Mall culture percolates down the Ivorian income scale

During late October, Cosmos shopping mall opened its doors in the Abidjan suburb of Yopougon – the fourth mall to open in Côte d’Ivoire in the past three years. Developed by HC Capital Properties, it has a GLA of 14,000m².
Cheick Sanankoua, co-founder and managing partner of HC Capital Properties, noted that successful mall openings in the more affluent suburbs of Marcory and Palmeraie (where the average income is USD15/day) made building a mall in less affluent Yopougon (where the average income is USD5/day) a less risky proposition. Management claim that the Cosmos received 100,000 visitors during its first ten days of operation and are forecasting four million visitors annually.
The mall’s brands include Burger King and Brioche Dorée, while the anchor tenant is a 1,800m² Carrefour Market. According to Jean-Paul Denoix of CFAO (Carrefour’s franchisee in West Africa), “Here in Yopougon, we are surrounded by traditional markets. Our goal is to provide an offering that is as comprehensive as possible … A good example of our ability to adapt is our inclusion of speciality Yopougon dishes like oven-roasted pork, which has already been a huge success.”