THE OPENING of the M3 motorway earlier this summer has led to a 6 per cent increase in the number of shoppers visiting the Blanchardstown Centre in Dublin 15, now Ireland's largest shopping destination.
Jim McKenna of the owners of the shopping centre, Green Property Company, said they were pleasantly surprised to see a marked increase in the number of "non-food shoppers" from Meath and Cavan since the motorway came into operation in June.
The higher level of business was particularly noticeable in the fashion shops, which account for a high percentage of the 176 outlets in the west Dublin centre and the adjoining retail park.
He said Blanchardstown also recorded a 3 per cent increase in footfall during 2009. He believed there was now a drift back to the large shopping centres from district and neighbourhood centres.
In spite of the overall drop in consumer spending in Ireland, Blanchardstown has managed to let 12 shops this year, three of them in recent weeks. Joint agents HWBC and Jones Lang LaSalle are currently in negotiations to let the two remaining vacant units.
One of the latest arrivals is the children's-wear giant Pumpkin Patch, which has leased a unit of 300sq m (3,229sq ft) for its first Irish store.
It is located on level two in the central area, opposite Zara and Debenhams. The company was founded in New Zealand in 1990 and now has over 200 stores in 14 countries including the US, Australia and the UK.
Also newly opened is Build a Bear, a global company which offers an interactive "make your own stuffed animal" experience to young people.
The American company was founded in 1997 and has more than 400 shops worldwide, including one in Dundrum Town Centre.
The new Blanchardstown shop extends to 150sq m (1,615sq ft) and is on level one.
The Irish franchisee for Wagamama, the pan-Asian restaurant operator, has opened a large restaurant with a floor area of 360sq m (3,875sq ft) in retail park 2, next to Captain America and Starbucks.
Green Property has secured planning permission to build a large extension at the Blanchardstown centre, but decided earlier this year to defer it because of the banking crisis and the economic slowdown.
