LONDON (AP) — It took Ella Jenkins and two teenage pals less than 15 minutes to give a thumbs up to London's biggest mall, which opened yesterday despite the gloomy economic climate that threatens to dampen vital Christmas sales.

Before Westfield London mall was an hour old, her gang had several bags filled with winter gear, including gloves and a scarf.

"I think it's pretty and nice," said Jenkins, 15. "As long as there are lots of shops, we're happy. And I've never seen a mall this big."

London mayor Boris Johnson helped open the mall, which cost £1.6 billion ($2.5 million), including a large chunk spent on new rail stations and bus connections.

Johnson called it a "fantastically exciting" day for London and said the new transport facilities, and hundreds of bike racks, should allow most shoppers to easily access the mall.

With some 300 shops, 50 restaurants, and many deluxe amenities, the mall is billed by its operators, the Australia-based Westfield Group, as one of the largest in the world.

Despite the buoyant mood yesterday morning, some shoppers said store owners may not reach their sales projections because of consumer concerns about a global economic downturn.

"They committed to it before the economy went bad, so they didn't have a choice about opening now, but they may suffer a bit at first," said Patrick Legros, a retail specialist who brought his family to the mall at 9 a.m. to make some early purchases.

He said the mall was impressive but that it was possible some of the shops were too upscale.

"We've had a good look around," he said. "I think it's really nice to have this in the city. There's a nice range."

Some residents of the Shepherd's Bush neighbourhood said they had been waiting for years for the mega-mall in their backyard to open.

"I wanted to be one of the first through the doors," said Debbie Pearce, 47, who lives nearby. "I feel a sense of ownership about this place. This has been talked about for 20 years. It's going to change things for the better."

But she expressed concern for the future of the small, ethnic restaurants and businesses that have long been a mainstay of Shepherd's Bush.

"I hope they all survive," she said. The Westfield Group projects that 21 million people will shop in the mall each year. The company is also working on another major mall project in east London.