Westfield has announced the addition of two major department stores at its Palm Desert and MainPlace centres in the US. This follows the recent announcement Westfield would acquire 15 former Federated Department Store sites at 11 of its US shopping centers.
On February 21, Seattle-based Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN), a leading fashion specialty retailer, announced it had signed a letter of intent with Westfield to open a new Nordstrom store at Westfield Palm Desert in Palm Desert, California. Nordstrom will build a new, two-level, approximately 149,000 square foot store at Westfield Palm Desert, which is scheduled to open in spring 2009.
Weve wanted to have a store in the Coachella Valley for a long time and were thrilled to finally have the opportunity, said Erik Nordstrom, executive vice president of Full-Line Stores for Nordstrom. We look forward to giving our loyal customers in the Desert their own Nordstrom store.
Today, it was announced that JCPenney had reached an agreement with Westfield to open a new JCPenney store at Westfield MainPlace in Santa Ana, California.
Opening in the 2nd quarter of 2007, the approximately 145,000 square foot JCPenney will be located in the existing building on the north side of the centre currently occupied by Robinsons-May, which Westfield is to acquire from Federated Department Stores, Inc. JCPenney will renovate and refurbish the stores interior prior to opening.
"Westfield MainPlace is a premier shopping destination located in an area where we have a strong and loyal customer base, said Tim Deierling, JCPenney district manager. Were looking forward to growing our market presence here and serving even more customers with a new store dedicated to creating an exciting and convenient shopping experience.
Westfield is recognised in the US for recovering former department store sites and reorganising the retail mix with new anchor tenants, specialty stores and lifestyle and entertainment precincts. We have viewed the Federated/May merger as a catalyst and tremendous opportunity for future growth of our US portfolio, said Group Managing Director Peter Lowy. The new anchor additions at Westfield Palm Desert and Westfield MainPlace are just two early examples of a strategic approach to acquisitions and potential redevelopment and reinvestment. We look forward to more announcements in the coming weeks and months.
Source: Westfield
