hundred and seventy million investment in extending the mall was testament to its success and an indicator that investors remained confident that so-called township economies would continue to grow,” said Retail Asset Manager of majority shareholder, SA Corporate Real Estate, Carmen Collison.

The mall’s upgrade promises to cater to the diverse community a somewhat state-of-the-art facility and an economic growth in the township.

Umlazi Mega City presently has 160 stores which include fashion, food, supermarket, cellular, health and beauty, home and lifestyle, hardware, sport, footwear and medical categories as well as all major banks.

Managing Director of Sizovuna Investments, a broad-based black economic empowerment private investment company, Gugu Dlamini, added that the R370 million revamp and expansion had taken retailing to the next level.

The revamp saw the creation of upgraded ablution facilities and the addition of a new and larger taxi rank that offers ablutions for taxi commuters. Three hundred and seventy parking bays have been added and traffic flow within the mall has been significantly improved.

As part of the redevelopment, existing tenants including Spar, Woolworths, Clicks, Mr. Price and Truworths were expanded. The tenant mix now also includes McDonald’s, Fashion Express, Le’Coq Sportif, Pep Home, Garment Division, City Girl and Asmalls.

“This could see the retention of a larger portion of shoppers spend within the local area and ultimately the empowerment of local people through the creation of jobs and career and business opportunities,” concluded Dlamini.

*Caption: Umlazi Mega City.