New Luxury Retailers Open Across The Nation At America’s Premier Shopping Places

America’s Premier Shopping Places draw millions of visitors from around the world each year to experience the finest in American shopping and dining. The company’s luxury tourism center portfolio currently includes Ala Moana Center (Honolulu), Fashion Show, The Grand Canal Shoppes, and The Shoppes at The Palazzo (Las Vegas), Water Tower Place (Chicago), The Shops at La Cantera (San Antonio), Village of Merrick Park (Miami), Galleria Dallas (Dallas), Glendale Galleria (Los Angeles) and Natick Collection (Boston). The stores and boutiques within all of America’s Premier Shopping Places’ luxury centers represent the nation’s best in quality and variety. In addition to well-known department and specialty stores, such as Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, the centers feature designer names including Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Chanel, Tiffany & Co., Versace, Hugo Boss, Prada and more. Many of these centers have announced new retail openings, raising the bar on luxury shopping across the nation.

Ala Moana Center (Honolulu) – Ala Moana Center recently celebrated a 300,00 square foot expansion that positioned Hawaii’s premier shopping and dining destination as the world’s largest open-air mall with an impressive selection of more than 290 retailers set amidst 2.1 million square feet of retail space. Nordstrom opened its first full-line department store in Hawaii along with many new retailers opening their first Hawaii concepts. These retailers include Ash & Diamonds, Bare Escentuals, Blue Hawaii Lifestyle, Design Within Reach, J. Crew-on-the-Island, Janie & Jack, The Kiss, Le Grand Marquet, lululemon athletica, Miki House, Philip Rickard Factory showroom, Ponte Vecchio Hotta and Vera Bradley. www.alamoanacenter.com

Water Tower Place (Chicago) – Water Tower Place helped kick-start the retail boom on Michigan Avenue and garnered icon status when it opened it doors more than 30 years ago and has set the tone for the unique, upscale shopping experience visitors have grown accustomed to along Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. The center recently opened seven new stores as part of its recent redevelopment: Aritzia is a luxury apparel retailer from Canada, opened its first U.S. location at Water Tower Place for young-style-forward women with fashion labels such as Anna Sui, Citizens of Humanity, Marc by Marc Jacobs, See by Chloe and many more. Tous Jewelers is a Barcelona-based global jewelry and accessories brand with a new boutique in the center. Betsy Johnson is known for her unique and original style that showcases exuberant, embellished and over-the-top designs. CUSP offers a unique mix of contemporary apparel, shoes, handbags and accessories. In addition, several retail favorites also opened including Forever 21, Aeropostale, and adidas. www.shopwatertower.com

Village of Merrick Park (Coral Gables/Miami) – luxury shopping tropical paradise, Village of Merrick Park recently announced international arrivals to its already glittering collection of upscale shops, including: a Carlos Miele boutique, from the famed Brazilian designer who uses techniques like patchwork, stitching, crochet and leatherwork in his designs. Flagship stores for Bluemarine, Italian designer Anna Molinari’s ultra-sexy, ultra-feminine womens’ line, and Spanish designer Adolfo Dominguez. Visitors to the center should also watch for the first U.S. boutique for Chilean jeweler, Mosso, the Miami-based fine children’s linens and accessories purveyor, liapela, and Banana Republic. www.villageofmerrickpark.com

Galleria Dallas (Dallas) – The premier shopping destination in North Texas for more than 25 years recently opened three international fashion retail concepts: Just Cavalli, featuring Roberto Cavalli’s special men’s and women’s apparel line, along with eyewear, watches, perfume and “jewels”. +IT brings together shoes, handbags and other accessories from some of the greatest international fashion houses including M Missoni, GF Ferre, and C’N’C Costume NATIONAL. Via Montenapoleon features colorful fashion designer Christian Audigier’s Ed Hardy line featuring the art of famed tattoo artist, Ed Hardy. In addition, LUSH and J.Crew joined the Galleria’s stellar retail collection. www.galleriadallas.com

Fashion Show (Las Vegas) – This summer, six exciting brands joined Fashion Show’s already expansive retail line-up of more than 200 specialty stores: Sandwich features a full range of women’s clothing and accessories. A leading retailer throughout Europe for 25 years, Sandwich marks its first fashion flagship store in the United States at Fashion Show. Thomas Sabo started designing jewelry in 1984 and is today, best known for its signature sterling silver collection. From unisex jewelry to the charm club, Thomas Sabo features collections to complement a wide range of apparel, from festive clothing, business attire or casual wear. Bare Escentuals opened its first free-standing boutique in Las Vegas, the company now offers color cosmetics and treatments to complement its signature bare minerals line. Bare Escentuals features healthy, 100% pure bare minerals makeup with no additives and zero irritants. Michael Kors is one of Americas leading and hottest, in-demand designers. Since the brand’s creation in 1981, the collection has grown to encompass both men’s and women’s fashion lines, as well as a vast array of accessories including handbags, shoes and eyewear. Ed Hardy embodies a colorful rock ‘n roll style that has quickly become one of the most sought-after fashion lines by the celebrity elite. The Ed Hardy boutique at Fashion Show will offer clothing and accessories for men and women. Kira Plastinina, fashion prodigy, is a young, Russian-based fashion designer whose style transcends the globe with an internationally appealing and youthful approach. www.thefashionshow.com

The Shoppes at The Palazzo (Las Vegas) – Featuring nearly 30 “firsts” to Las Vegas, the recently opened Shoppes at The Palazzo is home to Nevada’s only Barneys New York as well as an outstanding collection of designer shops and brands new to Las Vegas including Van Cleef & Arpels, Diane von Furstenberg, Chloe, Christian Louboutin, Catherine Malandrino, Anya Hindmarch, Lambertson Truex, Poleci, Charriol, and Piaget. In addition, stores opening their first worldwide or U.S. stores at The Shoppes at The Palazzo including Canturi Jewels, and Australian-based luxury jeweler, and EDIDI New York, a designer of one-of-a-kind jewel-encrusted handbags.

“Research indicates that domestic and international luxury shoppers spend almost 3 times more on vacation travel expenditures than the mass market,” says Susan Houck, VP of Marketing for General Growth Properties in Las Vegas. “General Growth Properties’ luxury centers are in demand by high-end travelers visiting from around the U.S., Mexico, Canada and abroad.” In addition, several of the luxury centers offer VIP shopping and dining experiences with packages that are commissionable to the travel industry. Package components include exclusive offers, amenities, gifts, dining cards and personalized services. For further package information and booking, visit www.shopamericatours.com.

America’s Premier Shopping Places is an award-winning branded collection of tourism-oriented shopping centers located throughout the United States which are owned and/or managed by General Growth Properties, Inc. The centers are located in the heart of America’s best-loved cities as well as along America’s scenic highways and byways, attracting millions of visitors annually from around the world. For a complete listing of destinations and further information, along with high-resolution photos, visit www.americasshoppingplaces.com or contact Kathy Anderson, Travel & Tourism Manager at [email protected].

General Growth Properties, Inc. is the second largest U.S.-based publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) based upon market capitalization. General Growth has ownership interest or management responsibility for a portfolio of more than 200 regional shopping malls in 45 states, as well as ownership interest in master-planned community developments and commercial office centers. General Growth’s international portfolio includes ownership and management interest in shopping centers in Brazil and Turkey. The Company’s portfolio totals approximately 200 million square feet and includes more than 24,000 retail stores nationwide. General Growth Properties, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GGP.