Westfield to Cut U.S. Mall Hours

Sydney, Australia Westfield Group, which has its U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles, said Friday it will cut operating hours at most of its 55 U.S. malls to help retailers trim expenses as the recession deepens.

Most of the malls will open 30 minutes later and close 30 minutes earlier Monday through Friday, and close an hour earlier on Sundays at about half the locations, said Westfield spokeswoman Katy Dickey in a Bloomberg report.

Dickey added that hours will generally stay the same on Saturdays with the changes to take effect on March 1.

“This initiative is intended to help our retailers save, conserve resources and respond to changing consumer traffic patterns,” Dickey told Bloomberg. 

Several of Westfield’s shopping center owner’s locations won’t cut their hours. These include Garden State Plaza in New Jersey, San Francisco Centre in San Francisco and Horton Plaza in San Diego.

Westfield consulted with retailers on the changes and received positive feedback, Dickey said. Department store hours won’t be affected, she added.

Westfield won’t comment on whether it will lower rents at the affected malls, Dickey said.