As the brand communication industry wends its way home after a raucous Loeries festival weekend in Cape Town, the rest of the country partied in its own right on Heritage Day on Thursday - aka National Braai Day. The public holiday also saw the opening of the Eastern Cape's biggest shopping centre (the 12th largest in the country), Hemingways Mall in East London. Although shoppers were impressed by the architectural design and wide selection of outlets, they weren't charmed by the apparent lack of navigational maps, with many having to ask security where the exits were. Perhaps management needs to get hold of a copy of Stanlib's report on "How 10 Shopping Centres Got It Wrong". And although other East London malls were bracing themselves for the impact the new competition would make on their bottom lines, weekend research shows there was no need to worry. Another notable celebration on the go was that of logistics company, DHL - happy 40th birthday!

Shan Radcliffe, Retail editor
retailnews@bizcommunity.com
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Image: Artist's impression of Hemingways Mall.