South America: largest shopping centers 2021

As of February 2021, the largest shopping malls in South America, in terms of built area, were located in Brazil. However, three Colombian shopping centers made it into the top 10. In this case, Viva Envigado, Centro Comercial Santafé, and Centro Mayor. Centro Mayor, in the southern part of Colombia's capital city, was reported to have nearly 236 thousand square meters of built area.

Multinational anchor stores

Opened in March 2010, the Centro Mayor draws interest to its smaller shops through the presence of four major anchor stores, largely owned by multinational retailers. The department store Falabella, for example, based in Santiago, Chile, and operating in four South American countries, and the home repair store Easy, founded by Chile's Cencosud ⁠— the largest retailer in Latin America ⁠— can be found at the shopping center. In addition to regional chains, the mall also hosts widespread global chains such as McDonald's and Baskin-Robbins, both from the United States.

Colombian retailers in Centro Mayor

Many of the Colombian businesses found in the mall are restaurant chains such as Crepes & Waffles, the country's highest grossing restaurant chain. Bancolombia also has a location in the mall ⁠— a Medellín-based financial institution that operates across Latin America, and is among the highest brand values in Colombia.