THE newly renovated Halls Head Central shopping centre opened on Thursday, March 17 with thousands of customers in attendance, marking the completion of the store’s $55 million expansion.
Vicinity Centres development manager Jonathan Timms opened the store with tourism minister Kim Hames and Mandurah mayor Marina Vergone.
Mr Timms said the shopping centre had gone through a long development process over the past 12 months to create a brand new shopping, lifestyle and dining destination for the whole family.
“We are committed to providing high quality, vibrant shopping experiences and we are proud to give the community of Halls Head great retail brands, exciting food and dining options, and convenient services,” he said.
“With a coastal design throughout, the transformed centre gives customers the opportunity to shop, eat, sip and enjoy time with family and friends, all on their doorstep.”
Kmart store manager Emma Trappel said it had been a “crazy” lead-up to the store opening, but she was excited to have a brand-new store to run.
“It’s been pretty hectic,” she said.
“People crawled under the door to get in this morning.
"Thankfully we were really organised and prepared, but you can’t completely prepare for thousands of people streaming through your door."
Ms Trappel said a large amount of work had gone into making sure the store, and the shopping centre in general, would be able to provide proper service from the moment the doors opened.
“It’s been months of fitting-out and planning and training our staff so that they’re ready for the customers,” she said.
“There’s not really another major shopping centre south of the bridge, and with the Forum undergoing renovations it’s important that everything’s up and running.
“We’re really proud of the store, it’s something different and I think the customers have really responded to what we’re trying to do.”
Mr Timms said a large part of the design of the new shopping centre was based on providing a wide-ranging experience for families, outside of the usual shopping process.
“Designed in collaboration with local parents, we are looking forward to seeing kids’ eyes light up when they are exploring our new outdoor playground,” he said.
“Families young and old are at the heart of this community and it’s wonderful to see the smiles on our customers’ faces as they discover everything Halls Head central has to offer.”
Shoppers Megan and Jo, whose partners had worked on the construction of the shopping centre, said they were pleasantly surprised by the amount and range of shops on offer.
“Our partners have been working on it for weeks, and they were saying they didn’t know if everything would be up and running by today,” Megan said.
“But yeah, it’s great. There’s a lot of places to choose from, especially to eat at.”
The celebrations continue until Saturday, March 26, with entertainment from popular ABC children’s show Ben and Holly as well as local musicians, free goodie bags, a dedicated kids’ zone, visits from the Easter Bunny and a twilight outdoor cinema.
