Three years after opening its doors, the award-winning Cradlestone Mall has changed lives and raised the bar for shopping centres in South Africa. It has achieved this with its innovative approach to its shopping and entertainment experiences, as well as its commitment to its community and environment.

Since opening in November 2013 in the heart of Mogale City on Johannesburg’s West Rand, the 76,000sqm regional Cradlestone Mall has grown significantly in popularity. Last year alone Cradlestone Mall’s shopper numbers increased by nearly 20%.

And, there is even more to keep shoppers coming to Cradlestone Mall in 2017. It is launching new and exciting ways of giving its customers even more of what they want. Cradlestone Mall is boosting its convenience by extending its shopping hours and helping shoppers’ pockets by introducing 90-minute free parking and new lower parking tariffs.

General Manager of Cradlestone Mall, Cara Grobler, says: “Responding to the lifestyles of our customers, Cradlestone Mall is now open from 9am to 7pm from Monday to Saturday, and from 9am to 5pm on Sunday and public holidays. This gives people more time to enjoy the exciting mix of 160 shops, restaurants, and services on offer at Cradlestone Mall.”

“What’s more, parking for five hours at the mall now only costs R8, and the first 90 minutes of parking are free. Plus, on Monday’s pensioners park free,” she adds.

With 4,500 parking bays over four colour-coded levels and access from three entrances - two via Hendrik Potgieter and one via Furrow Road – Cradlestone Mall offers the best in hassle-free access.

Making a visit to Cradlestone Mall even more convenient, it has partnered with Admyt for the latest in groundbreaking ticketless parking. By registering at www.admyt.co.za Cradlestone Mall visitors can tag in and out directly at the mall’s booms - with no ticket, queuing, cash or hassle.

With its customer-centric and community-centred approach, it is little wonder that Cradlestone Mall has won multiple awards, in addition to the loyalty of shoppers.

Cradlestone Mall has scooped top awards for its design and development from prestigious organisations like to South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) and South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC). It has also been honoured for showing its heart with its ongoing community involvement.

Cradlestone Mall’s corporate social investment under the umbrella ‘Cradle Cares’ has delivered award-winning results for its community. Its latest campaign, Hangers for Hope, won a coveted SACSC Gold Footprint Award. Cradle Cares’ Hangers for Hope exceeded all expectations by collecting 67-metres of rails of clothing and 18 shopping trolleys full of clothing, which was all donated to charity.

Also, for the 2016 festive season, Cradle Cares’ Tags for Hope gave every customer the opportunity to fulfil a child’s Christmas wish and Donate For Hope collected school items for children in need.

While it is named for its unique location near the world heritage site of the Cradle of Humankind, this isn’t the only way that Cradlestone Mall considers its environment. This mall’s green journey is far-reaching and multifaceted – from resource efficiency to environmental innovation – and is an excellent example of shopping for the future.

Boldly tapping into alternative energy sources, in mid-2016 Cradlestone Mall invested in installing a roof-top solar farm, with huge positive impacts on the environment. The mall also saves energy by using a smart building management system, which cuts its lighting by 50% when the mall is closed.

So far, Cradlestone Mall has saved 330 tons of carbon dioxide gases, which equals the energy needed to make over 35-million cups of coffee.

Using scarce resources wisely, Cradlestone Mall harvests rainwater and has the potential to collect 130,000 litres of water, which can run its public toilets for up to four days.

“We also encourage our customers to be water wise with in-centre water-saving awareness tips to remind everyone to use this precious resource responsibly,” notes Grobler.

Reducing its environmental footprint even further, 40% of all the waste generated at the mall is recycled thanks to its proactive waste management.

Now, a pioneering upgrade of the Cradlestone Mall precinct is also underway to restructure the space around the mall, creating a better and eco-friendly environment for everyone.

“We want to offer people the best shopping and entertainment experience, both in the customer-facing mall and behind the scenes. This gives our customers the confidence that their time at Cradlestone Mall is truly well spent,” says Grobler.

“We would like to thank everyone who has visited Cradlestone Mall over the past three years for their valued support. We will continue to find great new ways of enhancing our customer and community experience.”

Cradlestone Mall delights its customers is by offering a fresh mix of the latest that retail has to offer across a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and services. The newest exciting additions to the mall include John Dorys, Buckley & Boo, Volpes, Aziz Bebe, Telkom, Kids Emporium, Bodytec, Blu Kids and A+ Students.