Kiddie Activity Hubs Seen as Way to Make Malls Amazon-Proof
- General Growth Properties’ CEO embraces KidZania concept
- Mall operator buys back stores to convert into experiences
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Sandeep Mathrani, head of U.S. shopping-center operator General Growth Properties Inc., was in Dubai when he saw something that startled him: an indoor city just for kids.
In the middle of the giant Dubai Mall, he found an activity center filled with child-sized restaurants, bakeries, hospitals and police stations. The kids operated their own role-playing town -- complete with currency -- and parents were nowhere to be found.