With Ballito already having three shopping centres, does the town really need one of this size?
Meena Sithaldeen from Mr Price at the Lifestyle Centre said they would be moving ship after construction.
“I think the new mall is an excellent idea. If you look from Richards Bay to Umhlanga, there is no big mall with an entertainment area and shops and restaurants except Gateway.
“The Lifestyle Centre is a great centre but the Lifestyle shopper has a different profile to the mall shopper. Families will now be able to go to the new mall, leave the kids at the movies and shop and eat and spend a longer time there. Also, if the weather is bad you can have a better shopping experience.
“From the Mr Price group I can say that we are moving over. We will have a much bigger store and be able to give a better shopping experience for our customers,” said Sithaldeen.
Old Khaki plans to join Mr Price, according to the store’s Malcolm Gouws.
“I am so excited about the mega mall. We are moving there and I think it is going to be so good for Ballito and for the economy. I have noticed that salaries in Ballito are generally low, say under R10 000, but they have recently started climbing due to the ongoing development.”
Retailers already signed up to join Pick ‘n Pay and Dis-Chem at the Ballito Junction are Woolworths, Game, Edgars, Foschini, Truworths, Jet, Queenspark, Markham, Identity, Total Sports, Clicks, Incredible Connection, Cape Union Mart and Coricraft.
Assistant manager at Dis-Chem, Ballito Junction, Dawie Kruger believed it will be good for business, yet he said he “prefers Ballito as a small town”.
There is however also concern over the competition that comes with the development.
Ballito residents are also divided about the idea of having such a large mall in the town, which became clear on the Courier’s Facebook page:
• “I hate malls. They are all the same. It feels like we are losing our identity,” said Marie Parkes.
• “And I am assuming that this mall is going to be lit using candles?” said Rebecca Klaasen.
• “Yes, screw getting the rest of the infrastructure right, let’s have another mall,” said Andrew Bigley.
