PATRON FOCUS
The shopping centre that has it all Southside is forging a reputation as one of the boroughs top retail destinations and is being reshaped to meet the changing needs of shoppers… Southside Shopping Centre is a quality retail and leisure outlet in the heart of Wandsworth’s bustling community. Home to a host of well-known shopping brands including Oliver Bonas, Primark, TK Maxx and Uniqlo, it also has some of the most desirable food outlets and health and leisure facilities in the town. Spearheading the success of the company is general manager Pieter Strombeck, who has been at Southside for the last 18 months. He says: “We’re a community centre with everything under one roof. We have a great mix of retail and leisure facilities, including health and beauty outlets, restaurants, book and jewellery stores. We also have a 14-screen Cineworld cinema, which is rated in the top ten best cinemas in the UK.” “We want to attract customers and keep them coming back. That’s why we recently launched the Southside Kids Space; this has been a real hit with local customers. It provides a play space for young families, includinga baby feeding
and changing room, a ball pit, lego station and a book corner where parents and children can relax and read. We also promote our commitment to sustainability and we’ll be contacting local schools to visit the space while we show the children what we do in terms of recycling and sustainability initiatives at the centre.” Pieter is keen to provide plenty of support and incentives for retailers at the centre, mainly in the form of marketing, events and in-centre advertising. Southside is also ploughing ahead with plans to go completely paperless and has launched a retailer communications app, Savills Insights, which is used to promote the retailers and provide them with the ability to upload offers which are then shared between all of the staff working at the centre. “This also provides them with centre information at the touch of a button, such as waste management guides, our centre handbook, and footfall and performance data,” says Pieter. “We have a system which they can use to benchmark their sales with others in their category, and
Pieter Strombeck General Manager
against the overall centre performance. This provides them with a further tool that they can use to bring focus to their retail strategy.” Part of Pieter’s strategy is to get out and about in the local community, to find out what retailers and customers want and adapt Southside’s offering according to the changing market demand. He has been a patron of Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce since joining Southside 18 months ago – something that he feels has been a worthwhile experience. He says: “The Chamber hosts a number of networking events and it’s great to be able to be part of a community of likeminded businesses. The annual business awards that the Chamber hosts is a fantastic initiative for local businesses to promote themselves and network with other companies.”
For more information about Southside Shopping Centre, visit https://southsidewandsworth.com/
“We’re a community centre with everything under one roof. We have a great mix of retail and leisure facilities, including health and beauty outlets, restaurants, book and jewellery stores. We also have a 14-screen Cineworld cinema, which is rated in the top ten best cinemas in the UK.” Business Connexions | 11
