Online shopping won’t grow forever, says Unibail boss creating malls giant

A shopper carries bags while walking past the Westfield Mall Old Orchard in Skokie, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. Unibail-Rodamco SE, Europe's largest commercial landlord, agreed to buy Australia's Westfield Corp. for about A$21 billion ($15.8 billion) in the biggest property acquisition since 2013 as declining store sales push mall operators worldwide to merge. Photographer: Jim Young/Bloomberg

SYDNEY/PARIS: Online shopping has its limits and physical stores will never go out of fashion, says the CEO of Unibail-Rodamco which is betting US$16bil (RM65.36bil) on buying Westfield to create a global mall giant. 

The deal comes at a time when the traditional retail sector and shopping centres are under pressure to reinvent themselves in the face of fierce online competition led by Amazon.