The Mills Corporation is a publicly traded real estate investment trust headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The company develops, owns, and operates major super-regional shopping malls across the country. The company built 18 centers all of which have Mills in the name such as Arizona Mills in Tempe, Arizona; Franklin Mills in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Gurnee Mills in Chicago, Illinois; Potomac Mills in Washington, D.C. and Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida. Most of the Mills facilities have a large movie theater from 10–30 screens, and a large food court—at times two.

In November 2004, Vaughan Mills was the first Mills shopping mall built in Canada. The company continued its international success with the acquisition of the St. Enoch Centre in Scotland and offered to build a center in Rome, Italy.

This theatrical illustration was primarily envisioned for use in trade ads. After much success, the owner decided to use the image for their holiday cards as well and the illustration was modified accordingly.