When you see the metal monument depicting the birds and fish, you know you’ve arrived at La Lucia Mall. Every visit from my childhood started with me seeing that monument first and I knew we’d be entering the mall next. These memories have stayed with me all these years later and, even though I’m just one person, it is a testament to the lasting impression the mall has had on the community.
La Lucia Mall first opened its doors in 1974 with 45 stores and is a stone’s throw from the Umhlanga beachfront. The mall endeavours to offer a convenient shopping experience for the discerning public. La Lucia mall now houses 124 retailers and attracts approximately 4.7 million shoppers with 925 free open and 674 paid undercover parking bays including parking facilities dedicated to disabled shoppers and parents with infants and toddlers.
The mall has excellent access from major arterial routes and is close to King Shaka International Airport and major CBD nodes. There are also over 50 schools in this area, and the Virgin Active gym is right on the doorstep, providing the essential services and products to support a live, work, play and learn community. It remains a firm favourite with devoted shoppers from all the East Coast, winning its 13th PMR Diamond Arrow award, coming first place out of all Shopping Centres in KwaZulu-Natal.
Notable developments at the mall include the prestigious Kent apartment block, and the McDonald’s drive-thru last year. This year, the introduction of a new Starbucks and the Africa Padel courts has proven to be a huge hit in this community. The La Lucia courts are the second busiest padel courts in the country. Really worth noting are two of its stores: Silver Cage and Elizabeth’s Florist—they have been trading at the mall since opening in October 1974.
Confident and highly experienced, La Lucia Mall’s Centre Manager Vanessa Blevins has been at the helm of La Lucia Mall for over 21 years. Having a great combination of retailers and team which keep up with the ever-changing trends and market demands isn’t an easy feat to accomplish. In fact, it takes a great deal of planning, years of restructuring, a hard-working team and a leader determined to see the mall be the very best it can be, “To retain the loyalty of shoppers a mall’s retailers have to be relevant to the market it serves,” Vanessa explains. “We have a great team and we work very closely to ensure things run smoothly most of the time.”
Fifty years is a significant milestone for any person, business or organisation, especially for a commercial shopping centre in this dynamic economy, “We hope that La Lucia Mall continues to nurture the spirit of our shoppers from all the generations we have been been serving for the past 50 years, from Baby Boomers to Gen X to Millenials and Gen Z’s, one shopping experience at a time,” Vanessa adds.
To celebrate this great achievement, the mall gave away R50 000 in gift cards and other prizes. From 19 September to 8 November, there was a commemorative activation in Centre Court and the first 50 shoppers who spend R500 daily in the mall and enter the competition had a 100% chance to win one of 50 daily giveaways.
The Grand Draw announcing the Gift Card prize winners and the Main Event to celebrate the mall’s milestone birthday, took place on Saturday 9 November at 10:00 a.m. in Centre Court. The MC for the event was media personality, radio and TV presenter and actress, Vanessa Marawa, there were also additional giveaways on the day for those who attended!
www.laluciamall.co.za
Words: Cristina Govender