Shopaholics may find their Garden of Eden in the form of Festival Walk, Swire Properties' newest and shiniest shopping centre which will hold its grand opening today.
Swire Properties senior manager Norman Chan sees Festival Walk, located in Kowloon Tong, as the focal point for residents in that area, the New Territories and wealthier enclaves such as Clearwater Bay, Sai Kung and Hong Lok Yuen.
Norman should know a thing or two about the demographics and catchment area of Festival Walk: he was responsible for making Pacific Place the success it is today. He hopes to repeat Swire's winning retail-dining-entertainment formula with Festival Walk.
'We want to make it a place where people want to be seen. It will be a new social gathering place for families and friends. Going there will be an experience in itself,' says Norman.
Five years in the planning and building, Festival Walk occupies more than a million square feet of retail space. It will have more than 200 shops, 25 restaurants and an 11-screen multiplex cinema. It also boasts The Glacier, Hong Kong's largest ice rink.
Superlatives apart, Norman says Festival Walk will have a varied trade mix, offering something for everyone as well as more daring new dining concepts, like the Rainforest Cafe, a theme restaurant from the United States.
