Reading International to Add Countdown Supermarket to Center in Downtown Wellington, New Zealand

Reading International to Add Countdown Supermarket to Center in Downtown Wellington, New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Reading International, Inc. (NASDAQ:RDI) announced today that the company has entered into a lease to incorporate a Countdown supermarket as an anchor tenant into its "flagship" Courtenay Central Entertainment Center in downtown Wellington, New Zealand. The new supermarket will be built on top of the company's surface parking lot on Wakefield Street, immediately behind the Reading Entertainment complex that is situated on Courtenay Place.

Countdown Managing Director Dave Chambers said: "The company has been searching for the right Wellington CBD location for a number of years, and is thrilled to have signed an agreement to lease a site right in the heart of the city.

"It's no secret that we have been interested in investing in central Wellington for some time, but we were also determined to find the right site, of the right size for the sort of offering we want to provide, and with the access that our customers demand," said Mr. Chambers.

"We've been under-represented in the Wellington market and in the last six months we've been working to change that by opening stores in Newtown, Tawa and shortly, Petone. The customer response has been great, and we've also been able to employ nearly 500 new people as part of our Countdown team."

Reading Chief Operating Officer John Hunter said: "The ground floor of the existing center will be completely updated and reconfigured to integrate Countdown and add new tenants that will complement the supermarket.

"We are delighted to add such a strong and innovative tenant to our center. The supermarket and planned new shops will add a very strong traditional retail component to our already successful entertainment center," said Mr. Hunter.

Reading's plans will add the 42,000-sq.-ft. Countdown supermarket and reconfigures about 10,000 sq. ft. of existing space in the current center for new tenants. Access to the existing center, cinema, and the 1,190-space parking lot will also be reconfigured. As it proceeds with fine tuning the projects design elements via its master planning process, Reading is also exploring retail and other options to activate the potential rental space that will be created on top of the supermarket.

It is expected that the supermarket and overall project will open in June 2015.

About Countdown

Countdown is one of New Zealand's most recognizable and trusted brands in supermarket retailing, serving more than 2.5 million customers every week. As one of the country's largest private employers, Countdown has 165 supermarkets across New Zealand supported by over 18,000 team members. Countdown is a subsidiary of the publicly listed Australian company Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW).

Woolworths Limited is a preeminent retailer in Australia with brands such as Woolworths, Safeway PowerHouse, Tandy, Woolworths Liquor, BWS, Dan Murphy's, BIG W, Woolworths HomeShop, ALH Group, Everyday Money and Everyday Rewards under its umbrella.

About Reading International, Inc.

Reading International (http://www.readingrdi.com) is in the business of owning and operating cinemas and developing, owning and operating real estate assets. Our business consists primarily of:

• the development, ownership, and operation of multiplex cinemas in the United States, Australia and New Zealand; and

• the development, ownership, and operation of retail and commercial real estate in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, including entertainment-themed retail centers ("ETRC") in Australia and New Zealand and live theater assets in Manhattan and Chicago in the United States.

Reading manages its worldwide cinema business under various different brands:

• in the United States, under the

  • Reading brand (http://www.readingcinemasus.com),

  • Angelika Film Center brand (http://www.angelikafilmcenter.com),

  • Consolidated Theatres brand (http://www.consolidatedtheatres.com),

  • City Cinemas brand (http://www.citycinemas.com),

  • Beekman Theatre brand (http://www.beekmantheatre.com),

  • The Paris Theatre brand (http://www.theparistheatre.com), and

  • Liberty Theatres brand (http://libertytheatresusa.com/);

• in Australia, under the Reading brand (http://www.readingcinemas.com.au); and

• in New Zealand, under the

  • Reading (http://www.readingcinemas.co.nz) and

  • Rialto (http://www.rialto.co.nz) brands.

For more information on Reading International please visit www.readingrdi.com or contact Andrzej Matyczynski at 213-235-2238.

For Reading International, Inc.
Andrzej Matyczynski, 213-235-2238
or
For Countdown
Countdown Press Office
Kate Porter, +64 27 749 5935
Jess Miller, +64 27 500 1378
communications@countdown.co.nz

KEYWORDS: United States North America Australia/Oceania New Zealand California

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