The shopping mall sector is facing increasing competition not just for consumer attention, but also for the attention of retailers. With an oversupply of malls and an increasing supply in the pipeline, mall owners are clamouring to build the best tenant mix that attracts the highest footfall so they can remain in pole position. Attracting these trendsetting brands isn’t easy. They can be demanding - requesting special deals in prime locations and capital contributions. But how do you get these retailers to bite in the first place and is it possible to convince these retailers to come to your mall without slashing your rental budget? In this segment I will be discussing: • Creating a point of difference in your mall with tenant mixing and positioning • Trend spotting new retailers and concepts • Retailer Clustering • What do retailers want? • Attracting overseas retailers to your mall • How to balance the cost impact of a new retailer against budgets

5. Can You Afford to Ignore these
Retailers?
• Nearby malls will start eating away at market
share
• Customers will choose to shop elsewhere due
to lack of choice
• Footfall will begin to drop because of
increased competition elsewhere
• Struggle to increase rents
• Vacancies will become more apparent

6. Market Research First
What is the positioning of your
shopping mall?
What do your customers want?
Better F&B, more fashion, a
supermarket, entertainment etc.?
Have you got the basics right? Car
parking, signage, toilets, connectivity
with public transport etc.

7. What Do New Retailers Want?
• Excellent Representation
- Capital city location
- Street frontage
- Prominent signage
- A customer friendly mall
• An ideal footplate
• Capital contribution to fit out
• Low base rent/percentage of sales
• High traffic location
• Strong mall management

8. Store Façade with Impact

9. A Mall with a Vision
• A plan to bring in a critical mass of
international brands
• Overall improvements on the tenant mix
• What is the unique selling point of the mall?
• Why will customers choose your mall over
neighbouring malls with similar brands?

10. Upgrading an old and tired mall will
attract new tenants and more
customers

11. Before

12. After

13. Creating a Destination
Reference: Dundrum Town Centre,
Ireland

14. Reference: Westfield Stratford, London

15. Preventing Cannibalisation of the
Same Tenants in Nearby Malls
• Restrict the retailer from opening another store
within a certain radius within a certain
timeframe.
• Ask the retailer to deliver their ‘A’ standard of fit-out
design for their store.
• If the store size is large for that retailer, ask for
them to consider this location as their flagship.
• Ask the retailer to outline the differences
between nearby stores e.g. product sold
• Does cannibalisation hurt?

16. Creating a Point of Difference in Your
Mall
Reference: Melbourne Central, Food
Court

18. Retailer Trends

19. Trend Spotting – Coffee Houses

20. Trend Spotting – New F&B

21. Trend Spotting – Pop Up Shops

22. Trend Spotting – Pop Up Concepts

23. Reaching out to Overseas Retailers
• Showcasing your mall through marketing materials
- Leasing Brochure
- Website
- Quarterly Newsletter
- Social Media
• Market Research
• Meet the retailers – BCSC, ICSC, Mapic, Recon Asia, their home country
• Have good relationships with leading retail leasing agencies – e.g. CBRE,
Henry Butcher, Knight Frank etc.
• Gain insight through local franchise partners
• Offering group deals for the retailer to be represented in each of your
malls.

24. Reference: 1st Avenue Mall Penang

25. Reference: Land Securities Retail

26. Showing Overseas Retailers that you
are the Right Mall for them
• Great marketing materials. Brochure for your
mall, good website design etc.
• Have your market research ready. Know your
customers.
• Show the strengths of your A&P team
• Show them a well-managed mall. Bright
hoarding graphics, clean mall and toilets, good
facilities, decent car park.
• Indicate your strategy on how you intend to
improve your mall

27. Convincing The Right Brand To Lease Your Mall
Without Slashing Your Rental Budget

28. What Will It Cost Me?
You may need to:
• Move retailers with existing leases to alternate
locations – fit out contributions
• Reconfigure the structure of the unit to the
new retailer’s specifications
• 2 level store – escalator/staircase installation
• A lower monthly rental

29. Non Quantifiable Reasons
• The retailer will attract additional footfall
• Surrounding retailers with percentage GTO will
increase sales and thus increase rental income
• If the retailer has a unit facing the façade of the
mall, this will act as a beacon to attract
shoppers
• New retailers will attract additional brands to
open in that shopping mall
• If you have the top brands in your mall, the
income will come

30. Hype or Necessity?