Kids' activity centres to make malls Amazon-proof

A US mall operator is buying back stores to convert into spaces for KidZania

Sandeep Mathrani, head of US shopping-centre operator General Growth Properties Inc, was in Dubai when he saw something that startled him: An indoor city just for kids.

In the middle of the giant Dubai Mall, he found an activity centre filled with child-sized restaurants, bakeries, hospitals and police stations. The kids operated their own role-playing town — complete with currency — and parents were nowhere to be found.

Mathrani took to the concept, called KidZania, and is now working to bring it to America. General Growth Properties will open the activity centres in Dallas and Chicago over the next two years, marking