NewsWhore
04-11-2012, 02:20 PM
Velutini Group president Luis Emilio Velutini announces that JW Marriott will operate the 121-suite hotel, next addition to the 15-floor Santo Domingo Blue Mall complex on Santo Domingo's Av. Winston Churchill. In an interview with Listin Diario published on Tuesday 10 April, the Venezuelan investor said the luxury business hotel is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2013. Blue Mall is preparing to open eight floors of luxury offices this August.
Overall, the second phase office space + hotel investment of US$50 million, adds to the original US$90 million investment in the Blue Mall.
In an interview with the Corripio media group and Hoy newspaper published on 11 April, Velutini spoke of the trend for more shops to be concentrated in shopping malls, changing the shopping experience here. He expects more independent stores located on city streets to move into the malls for safety reasons.
He highlighted how today malls are not only for shops but also for offices. In Santo Domingo, on the same Av. Winston Churchill, already Acropolis Mall and the older Plaza Central offer office space.
Velutini told Hoy that when researching and planning Blue Mall in the Dominican Republic, he discovered a totally virgin commercial sector, that reminded him of Venezuela some 25 or 30 years ago.
He said that based on his business experience in Venezuela, he saw a market niche for luxury brands Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Carolina Herrera and Ferragamo, that now have stores at Blue Mall. He said that before coming here, they carried out a study that showed that 75% of women worldwide in social groups A, B and C were concerned about brands, yet only 15% of men were. Nevertheless, in the Dominican Republic, 85% of women and 75% of men were looking for brands.
In an interview with Listin Diario yesterday, Tuesday, 10 April Velutini estimated that Blue Mall receives around 250,000 visitors a month. Visitors to the offices and hotel are intended to increase shopper traffic, said Velutini.
As reported in Hoy, he said that now, with the imminent opening of the Sambil commercial center, another Venezuelan capital investment, there would be more diversity within the sector. He expects Sambil to be geared to the mass market. The local market is small, he said, so he doubted other malls would offer the same brands as those available in Blue Mall. He added that other malls that opened would be more targeted at the middle class. Venezuelan capital is also behind the Novocentro mall, another mixed use commercial building, on Av. Lope de Vega.
Velutini told Hoy that the Dominican Republic is attractive to overseas investors but needs to create more incentives to attract more industries. He highlighted the country's judicial security.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
Overall, the second phase office space + hotel investment of US$50 million, adds to the original US$90 million investment in the Blue Mall.
In an interview with the Corripio media group and Hoy newspaper published on 11 April, Velutini spoke of the trend for more shops to be concentrated in shopping malls, changing the shopping experience here. He expects more independent stores located on city streets to move into the malls for safety reasons.
He highlighted how today malls are not only for shops but also for offices. In Santo Domingo, on the same Av. Winston Churchill, already Acropolis Mall and the older Plaza Central offer office space.
Velutini told Hoy that when researching and planning Blue Mall in the Dominican Republic, he discovered a totally virgin commercial sector, that reminded him of Venezuela some 25 or 30 years ago.
He said that based on his business experience in Venezuela, he saw a market niche for luxury brands Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Carolina Herrera and Ferragamo, that now have stores at Blue Mall. He said that before coming here, they carried out a study that showed that 75% of women worldwide in social groups A, B and C were concerned about brands, yet only 15% of men were. Nevertheless, in the Dominican Republic, 85% of women and 75% of men were looking for brands.
In an interview with Listin Diario yesterday, Tuesday, 10 April Velutini estimated that Blue Mall receives around 250,000 visitors a month. Visitors to the offices and hotel are intended to increase shopper traffic, said Velutini.
As reported in Hoy, he said that now, with the imminent opening of the Sambil commercial center, another Venezuelan capital investment, there would be more diversity within the sector. He expects Sambil to be geared to the mass market. The local market is small, he said, so he doubted other malls would offer the same brands as those available in Blue Mall. He added that other malls that opened would be more targeted at the middle class. Venezuelan capital is also behind the Novocentro mall, another mixed use commercial building, on Av. Lope de Vega.
Velutini told Hoy that the Dominican Republic is attractive to overseas investors but needs to create more incentives to attract more industries. He highlighted the country's judicial security.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)