Allure of the mall for Kenyans

Al Graziano, an Italian businessman, had gone to the Westgate Mall for lunch at the popular Art Caffé last Saturday. Not far from him in the same restaurant, was Kenyan producer Alison Ngibuini.

But their lunch was interrupted when terrorists attacked the mall around noon on that fateful day. They crawled to the nearby Mr Price store where they sought refuge until help came five hours later.

The two are among hundreds of people who survived the gory incident where over 200 were injured and at least 61 civilians and six security officers lost their lives.

“Initially, we thought it was a car crash then one of the glass windows at Art Caffé shattered and we heard the gunshots,” said Al, after he and a group of about 40 were rescued.

In recent years, malls have become a major part of Kenyan culture mainly driven by a burgeoning middle class. These shopping centres are driven by increased purchasing power among Kenyans with disposable income who want to keep up a certain lifestyle.

There is also a vibrant international community in the city that spends a lot of time and money in the malls because they offer a one-stop experience where you can get everything you are looking for under one roof be it entertainment, fine dining, exclusive shopping or merely browsing in exclusive book stores.

Meeting place

The Westgate Shopping Mall, for example, was especially frequented by UN workers, diplomats and others as it afforded them a great meeting place with superb restaurants, pubs and international brand shops - not to mention the ambiance. Art Caffe, for example, was so popular that regulars had ro reserve seats in advance.

Indeed, a visit to the different malls in the city, shows that going to the mall, is today the preferred outing for most Kenyans, young and old. It has become a lifestyle thing for most. Even those who cannot afford the prices still prefer to window shop and be seen at these exclusive places.

The right tenant mix is also seen as a key factor when it comes to drawing traffic into the malls and that is why international brands that come into the country target the numbers that visit these malls.

International brands such as Nike, Adidas, Clarks, Rado, Converse and Samsonite among others. Local brands like Kazuri, Art Caffé, Kache, Little Soles, Bata, Planet Yoghurt, Dormans and Java are among those that have taken advantage of these properties to expand their branches around Nairobi.

Flagship stores

Westgate was home to some of these popular flagship stores including the recently opened Java House.

In May of this year, Nakumatt unveiled its flagship Revlon counter at the mall as part of its strategy to move from being a supermarket to a department store. The supermarket had this month also opened a Clarks store and is soon to open other stores including Sketchers.

To emphasise the popularity of malls as entertainment destinations, only this month the asset management arm of South Africa’s Liberty Group, Stanlib, said it would invest Sh5.2 billion in shopping malls within the next two years.

Actis, a private equity fund, is constructing Garden City Mall, on Thika Road which is expected to be the largest shopping mall in the region at 50,000 square metres. The complex, which is part of a mixed development, has already attracted international brands.

The question though that lingers in most people’s mind especially after the Westgate incident is how safe these places that draw thousands of people in a day are.

“Our concern for now is the safety of shoppers, staff and tenants. We are grateful to the government because they have deployed APs in all malls and we have also intensified the screening of those coming in,” said Knight Frank managing director, Ben Woodham.

Knight Frank is the property managers of some of the top malls in the city including Junction and T-mall.

Despite the incident over the weekend, many Kenyans say they will continue to visit their favourite shopping malls with some stating on social media, that they will return to Westgate as soon as it reopens. This resolve just goes to emphasise how far the mall culture has become part of our lifestyle.