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Yeouido is changing! The first shopping mall in Yeouido, ‘IFC Mall’ will open on August 30th
2012, August 28th, Seoul – IFC Mall which has been getting so much attention as the first international style shopping mall in Yeouido, the financial center of Seoul, will open on August 30th.
IFC Mall is the first shopping mall opening in Yeouido and is part of the overall IFC Seoul project consisting of three office buildings and the 38-story luxury hotel Conrad Seoul. As a multipurpose space where people can enjoy shopping, culture, dining and entertainment in one location and as the first shopping mall to open in the center of the Seoul downtown area, the media and public have shown the most interest in IFC Mall. Yeouido which used to be perceived as a quiet business district will radiate new light as an emerging shopping and cultural district where people will gather to enjoy shopping, entertainment, and nightlife on weekdays and weekends due to the opening of IFC Mall.
William F. Freeman, the managing director of IFC Seoul said, “The most innovative and market aware fashion and F&B brands in Seoul have competed to open their stores in the IFC Mall, and that proves the industry recognizes the growth potential of Yeouido.” And he continued, “IFC Mall is not just another shopping mall. It’s the new landmark of Yeouido and will act as a catalyst to the change of Yeouido. Yeouido is now being established as the new core commercial location of downtown Seoul.”
IFC Mall located on the 23rd street of Yeouido-dong in Seoul consists of three underground levels with a gross area of 76,021 ｍ² and sales area of 39,420 ｍ². IFC Mall has approximately 110 stores featuring the most successful global fashion brands, well-known international fashion brands, CGV multiplex 9 screen cinema, Youngpoong book store and a significant choice of dining options.
IFC Mall has been designed to the highest international standards. There are no columns in the pathways, and this provides uninterrupted sight lines to the storefronts and allows customers to move uninhibited through the spacious and relaxed shopping environment. The mall enjoys an abundance of natural light via the 17 meter high glass pavilions. These North and South Pavilions also provide the iconic entrances to the mall from the ground level.
AIG is the developer and asset manager of IFC Mall. Taubman Asia, the Asian region subsidiary of U.S. Taubman Centers, the specialist retail developer, has been engaged by AIG to lease and manage IFC Mall. The mall will provide a very different environment from Korean department stores and shopping malls. Many of the fashion brands will operate flagship stores and have brought new design concepts to IFC Mall. Similarly many of the cafes and restaurants have introduced new interior design, and differentiated menus to add to the joy of shopping and eating.
Young fashionably aware office workers in their 25-30s are the main target of IFC Mall and therefore the store lineup includes forward fashion brands which combine style, quality and value. International and domestic fashion brands which are scattered around Seoul as street shops are gathered together at IFC Mall along with famous foreign fashion brands which cannot articulate their brand identities in small shop sizes within department stores. Brands at IFC Mall will truly show their brand characteristics by coming into a spacious and well designed place. All five fashion brands of Inditex Group including Zara, Mashimo Dutti and Bershka, and three big global SPA brands such as Uniqlo and H&M are opening at IFC Mall. In addition, Banana Republic, Gap, Jill Stuart, Swarovski, Guess and the first Hollister store in Korea are open too.
Meanwhile, the food and beverage stores on the L3 level of IFC Mall will provide a premium food court and high quality restaurants with various menus and price ranges. These include ‘The Steak House’, an authentic New York style premium steak, ‘Cheil Je-myun-so‘, a famous place for noodle, shabu-shabu and sushi, ‘Rak’ n Wok’, an American-style Chinese restaurant that suits young customer’s tastes, ‘Yasedaya’, a premium Japanese BBQ restaurant, ‘On the Border’, an authentic Mexican restaurant, ‘Honest Kitchen’, an organic Asian fusion restaurant, and more, thus office workers and visitors to Yeouido will now have real menu choices.
IFC Mall has outstanding accessibility. Customers can enjoy the convenience of the Yeouido Bus Interchange, Yeouido Station on Line 5 and National Assembly Station on Line 9 and the adjoining KTX and train stations. Of most interest to IFC Mall customers is the direct link to Yeouido Station – a transfer station of line 5 and 9 with the daily floating population of 1,300,000 - through a 360m-long moving walkway. Furthermore, a subway or KTX from Incheon Airport to IFC Seoul takes less than one hour.
Vivian Ahn, Vice President of AIG Korean Real Estate Development which is the developer of IFC Mall said, “The daily settled population of IFC Seoul’s office towers reaches nearly 250,000. Therefore, we expect that without the additional influx of population the shopping mall operation will be stable.” “We have secured 238,000 office workers and 33,823 residents in Yeouido-dong as another major consumer base, and during the weekend parking space in the office buildings will be empty so we can fully use this space for shopping mall customers. We think IFC Mall will attract customers not only from Yeouido but also from Mapo, Gangseo, Yangcheon, Dongjak etc.”
Even though Yeouido is one of three major business districts including CBD and GBD, Yeouido has lacked commercial infrastructure. With the opening of IFC Mall, Yeouido is evolving as the leading commercial area of Seoul. IFC Mall will lead the changes in the Yeouido commercial district targeting office workers with sophisticated taste and style and satisfy their various shopping interests, appetites and entertainment expectations. Visit www.ifcmallseoul.com for further information regarding IFC Mall.
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