There's a department center in Hong Kong with a weird overly sweet smell. I kept wondering why it'd smell like this the first time I visited, until I learned that the CEO of the group decided to create a scent signature for his mall. It was supposed to smell slightly like plasticine (play doh smell) to remind people of their childhood. I personally have avoided that mall ever since, I really cannot stand the smell at all.
There's a shopping centre in Poland where I have seen cleaners just pouring a bottle of perfume into the mop buckets they use to clean the floor, presumably also to give it a "scent", the problem is that they must be using some cheapest nastiest stuff because the entire place smells like the cheapest "Adidos" branded cologne.
