An artist's impression of the new mall

RELATED LINKS: Mall boom in Soweto WITH research showing that much of Soweto's disposable income is spent outside the area, developers and retailers are ploughing investments into vibrant shopping malls catering for residents' every want. Read more Big shopping mall for Soweto A NEW multi-million rand shopping mall, housing some 80 shops, will soon rise to dominate the Soweto shopping experience. Read more Construction sector drives Gauteng THE boom in the construction industry is expected to gather pace, fuelling a rise in skills and a decline in inner city vacancy rates. Read more Massive project will lead to the rise of the south SOWETO - a township of contrasting images from sprawling, poverty-stricken wasteland to a cosmopolitan, vibrant locale - is to be reinvented into a viable centre of cultural and commercial activity. Read more

Shop 'til you drop in Soweto With the opening of the massive Maponya Mall in Pimville on Thursday, Soweto will boast the biggest shopping mall in southern Africa. There is a mix of retail, from large national chains to local entrepreneurs. September 26, 2007 By Ndaba Dlamini A DREAM 28 years in the making will finally come true for a Soweto businessman when Maponya Mall opens its doors to shoppers on Thursday, 27 September. The brainchild of Richard Maponya, the largest shopping centre in southern Africa will open with loads of specials, competitions and shopping "to die for". About 200 stores include retail giants like Pick 'n Pay, Woolworths, Edgars, Mr Price, Clicks and Toys R Us - the first outlet of the toy-store chain in the township - and local entrepreneurs like Mebala Boutique, Maponya Mall Optometrists, BNL Fashion Café, Le Looks Beauty and Hair. The main entrance that will greet shoppers The R650-million, 65 000m² mall is also home to many other firsts: the eight-cinema Ster Kinekor complex is the first such complex in the township; shoe-shop chain Geox opens its first outlet in Africa; and the first Woodin pan-African co-ordinated lifestyle concept store also opens at the mall. Maponya believes that the new shopping centre will not only provide convenience for shoppers who previously had to travel to surrounding areas and the Johannesburg CBD for goods and services, but will also provide much-needed jobs, particularly for young people. The Soweto business entrepreneur began his career in the 1950s with a dairy. He later broke new ground by venturing into horse racing, a field that was previously regarded as a "white boy's club". Driven by sharp business acumen, Maponya's interests have grown by leaps and bounds. The Maponya Group has invested in retail, including supermarkets, car dealerships, liquor and property industries, and leisure and resort development in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, and in the Western Cape tourist towns of Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. The group is a family business, with one of Maponya's daughters, Chichi, and his son, Solly, both involved. A new development in Soweto gets ready to open its doors Besides being a prime shopping centre, Maponya Mall is also the home of the Hector Pieterson memorial statue and the Ster Kinekor Wall of Fame devoted to local and international movie stars. Maponya Mall is open daily from 9am to 9pm, and is located in Pimville on the Old Potch Road. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za