 |
Melancia brings a new duty free experience to the Uruguay-Brazil border |
URUGUAY. Neutral has opened its duty free megastore in the brand new Melancia mall, on the outskirts of Rivera.
Grupo Wisa also opened its La Riviera megastore in the same complex on Thursday.
Each of the duty free retailers has a 4,000sq m duty free store in the mall.
 |
 |
 |
Thursday’s opening was a well-attended occasion recognised as a significant milestone for the development of Rivera |
Our extensive picture gallery gives a first view inside Neutral’s new-generation store, designed by architect Monica Ariaudo of Buenos Aires-based Estudio Ariaudo.
Highlights of the Neutral megastore include Gap, Lacoste, Nike and Tommy Hilfiger shop-in-shops, and a vast presentation of leading cosmetics and fragrances brands.
 |  |
At the opening: (left) Neutral CEO Enrique Urioste with Neutral Melancia’s shop manager Veronica Castillo; (right) Hershey’s Jorge Julian with Urioste and Castillo | |
Neutral CEO Enrique Urioste commented: “This store’s layout and product mix make it one of the most perfectly executed retail experiences in the Americas.
“The experience starts with a baby/kids area where professional staff take care of your kids while you shop.
“Then you have a flow by category that brings surprises at every corner, with brand interactions like Dior’s colour treatment service, Lancôme and Biotherm skincare treatments, the first ever Kerastase treatment centre, and OPI & Essey manicure services.”
The liquor section features a Diageo bar, where customers can have a free sample of any product, as well as a wine tasting machine.
There is a large toys selection, and a specialised area for gourmet food highlighted by Uruguayan Parmesan cheese and sweets like dulce de leche, with iconic destination areas like a horse-drawn cart that was used to distribute milk in the early 1900s.
 |
Enrique Urioste and Veronica Castillo with legendary Argentinean distributor Claudio Boccanfuso |
The store has 16 points of sale, with “a very aggressive product display at the checkouts,” Urioste said.
“I wish to thank all of the suppliers, architects and Neutral team for a great project executed on time and within budget.”
The Melancia experience
Built at a total cost of over US$70 million, the 33,000sq m Melancia mall has over 60 duty paid outlets, dining seats for 700 people and 1,200 car parks.
Other parts of the development include restaurants and an artificial lake, with a hotel and golf course in the project’s later phases – all designed to attract and retain Brazilian tourists.
Developers Grupo Marchesano have extensive retail experience, with upmarket shopping centres like Punta Carretas shopping in Montevideo in its portfolio.
In a video released before the mall’s opening, CEO Claudio Marchesano commented: “Melancia Shopping has been our dream for many years – to give the people of Rivera and Rio Grande do Sul a shopping centre that they deserve.”
Marchesano said that Melancia is the only shopping centre of its type in all the north of Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul (the southern Brazilian state that borders on Uruguay).
The opening comes at a time of crisis for the border store sector (see previous report ).
Now that all the duty free and 70% of the duty paid stores are open, Melancia may help to turn the tide of declining sales from Brazilians.
 |
The new Rivera shopping centre and duty free stores offer a destination for border travellers, notably from Brazil; this gallery brings you pictures of Neutral’s new mega store and its brand executions |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |  |
 |  |
