Full rebrand to be complete in 2020
The president of Macau casino operator Sands China Ltd says the company’s Sands Cotai Central will begin its rebrand into the Londoner Macao by the end of this year.
Wilfred Wong Ying Wai told the Macao Daily News that the project is now in the design stage. The U.S.-based casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp, the parent of Sands China, announced in October a “phased” redevelopment of Sands Cotai Central, to be completed in 2020.
“The Londoner Macao will feature dynamic new attractions and features from London including some of London’s most recognizable landmarks, an expanded and reimagined retail mall and 350 luxurious new suites, the St. Regis Tower Suites,” says Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands.
Japanese brokerage Nomura estimated that some disruption to operations likely from the revamp of the property could hurt the earnings of Sands China in the next two years and cost the company as much as US$150 million in revenues.
“Imagine the construction equipment, scaffolding and hundreds of workers on site from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., all competing for space with customers entering the building,” said the Nomura team in its note. “The outside issues are just the beginning. Re-theming the interior could be just as, if not more, disruptive to guests and players,” Nomura analysts wrote.
“We are concerned that the level of disruption in 2018 and 2019 could be higher than expected.”
But in a November filing to the New York Stock Exchange, the Sands Corp. said the redevelopment project will be phased “to minimize disruption during the property’s peak periods.”
