Many residents in communities west of Accra are still struggling to find an answer to the source of the new burst of life and excitement blowing through their shopping centre, West Hills Mal, even in the wake of the intractable global pandemic.
While most people wonder what is making the difference at the mall, some smart patrons, notably the very regular shoppers, have so easily decrypted what is new and what is trending at Accra’s leading family shopping centre and taking advantage of it.
Revamping West Hills’ tenant mix
In fulfillment of a special promise to beef up the tenant mix and offer more variety and options to shoppers and patrons, West Hills Mall has added a number of exciting new stores to its tenant portfolio in an ongoing programme which kicked off just ahead of last year’s festive season.
As mall management explains, in the quest to meet rising demand in certain categories and also to offer the best of services to customers, the very first batch of six new and exciting tenants were signed on and opened at the mall in November and, according to both tenants and shoppers, are doing brisk business.
Fashion stores UK Brands and Jocent, Home Décor Outlet Banana Home, the Home Furniture Dealer AJ Boaz, Health & Beauty specialist Divine Organic Hub and the mall’s only African food vendor, the Addo’s, have become the toast of shoppers and customers since they began trading.
New Stores on the block
UK Brands is a new retail chain that entered the Ghanaian market in November 2019 and as the tenant puts it, aims at becoming the top clothing retailer in Ghana, offering UK branded clothing at affordable prices.
UK Brand’s mission is to provide the average Ghanaian with quality clothing, and use its business to radically change the perception that quality brand new clothing at the shopping malls, must be expensive.
The store currently offers a wide range of clothing, including everyday High Street UK brands: Marks & Spencer, F&F, Next, Gap, Peacock, Mothercare, Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing, Topshop, Calvin Klein, Primark and many others at incredibly affordable prices.
Jocent, the other fashion store is a successful, Ghanaian owned retail outlet which initially tested the market with stores in Adum, Kumasi and later transitioned to trading in the malls…beginning with its home centre, Kumasi City Mall before joining West Hills Mall last November.
At West Hills Mall, Jocent’s speciality has been to provide quality clothes for ladies, men and kids from all over Accra at affordable prices. The magnet in Jocent’s shop floor at West Hills mall may be the varied category of clothes on offer every day of the week: casual, formal, smart casual, shoes and underwear for all sizes and ages.
The Addo’s, an afro café and restaurant, literally ‘pounded’ its way into the mall’s busy Food Court in June last year, headlining with what its patrons insist is the most irresistible fufu grub in the whole of Accra. Fufu at the Addo’s is served with “any soup of your choice”. The restaurant also serves a range of African favourites like beans and plantain (Red-red) with fish or chicken.
The Addo’s say they are particular about affordability and therefore in spite of their high standards, price their whole meals from as low as Ghc25.00.
Banana Home, a superbly stocked home deco store, joined the West Hills Mall family early December… just in time to avail itself to waiting patrons during the festive season. The store has never looked back since and continues to charm its numerous customers with a wide assortment of electronic gadgets and home décor.
The mall’s newest furniture people, AJ Boaz, is already a household name at West Hills Mall, having entered the retail market with their first store, a footwear shop, two years ago. The new store deals exclusively in quality upholstery, living room furniture and accessories.
Another exciting new entrant to West Hills Mall is Divine Organic Hub, a health and beauty specialist which, after a successful exhibition at the mall two years ago, decided to have a permanent presence for the benefit of its patrons. They opened for business in November last year offering a rare range of organic products including the black seed, flaxseed, chai seed, coriander seed, carrot oil, avocado oil and rosemary oil.
The arrival of these new tenants and a second batch of fresh tenants lined up for business at the mall in the course of the year has tremendously raised the level of offer categories, varieties and the options open to West Hills Mall shoppers, enriching the average customer’s overall shopping experience at the mall.
Fulfilling a promise to patrons
It may be recalled that in August last year, following the expiry of the lease agreement of The Foschini Group, West Hills Mall management promised to introduce a new and exciting mix of local and international tenants to serve its customers.
The Management affirmed that it was determined to review strategies on an ongoing basis to replace all vacancies that emerge in the course of business, with brands which resonate with Ghanaians and which meet demands of the local market.
Since then, West Hill Mall has been busy, rolling out exciting promotions and campaigns as well as quality entertainment programmes which endorse its unchallenged status as Accra’s most compelling family mall and the capital’s best destination for safe, secure, one-stop shopping and recreation.