Information Zone keeps shoppers in the know!

Date: 8 May 2007

St David's Shopping Centre in Cardiff has launched an information zone for its shoppers and retailers to provide them with up to date details on the modernisation of the existing shopping centre and key milestones in the development of St. David's 2.

The new £675m St. David's 2 development will extend the current St. David's shopping offer to 1,394,500 sq ft of retail space - making it one of the largest shopping destinations in the UK. Once complete in 2009, St. David's will offer Wales's first John Lewis store, nine new large stores, 93 shops, 25 bars, restaurants and cafes, all this in addition to the 60 shops that make up the retail mix in the existing St. David's Shopping Centre.

The new information zone is an interface between the shopping centre and it's customers, providing details around the changes using the internal hoardings that are covering Town Wall South Mall, which is currently being widened and remodelled to form the main link (via the ground floor and the first floor via an escalator) between St David's Shopping Centre and St. David's 2.

Designed to keep shoppers and retailers up-to-date on changes over the next two years, the centrepiece of the zone is a timeline identifying key dates in the works programme for both the modernisation and development of St. David's 2, along with the key contact details should visitors require more information.

It also features a plasma screen TV showing a movie with up to the minute details on the latest developments, quirky facts, images of the scale model and promotes the vision for Cardiff. A series of information leaflets are being created to support the information zone and to provide greater detail around the frequently asked questions.

The new zone will be fronted by the 'Faces of St David's' - local shoppers who were chosen from a competition last year to represent the shopping centre and the new development in its communication campaigns over the next two years. Made up of men, women and children aged between four and 57 years old, the 'Faces of St David's' have already appeared in the press, on billboards and even on the side of buses as part of the shopping centre's communications with its customers. They now feature on the hoardings helping to explain the changes that are happening to other customers.

Steven Madeley, general manager at St David's Shopping Centre, said: 'Our shoppers feel a sense of ownership over the shopping centre because it's been at the heart of Cardiff shopping for so long. Bearing this in mind, we always take every opportunity to communicate with our shoppers and keep them up-to-date on what's happening. The information zone will be a focal point of communication - a one-stop-shop for our customers who want to find out more. Having it fronted by real shoppers is perfect - they are our ambassadors over the next two years and are people that everyone can relate to. We hope it allows our customers to feel involved with all the changes and gives them all the information they need about this exciting new development in Cardiff shopping.'

The St David's 2 development also includes 3,000 new car parking spaces, a new central library, improved public spaces and 300 roof-top apartments. The project will create 1,000 construction jobs and 3,000 new retail and leisure jobs on completion.