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The Westfield Group is an Australian-owned company that owns shopping centres in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Many of their shopping centres are known as "Westfield Shoppingtowns", and pioneered the incorporation of entertainment and dining precincts into shopping centres.
Westfield history
In 1959, Australian businessmen Frank Lowy and John Saunders opened a delicatessen in western Sydney. When the business proved successful, the pair purchased nearby land in Blacktown, and built a shopping centre with two department stores, twelve specialty shops, and parking for 50 cars. They named this centre "Westfield Place", "west" because it was located in the western suburbs, and "field" because the centre had a view across the sprawling market gardens. The centre's name was later shortened to simply "Westfield".
Westfield Holdings was publicly listed in 1960, and in the 1960s and 1970s the company constructed or acquired 14 centres on the Australian east coast. Westfield entered the United States market in 1977, and the New Zealand and UK markets in 2000. It soon established dominance in a number of regions, most notably the crucial Los Angeles and New York, New York markets. Prior to its destruction in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the underground mall at the World Trade Center was one of Westfield's crown jewels.
Westfield today
Today, Westfield operates 86 shopping centres in four countries. It is the third largest shopping centre company in the world, yet it is still chaired by Frank Lowy, one of its founders.
Since entering the U.S. market, Westfield has aggressively acquired, renovated and expanded many mall properties in order to draw wealthier consumers from longer distances. It has also financed large advertising campaigns to increase awareness of its "Westfield Shoppingtown" brand and overcome the American perception that the name sounds quaint or inappropriately signifies an outdoor shopping center (most Shoppingtowns are indoor centers).
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