First Costco in Macerich Portfolio Joins Lakewood Center
September 17 2007 - 12:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Costco Wholesale to Open at Lakewood Center on Former Macy's
Department Store Site LAKEWOOD, Calif., Sept. 17
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Costco will become the fifth anchor store
at Lakewood Center making it the single largest enclosed shopping
center in the Los Angeles metro area. The move is a first for
Costco in Southern California, where it has never before opened its
doors as a part of a super regional shopping center. "This is a
time when retail formats are converging, and we are reinventing the
concept of the regional shopping center," said Art Coppola,
President and CEO of Macerich(R) (NYSE:MAC). "This is an important
new hybrid model with great potential to fuel growth for well
positioned retail properties." The 159,000 square-foot store is
tentatively scheduled to open in fall 2008 on the site formerly
occupied by Macy's, which relocated to the former Robinsons-May
store following last year's Federated-May merger. In July 2006,
Lakewood Center's managing parent company, Santa Monica, Calif. -
based Macerich, acquired the vacant Lakewood department store from
Federated Department Stores Inc. in a deal that included 11
redundant Federated locations nationally. "Joining Lakewood Center
is a significant move for Costco," said Jeff Brotman, Costco
Founder and Chairman of the Board. "Locating at a top performing
center in the heart of Los Angeles is going to create a dynamic
synergy unlike any other location we have to date." Costco
Wholesale operates an international chain of membership warehouses,
mainly under the "Costco Wholesale" name, that carry quality, brand
name merchandise at substantially lower prices than are typically
found at conventional wholesale or retail sources. The warehouses
are designed to help small-to-medium-sized businesses reduce costs
in purchasing for resale, for everyday business use and for
individuals who purchase for their personal needs. The 2.86
million-square-foot Lakewood Shopping Center is anchored by
distinguished anchors -- JCPenney, Macy's, Mervyn's, Target and now
Costco along with Pacific Theaters and is joined by more than 250
specialty shops and restaurants making it the largest enclosed
shopping center in the greater Los Angeles area. "Today's
announcement confirms that Lakewood Center will remain a leader in
delivering what shoppers want: value, quality, and convenience.
Costco will introduce a fresh experience and an important new
shopping option for our residents," said Diane DuBois, Lakewood's
mayor. Costco is a Washington corporation, publicly traded under
the NASDAQ ticker symbol "COST." Costco currently operates 504
warehouses, including 371 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 70
in Canada, 19 in the United Kingdom, five in Korea, four in Taiwan,
five in Japan and 30 in Mexico. The Company also operates Costco
Online, an electronic commerce web site, at http://www.costco.com/
and at http://www.costco.ca/ in Canada. Macerich is a fully
integrated self-managed and self-administered real estate
investment trust, which focuses on the acquisition, leasing,
management, development and redevelopment of regional malls
throughout the United States. The company is the sole general
partner and owns an 84% ownership interest in The Macerich
Partnership, L.P. Macerich now owns approximately 77 million square
feet of gross leaseable area consisting primarily of interests in
73 regional malls. Additional information about Macerich can be
obtained from the Company's Web site at http://www.macerich.com/.
DATASOURCE: Macerich CONTACT: Anita Walker of Macerich,
+1-602-953-6565, ; or Annette Bryant of Lakewood Center,
+1-562-633-0437, Web site: http://www.macerich.com/
http://www.costco.com/ http://www.costco.ca/
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