Come November, Giftland Mall expects to be the venue of “the biggest supermarket in the region,” according to company President Roy Beepat.
Speaking to Stabroek Business on Monday, a day before the first anniversary of the Mall’s opening, Beepat, who was ‘under the weather,’
said briefly, “The last year has been richly rewarding for the Giftland Mall. The public and concessionaires’ response has been tremendous.”
Going forward, he said, the Mall will also host a playground, a video arcade and “some brand name stores.”
Beepat had set the project the goal of definitively altering the urban shopping and entertainment landscape. Unquestionably, the multi-billion-dollar complex has done so.
However, for a project so ground-breaking, the first anniversary passed quietly. Stabroek Business went to the Mall on Tuesday evening. There was no visible manifestation of celebrations to mark the anniversary, and the facility exuded its customary ‘feel good’ air. It was drifting towards 20:00 hrs and people had congregated in the seating area in the vicinity of the Food Court. There was another crowd heading for the cinemas.
After a year, the sprawling expanse of shopping, eating and entertainment facilities still draw throngs of Guyanese of all walks of life. According to stats provided by Giftland, between December 15 last year and last Tuesday more than 1.7 million people have passed through the doors.