The New South China Mall is now the largest mall in the world. This figure is based upon leasable square footage, which the mall has nearly 10,000 square feet of.
The mall is located in China's bustling Dongguan, with over 700,000 inhabitants. Despite the prime choice in location, there is so much empty space in the shopping mall that it is nearly impossible to make it look populated. Documentarian Grégoire Basdevant captures this on film, showing that the space is so big, there are even people using the space for physical activities like playing tennis.
At its opening, only one percent of its retail space was rented out. The mall is so huge that it seems to be more of a ghost town than a shopping center.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Empty Malls
- The trend of large malls with lots of empty space offers a unique opportunity for companies to repurpose underutilized areas for different purposes.
- Documentary Films
- As demonstrated by the popularity of 'Gigantic Ghostly Mall Documentaries', there is a growing audience for films that explore unusual or overlooked sites and subjects.
- Shifting Retail Landscape
- The prevalence of unoccupied shopping malls like New South China Mall reveals the need for innovative approaches to retail, including e-commerce and experiential shopping.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Real Estate
- The empty mall phenomenon highlights a need for fresh thinking in real estate management, with opportunities to repurpose these spaces as residential, entertainment or community assets.
- Film and Media
- The appetite for unique documentaries creates opportunities for media companies to produce engaging content about little-known subjects.
- Retail
- Empty malls reflect the challenges facing traditional retail and the need to adopt innovative approaches to attract and retain customers.
