Menlyn Park Shopping Centre undergoing major redevelopment
Menlyn Park Shopping Centre is undergoing a major redevelopment, including a massive expansion and refurbishment, to become one of the largest malls on the continent and in the southern hemisphere, with over 500 shops.
Menlyn is not only a landmark in Pretoria, but is synonymous with the things that make us feel good and look good – entertainment and fashion
To match its iconic status and premium shopping, fashion and entertainment attractions, it is also introducing a new brand identity.
Menlyn Park Shopping Centre is equally co-owned by Pareto Limited (Pareto) and Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (South Africa) Limited. Together they are investing R2 billion in this forward-thinking development for the mall. The two-phase project, which is being led by retailer demand and growing shopper support, will add approximately 50,000 m2 and 200 more stores to the centre. It will also create exciting new diverse retail and entertainment areas in the mall. Construction commenced in April 2014, with the entire project scheduled for completion in November 2016.
Menlyn Park Shopping Centre’s refreshed branding is inspired by the mall’s fashion-loving shoppers, and the many fashion brands housed in the mall. It hosts one of the greatest fashion brand collections in Africa and has become synonymous with everything stylish and trendy.
Aligned to the redevelopment vision, Menlyn Park Shopping Centre’s new brand will change the face of this iconic mall and take it into a new era, and its new logo will reflect its heightened fashionable status.
“The Menlyn Park shopper is fashion forward and appreciates quality design,” says Marius Muller, CEO of Pareto. “We believe they’ll appreciate the sophisticated new brand, which is aligned with the mall’s iconic status, as well as the unique and quirky imagery that evokes Pretoria and is also distinctly South African.”
While the mall will proudly wear a new badge as it steps into its bright new future, it also retains a respectful tribute to its rich past. “For those who’ve grown up in Pretoria, Menlyn has been a part of their childhood and is the venue of many shared memories and stories,” explains Peter Levett, CEO of Old Mutual Property. “Menlyn is not only a landmark in Pretoria, but is synonymous with the things that make us feel good and look good – entertainment and fashion. It has gained iconic status over the past 35 years and we felt it was important to pay respect to this with the new brand identity.”
The ‘M’ in the new logo will still reflect the architectural features of the mall, as the previous one did. However, they now form a unique symbol crowning the beautifully crafted, and distinct Menlyn logotype. Besides the new logo, Menlyn has created a library of unique and distinctly Menlyn images across a variety of themes that will be used in all artwork, replacing its former use of royalty-free stock images. A celebration of its city, each image contains a backdrop designed from elements within the Capital City, forming some unusual and highly individual patterns.
“The people in the images are all real Menlyn Park Shopping Centre fans, which makes the artwork a completely authentic reflection of our shoppers, our city and gives it a unique South African flavour,” says Muller.
Levett adds, “As we take Menlyn Park Shopping Centre on this exciting journey into the future for our shoppers and retailers, it is fitting that we also introduce a new brand identity to carry the image of this unique mall forward too.”