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Loulé: Mar Shopping Expects 9 million Visitors in its First Year

10 October 2017

The most prominent shopping centre in the Algarve, located in Loulé, which is due to open on the 26th, is expected to receive nine million visitors in its first year of operation, the unit’s director general estimated today.

The opening of the Mar Shopping mall was scheduled for September 27 but had to be postponed for a month due to delays in work on the shopping complex which includes an Ikea store, which opened this summer, and an outlet with a planned opening for the end of the year.

On the side-lines of a technical visit to the new shopping centre, an investment of 200 million euros, Herman Gewert told reporters that “there is still some work to be done”, ensuring that the situation “is being resolved” and that the space will open as expected.

Lack of labour caused difficulties…

Gewert admitted that “it was difficult” to find sufficient labour in the Algarve for the construction of the shopping centre, as well as employees for the stores, and it plans to hold a third job fair to recruit more people.

The new shopping centre will have 110 stores and an 8,000-square-meter outdoor recreation area, consisting of a playground for children between 3 and 12 years old, a multipurpose space with a stage and another area with activities linked to exploration and adventure, with tunnels and climbing walls.

The new commercial unit, which will have a direct link to Ikea, is based on a concept of environmental sustainability, added the director general, stressing that all lighting is done with LEDs, and there are solar-powered charging units for mobile phones outside the centre.

According to Herman Gewert, the Swedish group that owns the commercial complex negotiated with EVA to broaden bus schedules so that they complemented the employees’ work hours.

The centre will also have five laser projection cinema rooms, vertical gardens, an art installation built with 25 kilometres of wool, and small units with tables and benches for small meetings or interviews.

Original Story: Lusa / Diário Imobiliário

Translation: Richard Turner