STANDOUT FROM THE CROWD

Post-Covid shopping habits have undoubtedly changed so physical centres have to work hard to keep customers returning. Dundrum Town Centre is always busy staying ahead, and Senior General Manager Don Nugent explains why it continues to be a must-visit shopping experience

“Dundrum Town Centre is very much about points of di erence and its mix of retail, hospitality and unique services help set us apart from other locations,” Don says when asked about the centre’s post-Covid plans to keep footfall increasing. Its retailers are the stars of the show, so to speak, so the teams are always thinking of new ways to help them shine. “We invest in our existing retailers by supporting store openings and re ts, product launches and seasonal sales, events and activations, and we’ve also welcomed collection of world-class brands to the centre across retail, beauty and food and beverage.”

Some new openings this year that have sparked a lot of excitement include TAG Heuer, LUSH, FFS Gym and Nike’s rst ever ‘Live’ concept store in Ireland and there’s much more in store (quite literally) with exciting additions to come as the year progresses. “We’re continuing to attract new brands and are looking forward to welcoming Dunnes Stores later in 2023.”

Dundrum Town Centre prides itself on o ering a mix; an engaging and exciting range of retail, leisure and hospitality options all in one. “Dundrum Town Centre itself is home to 170 tenants, almost 140,000 m2 square metres of oor space and over 3,400 car parking spaces and o ers an extensive range of entertainment. The o ering is continuously expanding to meet our customers’ needs. In addition to this, the availability of options such as an adult education facility, a secondlevel college, a Citizen Advice o ce, a soft play area as well as a creche, a Changing Places option and a state-ofthe-art theatre really sets us apart.”

A shopping experience

Dundrum has always highlighted its destination shopping as an overall experience for every type of customer from families to everything in between.

This is, he says, what elevates the centre, going above-and-beyond shopping. “Dundrum Town Centre has become a recognised leisure and entertainment destination where people come to meet family and friends for a full day out,” Don explains. “We want to attract and retain people at the centre, we have invested in live events covering a range of topics that are unique. For example, last summer we held a ve-day family friendly event called Fundrum Family Festival. Following that we engaged in a Super Car Weekend which focused more on the male shopper and earlier this year we also created a Sisterhood Series event which brought together female specialists in areas such as manifestation and self-expression, nutritional health, hormone health and sexual health to open up taboo conversations and provide an educational space for our customers.” Even the shopping experience itself has been elevated for the customer. “Many of our retailers have adopted a technology- rst retail experience where people can view the clothes but purchase using self-check out or try on the clothes or shoes but purchase through digital channels or apps. It is really about a combination of o ers that cannot be enjoyed online (we have, for example, over 40 food and beverage options) while embracing online so a wide-range of customer needs can be catered to while in the centre.”

Dundrum Town Centre, like so many shopping centres, has had to re-think their strategy and be uid as customer habits have changed, post-Covid and otherwise. “We have seen many behavioural changes over the last 18 years since Dundrum Town Centre opened,” Don agrees. “The downturn in the economy back in the 2008-2010 period saw some consumers moving away from exclusively premium to shopping the spectrum and we’ve been fortunate to have the range of choice that enabled shoppers to do that. The option to choose from mainstream brands such as Penneys and H&M to premium brands like Boss and Harvey Nichols and the more recent addition of

Brown Thomas enables our visitors to choose. So, whether consumers are in the market for premium brands or are working o a budget, Dundrum Town Centre has positioned itself so that there is choice – and a lot of choice – for our customers.”

Don says the teams are always thinking ahead, planning innovation, keeping the customer front of mind and this will continue for the future. “We’ll continue to attract new brands and services to the centre to make sure all budgets are catered to. With high standards of presentation and customer service, along with exceptional experiential activities, we will continue to ensure that visitors enjoy their visit and keep returning to enjoy Dundrum’s unique mix and experience. Other great innovations are planned, and we are looking forward to continually broadening our choice and facilities.”

For more information: www.dundrum.ie