It’s time for fun – retailtainment conquers the hearts of shopping center customers
As follows from report prepared jointly by the Polish Council of Shopping Centers and the research company GfK, Poles like shopping in shopping centres. They appreciate them for such key aspects as price attractiveness, variety of assortment, convenience of shopping and professional advice. At the same time, however, they expect expanding the entertainment offer.
The company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), the owner of i.a. Westfield Mokotów, Westfield Arkadia and Galeria Wileńska in Warsaw and Wroclavia in Wrocław. URW has been setting trends for many years and focuses on building experiences (not only shopping experiences). In its facilities, it introduces the latest and flagship concepts of well-known and popular brands, as well as local ones, organizes unique events and creates spaces that allow customers to interact with brands, learn about their philosophy and experience what they offer. Therefore, entertainment in URW centers takes on a new dimension. Not only because of its uniqueness, but also because of the wide range of attractions and their originality.
URW shopping centers combine many functions. These are not only places conducive to shopping, but also places where you like to spend your free time. We make sure that our facilities respond to the needs of customers who are looking for places with a wide shopping, dining and entertainment offer. We closely observe changes in consumer behavior and expectations as well as market trends, developing the offer of our shopping centers accordingly. We want URW facilities to be meeting places, ideal for spending time with family and friends, but also perfectly fitting into the urban fabric. That is why we also engage in various types of local activities – says Filip Kryłowicz, Head of Shopping Center Management Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield in Poland.
Retailtainment in Wroclavia
There is no other center in Wrocław with such an original and thoughtful entertainment offer as Wroclavia. Here, URW focused on innovative, unique concepts that respond in an unusual way to the new trend in retail – retailtainment, where shopping and entertainment intertwine, providing customers with new, unforgettable experiences.
From the very beginning, Wroclavia was not intended to be only a place where people come only for shopping. We have a wide gastronomic, entertainment and recreational offer. Our customers can eat in the Grand Kitchen zone, use the first Gamestate arcade in Poland, race on the modern Pitlane karting track or exercise in the CityFit fitness club. What’s more, since its opening, we also have a Cinema City cinema with the only IMAX hall in Lower Silesia – says Małgorzata Woźniak, director of Wroclavia.
The first world of arcade entertainment in Poland, Gamestate is an arcade with a style referring to the 1980s. It is a unique place with over 50 titles – from retro Pac-man, Mario Kart and Cymbergaj to NBA Hoops and the Pump It Up series of dance games. A completely new, unique VR experience awaits customers here – the virtual reality of King Kong from Skull Island. The Gamestate concept, which covers an area of over 900 m2, has been designed so that everyone, regardless of age, can find a game for themselves and recall their childhood. While playing, everyone can collect coupons, which will then be exchanged for prizes.
In turn, the modern Pitlane karting track is the first such place in Wrocław. Compared to other similar facilities in Poland, it is distinguished by its modern design, equipment and ecological approach, e.g. by using electric go-karts that do not emit harmful carbon dioxide. They are also quieter than their petrol cousins. Pitlane is equipped with 16 large electric go-karts and 6 children’s go-karts. In each vehicle you will find comfortable, fabric seats and an optional power steering system. In total, the track occupies 3,500 m2 of level -2 of the shopping center. The co-founders of the track are the popular Internet creator The Mike and the well-known collector of supercars Szymon Banaś.
Gastronomy and entertainment in one place
The Cinema City cinema in the Wroclavia shopping center provides a wide range of entertainment in 20 air-conditioned halls, e.g. the first IMAX® room in Lower Silesia, where a crystal-clear image and powerful digital sound provide an extremely intense, realistic experience. There is also a Škoda 4DX® room in Cinema City, where you can feel, among others, smells, raindrops or wind, and movable chairs with motion simulators, synchronized with the events on the screen, make the viewer feel as if they were in the middle of the action. In addition, three VIP rooms offer cinema entertainment combined with a diverse gastronomic offer, tailored to the tastes of the greatest gourmets.
The Wroclavia shopping center also has the Grand Kitchen zone with a rich, carefully selected offer of restaurants and cafes, available in a separate, attractively arranged space. Customers can taste cuisines from around the world here, both thanks to Wrocław and chain culinary concepts. On the other hand, year-round green gardens located between the commercial and office part of Wroclavia and in the form of a terrace next to one of the restaurants allow you to escape from the bustle of the street. The CityFit fitness club has also found its place in the shopping centre. Available 24 hours a day, it offers modern training equipment, group classes included in the price of the subscription and no long-term contracts. The interior is divided into comfortable zones, e.g. Relaxation Zone or FitTest Zone to measure training progress.
Cinema City cinema, fitness club (Zdrofit) and the Fikołki playground are also located in other URW centers such as Westfield Mokotów and Westfield Arkadia. In Galeria Wileńska, the owner focused on the Entertainment Zone, i.e. a place to spend free time, offering a lot of fun for the whole family and friends. There you can find gaming machines (including virtual bowling, Rainbow, basketball, air hockey, Shot Western and many others) that issue tickets – these are then exchanged for attractive prizes: e.g. drones, board games, electronic equipment, toys, gadgets.
Fun for everyone, anytime
URW centers also focus on the development of entertainment concepts related to the season or current events. Among them was a fan zone created in the green area in front of Westfield Arkadia for the time of the World Cup in Qatar. From November 20 to December 18, all football lovers could watch the games on large screens in the official fan zone located in the green area in front of the shopping center. The broadcasts of all 64 scheduled matches were free of charge.
In winter in front of a shopping center Westfield Arkadia, on the other hand, a 400-meter ice rink was built, and the immediate surroundings were decorated with special decorations and light illuminations. It is a synthetic ice rink, so neither electricity nor water are needed to prepare its surface. It can be used in all weather conditions, regardless of the temperature.
A unique attraction was also the autumn Padel4all Roadshow: Padel Festival in the Westfield Arkadia shopping center with a full-size, mobile padel court with an area of 200 sq m, which was placed in the space inside the center. The aim of the initiative was to popularize this sport – extremely spectacular and one of the fastest growing in the world. As part of the event, there were free trainings, demonstration matches of representatives of the Polish Padel Team and an international tournament with the participation of teams from 4 countries.
In all its shopping centers, URW creates an inclusive space, friendly to everyone. It creates thoughtful, innovative places where people feel good and want to spend their time. In this way, URW responds to customer expectations and the changing role of modern shopping centers, which currently have a social function that combines trade, business, entertainment and culture.
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