Arena, the second commercial park of Angers turns to a food superstore instead of a cinema complex

Change could be on the way in the superstores landscape of Angers. The managers of the Arena commercial park located at the South of the city have just annouced that the Megarama, a cinema complex, whose opening had been rejected by the Commission nationale d'équipement commercial (Cnac) last may, would be replaced by a food superstore. But the presence of that food superstore in the South commercial park of Angers could lead the North-West commercial park, Atoll, to ask the installation of its own food superstore.

Arena (Credit Picture : Faubourg du commerce)

That would not be favourable to several superstores already opened in Angers and to the down town retail trade because for many households, food purchases and clothes or multimedias shopping are done at the same time. The opening of a new food superstore at Arena would make that park less original and weaken its attractivity. What could the managers do in order to gain new customers?

One of the possibility would be to enlarge the schedules of opening, eventually on Sundays. But, till now, local as well as national authorities (Angers Loire Métropole, the prefecture) or trade unions have rejected such an evolution. And it is not sure the retail store owners of Angers would be able to follow the rythm. It is not unlikely that the company running Arena begins to find that the time of completion of its original project is too long (€ 40 millions have been invested). Time is running out because Arena was due to open in 2012.