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May 11, 2005
More Anti-Shoppingtown Fun!
Following up a report about a Westfield property in Wilmington, NC dropping "Shoppingtown" from their name is this article from The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA):
Westfield mall to ditch 'Shoppingtown' moniker
Chris Bagley
The Desert Sun
May 11, 2005For many it's been a tongue twister, for others a puzzlement and now, for all, it will be no more.
Westfield Shoppingtown Palm Desert is becoming just plain Westfield Palm Desert.
Australian mall owner Westfield will drop the word "Shoppingtown" not only in Palm Desert but at most of its 66 other shopping centers in the United States, company officials said Tuesday.
While the "Shoppingtown" appellation is common in Australia it never took off in the United States, a company spokesman said.
The malls will change their logos over many months, said Laurel Munson, an official in the company's Los Angeles-based U.S. division. New logos could show up first on business cards and doors.
Signs on buildings and stone monuments would likely be the last to drop the word, Munson said. She said a specific timetable for altering the signs was not known. "Obviously it's going to take time," Munson said.
An administrative assistant in Palm Desert said the name change would become apparent as the mall routinely replaces signs, food-court trays and other items. The mall hasn't yet changed anything, the employee said.
The company added "Shoppingtown" to its U.S. locations about five years ago, Munson said, as it expanded its U.S. presence. The current rebranding isn't part of a larger marketing effort.
Westfield acquired its first U.S. center in Trumbull, Conn., in 1977. It acquired the Palm Desert shopping center in 1999.
Source: The Desert Sun
Posted by Tannerman at May 11, 2005 04:57 PM | Categories: Other Malls | Westfield