On Thursday 4 October, doors opened to the first 15 stores of the new enclosed shopping mall at Tauranga Crossing located on the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand, which will provide the community with high demand shopping categories such as banking, health and beauty, gifts and homewares, electronics and entertainment.
Joining the growing list of retailers at Tauranga Crossing, the first phase of the mall includes favourite essentials such as Acquisitions, ASB, Boardertown, EB Games, Enjoy Massage, Everlast Nails, Health 2000, Just Cuts, Kiwibank, Minute Man, OPSM, Phone Life, Stevens, Whitcoulls and $2 Things.
Geoff Waller, General Retail Manager at Kiwibank, commented, “We first introduced the standalone branch model in June 2016, and we’ve had great customer feedback from the branches we’ve opened so far. Our customer needs are changing and it’s important we have the right environment for conversations and our unique customer experience. We’re looking forward to bringing this model to Tauranga Crossing.”
Tim Guy, co-owner of Boardertown, added, “As New Zealand’s premiere skateboard and snowboard store, it made sense for us to open a store in New Zealand’s fastest growing city. Tauranga has such an affinity with the outdoors and we are excited to be able to bring our offering to the local community. We are very selective about the retail spaces we open in and it’s the openness of Tauranga Crossing that appeals to us. Customers are offered a comfortable place to shop while still being engaged with the landscape around.”
“Tauranga Crossing is at the heart of the region’s growth, has a fantastic range of retailers opening and the architecture makes it a great environment to shop in.”
Stevens store manager, Kathryn Hauer, also commented, “We chose to open at Tauranga Crossing because the area is so well positioned for future growth, with lots of new homes being built. We’re really excited about opening our beautiful new store in the mall and meeting the local community.”
A number of retailers opened in the Tauranga Crossing complex earlier this year including, Ezibuy, Farmers, Bed Bath & Beyond and Gilmours.
Once the next section of the centre opens in April 2019, the 45,000m2 shopping complex is expected to house over 100 fashion, general merchandise, and service retailers and food eateries within the two-level mall galleria and dining area and more than 1,700 carparks.
Stage 2 of the new shopping mall will also feature an entertainment precinct, anchored by an Event Cinemas complex that will house six screens and over 1,000 seats, as well as the only Vmax screen in the Bay of Plenty.
Tauranga Crossing CEO, Steve Lewis said, “The 15 new stores will introduce the contemporary and beautiful modern architecture will give customers a taste of what they can expect in April next year, when the second phase of the enclosed shopping mall opens. This will add up to 70 local, national and international retailers and eateries, some of which will be new to Tauranga.”
“Given that this is a brand new build we’ve been able to curate the retail mix to create a precinct of service retailers near the entrance, so that people can pop in and do their banking, see the optician, get their nails done, easily and efficiently in one location.”
“We have secured a number of retailers and restaurateurs for the second phase of the shopping mall that we believe locals and visitors alike will love. We look forward to announcing the names of these retailers closer to the time of the grand opening in April next year.”
Tauranga Crossing Limited is also developing a 23,000m2 lifestyle centre on a staged basis, located directly across Taurikura Drive. Farmers, Bed Bath & Beyond and Gilmours are already open in the lifestyle centre and further retailers will be added as future stages are developed.
On completion the total combined centre at the Tauranga Crossing complex, including the shopping centre and lifestyle centre, is expected to provide 70,000m² of retail floor space and will be the largest retail destination in the region.
