As any retailer with a store in the centre will have learnt over recent months, Westfield does things in a way which is, well, quintessentially Australian.
So they'll lease you some space in their centre, but they'll let you know in no uncertain terms if they don't agree with how you want it to look. And while on opening day retailers were highly impressed with the centre, there were also plenty of murmurs about Westfield's belligerent stance on store design and fit-out.
When I met with Westfield MD Steven Lowy at the opening, he was unapologetic. It may lead to friction, he said, but ultimately he believes that taking a firm view on fit-outs creates a better centre and that retailers will respect Westfield for thinking like a retailer, he said.
Westfield's take-no-prisoners approach has also been borne out in the service charge negotiations. According to a report in today's FT, the charge has worked out a lot higher than retailers expected.
The point with service charges - not just at Westfield but generally - is that retailers must be able to expect clear guidance on what the charges will be and transparency on what they're paying for. To land retailers with a charge which is double what they expected - whether justified or not - isn't great for relations.
At the end of the day though, one thing about Westfield is that it has an unshakeable belief that its way is the right way.
It's worked for them in Australia, in the US and elsewhere, and they're not going to change it here. They've built a very good centre at White City, and if it continues to bring in the punters, retailers will put their gripes aside and pile into Stratford, Nottingham and Bradford too.
1 Reader's comment