Do you like to stroll in a shopping center? Then you can choose from the 577 malls that currently exist in Brazil.
In fact, one of them is considered the largest mall in Latin America.
Curious to know more?
So follow this post with us. We will tell you which are the ten largest malls in Brazil and some more impressive data.
Malls in Brazil – Sector numbers
According to data from Abrase (Brazilian Association of Shopping Centers), these 577 shopping centers handle more than R $ 192 billion a year.
Together, they also employ more than a million people across stores, cleaning, leisure and maintenance.
And speaking of stores, would you know how many stores in Brazil there are? There are few!
The latest data from Abrase released in 2020reveal that Brazilian malls concentrate around 105 thousand stores of the most varied types.
For those who enjoy a movie, the options in shopping malls also do not disappoint. There are currently 2900 movie theaters spread across all of these commercial complexes.
All of this infrastructure offered by Brazilian shopping malls is capable of attracting more than 502 million visitors every month.
And to cope with all this demand, shopping malls offer nothing more, nothing less, than almost 1 million parking spaces.
Wow!! The numbers are impressive!
Let's summarize then:
- 577 malls in total
- 1.1 million jobs created
- 105 thousand stores
- 2900 movie theaters
- 502 million visitors
- 397 parking spaces
Shopping malls in Brazil by region
Brazil is very democratic when it comes to shopping centers. They exist in all Brazilian regions, from north to south, and there is no state without one of them.
The southeastern region is the one that concentrates the largest number of enterprises. There are 300 in all, representing 52% of the total, that is, more than half of all shopping malls in Brazil.
Of these, 182 are in the state of São Paulo, while another 66 are located in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Minas Gerais currently has 43 malls, reaching the third place in the ranking of states with the largest number of malls.
The state of Espirito Santo, on the other hand, concentrates only nine projects, lagging behind states like Paraná and Bahia.
The Northeast and South regions are tied for numbers of malls. Each has 96 malls in total.
In the South region, the state with the largest number of shopping malls is Rio Grande do Sul, with 37 developments.
In the Northeast region, Bahia leads the way, with 21 malls in total.
The Midwest region appears as the third placed in the ranking, concentrating 59 projects.
The state of Goiás has the most malls in the region, with 26 in total.
Finally, comes the North region, with 26 malls in total.
The state with the largest number of developments in the region is Amazonas, comprising 10 malls.
The lanterns in the ranking are the states of Acre and Rondônia, where each concentrates only one mall.
Ten largest shopping malls in Brazil
See now the list with the top ten largest malls in Brazil according to Abrase data. The classification takes into account the enterprises with the largest built area in square meters.
The Southeast and Northeast regions command the ranking, check out:
10. Iguatemi Esplanada – Sorocaba (SP)
Shopping Iguatemi Esplanada is the largest shopping center in the interior of São Paulo. With more than 64 thousand m² of gross leasable area, the mall is located between the cities of Votorantim and Sorocaba. The space offers visitors varied stores, gyms, movie theaters, banks, beauty clinics and a supermarket.
9. Shopping Midway Mall – Natal (RN)
Opened in 2005, Midway Mall is the largest shopping center in the northeast. Located in the capital Natal, the project has 227 thousand m² and about 292 stores. The mall, belonging to the Riachuelo group, also offers a theater, cinema, hypermarket and one of the largest food courts in the northeast with a capacity for two thousand people.
Parking is also surprising. There are 3,500 vacancies to serve the more than 13,000 vehicles that pass there every day.
8. Norte Shopping – Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Norte Shopping is the largest development in the state of Rio de Janeiro, with a total area of 245 thousand m². There are 3.5 million visitors per month visiting more than 343 stores, in addition to the medical center, gym, theater and movie theaters.
The development also has a college, go-kart track, 26 bowling lanes and even an ice skating rink.
7. Shopping Iguatemi Fortaleza – Fortaleza (CE)
With 92 thousand m² of leasable area, Shopping Iguatemi Fortaleza has 480 stores and three food courts.
The place also has movie theaters and squares for events.
6. Shopping União de Osasco – Osasco (SP)
The União de Osasco shopping mall is among the largest in the country and in the state of São Paulo. The giant enterprise has 246 thousand m² of built area. And this whole space is distributed among the 265 stores, the 10 movie theaters, bowling alleys, in addition to the food court.
The site also offers visitors a post at Poupatempo and Detran. For those who think it is little, it is worth saying that the mall also offers two hypermarkets (Extra and Makro).
Five thousand parking spaces are offered to receive all visitors.
A curiosity: the União mall belongs to the same group as Shopping Leste Aricanduva.
5. Shopping Center Interlagos – São Paulo (SP)
Shopping Center Interlagos is more than just a mall. The space, in fact, is a commercial conglomerate that brings together several establishments in its 280 thousand m² of built area.
The complex offers visitors, in addition to the mall itself, a Leroy Merlin store, an Ibis hotel, a Cobasi store (giant in the petshops sector), a Detran agency and two hypermarkets (Carrefour and Makro).
The site also concentrates Shopping Interlar (focused exclusively on the furniture and decoration trade).
The complex receives about 3.5 million visitors per month.
4. Rio Mar Recife – Recife (PE)
The Rio Mar Recife shopping center is the largest development in the northeast in gross leasable area, concentrating 476 stores in 101 thousand m².
The mall also has a gigantic food court, 14 movie theaters, a theater and a parking lot capable of housing 6500 cars at once.
Attached to the mall are also located three business towers with 958 rooms.
3. Salvador Shopping – Salvador (BA)
Going up to the podium, reaching the third place in the ranking of the largest malls in Brazil, is Salvador Shopping.
The largest shopping mall in the northeast in terms of built area is 298 m².
In this space are concentrated 464 stores, 8 movie theaters, 6 thousand parking spaces and a wide space of games with about 1500 m² dedicated exclusively to electronic games and toys.
2. Rio Mar Shopping Fortaleza – Fortaleza (CE)
The second largest mall in Brazil is in Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará. Rio Mar Shopping Fortaleza belongs to the same group as Rio Mar Shopping Recife.
However, the Ceará version has 320 thousand m² of built area and 93 thousand m² of gross leasable area.
The mall offers 345 stores, cinemas, bowling, theater, gym and a business tower with 302 commercial rooms for rent.
1. Shopping Center Leste Aricanduva – São Paulo (SP)
And the first place goes to…. Shopping Center Leste Aricanduva, located on the east side of the city of São Paulo.
The shopping center is not only the largest mall in Brazil, but also the largest mall in Latin America.
This giant has 425 thousand m² of built area and 242 thousand m² of gross leasable area.
577 stores, 3 hypermarkets, several bank branches, 15 car stores and even a test drive track are concentrated throughout this space.
In the entertainment area, the mall also surprises. Those who visit the place get lost among the 14 3D movie theaters, the 16 bowling alleys, the climbing wall, the mini park and a large toy room.
Approximately 5 million people visit the shopping complex every month and to meet all this demand, the space offers no less than 14,700 parking spaces.
So, which of these malls will be next on your list to take that weekend tour?
