Last Updated on March 17, 2023
South Africa is the home of some of the biggest shopping malls in Africa and the world at large. But do you know these malls? Where are they located in SA? What is their gross leasable area (GLA)? Find out all you need to know about the 10 largest shopping malls in South Africa.
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Top 10 Biggest Malls in South Africa
Here is all you need to know about the 10 largest shopping malls in South Africa.
1. Gateway Theatre of Shopping
The Gateway Theatre of Shopping in Umhlanga Rocks, Durban, covers 220,000 square meters. It has more than 430 stores and 12,000 parking slots. It is owned by Old Mutual Property and managed by Exellerate Real Estate Services Ltd.
- The Gateway Theatre of Shopping features:
- Entertainment services like Ster Kinekor complex with 18 cinemas, IMAX Theatre, Electric Avenue Bowling and Action Karting
- 70 eateries
- Fashion stores like Armani Exchange, La Coste, Vans and Cotton On
- Gym, the Virgin Active gym, and a wide array of health and beauty centres
2. Menlyn Park Shopping Centre
The Menlyn Park Shopping Centre is located in the Capital City of Tshwane. Menlyn Park Mall is the second largest shopping mall in South Africa, covering a gross leasable area (GLA) of 177,000 square meters with 8250 parking bays.
It has 480 stores, including:
- Entertainment and leisure joints Barnyard, Go-Karts, Numetro, and The Fun Company
- Fashion shops for men, women or children. These fashion shops include Bogart, Artollini, Cadini, Donna, Earth Child, H&M, Hugo Boss and Birkenstock
- Popular department stores like Checkers Hyper and Pick n Pay
- Financial institutions such as banks and ATMs
- Grocery shops,
- Food stores like KFC, Burger Rack and FishaAways
- Furniture stores like UFO, House and Home for shopping
The mall also has essential service providers to improve the customer experience while in the mall. These services include information desks, Muslim prayer facilities, VIP parking, concierge ambassadors and wheelchairs at the security office and the Grocery Avenue information desks.
3. Fourways Mall in Johannesburg
Fourways Mall in Johannesburg is the third-largest mall in South Africa. It is about 170,000 square meters in size after expansion and renovation from 2016 to 2019. It has 334 shops, including:
- Anchor stores including Checkers Hyper, Pick n Pay
- Clothing shops from Woolworths, Aldo and Move On
- Fast food outlets, restaurants and coffee shops like KFC, Starbucks, Burger King and Cafe Central
- Furniture shops Home, Heylo and Homemark
- Travel agencies
- South Africans can enjoy indoor and outdoor fun and games centres for skiing, kart racing, skate boarding, among other sports
- Banks and ATMs.
The 170,000 square meter space also includes parking space with over 2500 parking bays that are open every day. Parking is free for 30 minutes, after which the rates increase to a maximum of 24 hours on the weekdays and regular working days. On weekends it is free for the first two hours, after which there is a standard rate of R10.
4. Sandton City South Africa
In 1973, Sandton City mall covered 50,000 square metres. However, later on, it underwent an R1.7 billion expansion in 2011 to its current size of 146,803 square metres, making it number four on this list. It has a wide selection of over 300 stores from Adidas to Louis Vuitton.
It has a wide array of stores offering,
- Fun, games and entertainment
- Food and beverages
- Retail stores
- Sports and fitness
- Financial services
- Fashion and footwear.
5. Canal Walk
Canal Walk is the fifth-largest mall in South Africa and Cape town’s largest shopping centre. Situated in the Century City precinct, it covers 141,000 square metres and hosts 8,000 parking bays. It also has lots of,
- Retail stores
- Fashion stores
- Entertainment joints
- Restaurants, cafes
- Fitness centres
All these stores provide top-quality products and services that meet local and international standards.
6. Eastgate Shopping Centre
According to the store’s centre statistics dated 31 December 2018, it covers 135,790 square meters located in Johannesburg’s Eastern suburbs. Eastgate Shopping Centre has 300 store spaces available for tenants. However, currently, the shopping centre has 250 of them occupied by local and international brands.
7. Mall of Africa
The Mall of Africa is the biggest malls in South Africa, built in only a single phase with 130,000 square meters of retail space. It has 6,500 parking bays and 300 stores, including Pick n Pay, Woolworths, IMAX, Toy Kingdom, FNB, Kyalami Indoor Karting, and @Home.
8. The Pavilion Shopping Centre
In eighth place is Pareto owned, The Pavilion mall. This Shopping centre, located along the Durban shoreline, has a GLA of 122,768 square meters with 273 stores and 5319 parking bays.
9. Westgate Shopping Mall
After its refurbishment in 2016, the Westgate Shopping Mall now has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 112 592 square meters, making it ninth on this list. It has 173 stores and 5676 parking bays. Its key tenants are Checkers Hyper, Pick n Pay, Edgars, Game, Woolworths and Food Lovers Market.
10. Brooklyn Mall
After significant renovations seven years ago, Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria currently has a GLA of approximately 82,850 square metres. It has about 220 specialist retail stores alongside national retailers, which offer food, fashion and lifestyle services.
All the top 10 stores in this list are above 60,000 square feet in size. Topping our list of the biggest malls in South Africa is the Gateway Theatre of Shopping in Durban, with 220,000 square feet. Like all the other malls in this list, it checks all the boxes that make a mall an ideal place for a shopper. These large shopping malls continue to be busy despite the increase in online shopping. Walk into any of these malls and have the experience of your life.