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Westfield Londres

By Patricia Connell
10/11/2008

When my husband, who is not normally very keen on shopping, offered to go and visit together the new Westfield Shopping ‘extravaganza’ Centre in London W12, I knew that something really big had just happened.
We arrived there very early on the second Saturday of its opening. Hardly anybody was in sight and the great number of parking spaces available, 4500 in total, made it almost ghostly. Finding a space at that time of the day therefore was remarkably easy.

The Valet parking available together with a separate entrance suggested that a different type of customers from the one usually seen in shopping malls was probably being targeted. Of course, we had heard all the stories in the press about the wide range of luxury shops on offer but we were still dubious.  Was it really possible? When you hear about 265 shops all crammed tastefully into one place, one cannot help thinking that this could turn out to be something like Dubai airport on a good day.

When we emerged from the lift, at 9.30am, the shop had just opened and the place was still empty. Could it be that the place was a flop? This gave us a chance to appreciate even more the sheer size of this incredible building. The place is simply gigantic! We were both impressed by the quality of the general design and all in all we thought that it had been very well thought out. After all, this was not any project. It had taken 10 years to build. It did feel however like a gigantic airport. With every minute that passed, the space started to fill with shoppers. By 12 o’clock, the place was heaving. I asked one of the assistants what it had been like the weekend before and he gave me a simple answer: “Packed. People could hardly circulate”. The question was of course: “Were they buying?”

At 11 am Searcy’s champagne bar was already trading very well with a large number of ladies who lunch having pink champagne. At £10 a large glass, why not shop in style and even opt for the whole bottle? Some had. The champagne bar is of course located in what is called the Village. This area is dedicated to designer labels and luxury goods. This is where you can find the likes of Dior, De Beers, Tiffany and Jo Malone.

At this point, many of the Village shops have yet to open but already you know that this is going to be an enormous success. The staffs in the Dior shop were already busy selling.
From December, the rest of the shops will also have opened their doors and then it will look amazing.
Strangely enough, I was more taken by my husband’s comments than by my own impressions. If he could be impressed, then this meant that the whole experience had to be more than just shopping. This in a way made me realise what Westfield could be in terms of competition for the rest of the London main shopping areas. The choice such that there was no real reason to go to Oxford Street for instance. Even Westbourne Grove and Kensington High Street can be seriously worried. Joseph, Nocole Farhi, Ghost, Reiss, LK Bennett, Emma Hope and Russell and Bromley are all there. Why would anyone living within a few miles of Westfield want to go anywhere else? Everything is there. From the traditional high street shop to the top luxury goods, there is really something for everyone. Not only that, it has also been very well thought out with shops that sell similar goods close to one another making the shopping experience so much easier. For instance, at one point, my husband complained that he hadn’t seen any toys being sold. We turned the corner and there they were from the Disney store  to the Nintendo DS bar, the kids could have a field day.

They could also enjoy an ice-cream at Gelato sitting on one of the many scooters used as seats around the counter.
But what about men, could they also find a few toys. Well of course, the latest BMW was on display and the men were all queuing hoping to sit behind the wheel for a moment. For the more ecologically concerned, two little NICE cars were also on display. Others,  had taken over the gadget store. It was absolutely packed! We gave up trying to get in and went straight for the Bose shop to look for a new sound system. After all that, when we thought we had finished, we realised that there was still so much more to see.
I’ll simply have to go back and experience this time a full shopping day. I guess it will have to be with one of my girl friends. At least she won’t be asking to go home after only 2 1/2 hours. Men have no resilience when it comes to serious shopping. It could be that they simply haven’t received enough practice.

 

When we got back to our car, the car park had really filled up. There were not many empty spaces left hence the need for Valet Parking of course. I could just abut imagine what it would be like trying to get out at 6pm. Well I discovered it at 6pm when I was in the process of taking my 13 year son to a party that evening and simply took my usual route forgeting that now there was Westfield to deal with. Never again. I was stuck in traffic for nearly half an hour trying to get to Shepherd's Bush round about from the A40. Beware and avoid that area at all cost at weekends. They expect 60,000 visitors a day on average. That's a lot of people and an awful lot of cars.

So what’s the verdict? Both of us where seriously impressed by the wide choice on offer. The only thing missing perhaps was John Lewis nor did I see any bridal shops.
With 50 restaurants/cafés and bars open until midnight, and when the 12 cinema screens open next Autumn, shoppers will even be more willing to spend more time on site.

 

French Companies with a store at Westfield:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More info about Westfield and on how to get there.