Shopping Centre Magazine - February 2016

www.shopping-centre.co.uk

The business of retail destinations February 2016 • £8.00

Plan ahead

Preparation for Christmas 2016 starts now

12 Christmas It’s never too early to start planning.

37 Shopper engagement Big data can be a big headache

42 Retailer liaison Working together for mutual benefit

3 CONTENTS

Editor Graham Parker 07956 231078 gparker@55north.com

Editor’s letter

Deputy editor Mia Hunt 07753 547214 mhunt@55north.com Sales manager Trudy Whiston 01293 416090 twhiston@55north.com Senior designer Richard Chaudhry 0141 222 5300 rchaudhry@55north.com Designer Lisa Deakin 0141 222 5388 ldeakin@55north.com Digital editor Holly Pike 07412 251519 hpike@55north.com Managing director Antony Begley 0141 222 5380 abegley@55north.com Editorial board Leigh Burnett, Waypoint Asset Management Carl Foreman, Moorgarth Michelle Buxton, Toolbox Group Byron Lewis, Mall Solutions Europe Andrew McCall, The ROI Team Howard Morgan, RealService John Prestwich, CBRE James Taylor, Workman David Tudor-Morgan, British Land No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publishers. JLD Media is operated by 55 North Ltd under licence from Stephens & George Magazines Ltd. The Publishers accept no responsibility for any statements made in signed contributions or in those reproduced from other sources, nor for claims made in any advertisements.

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January is always the cruellest month for retailers. The Christmas binge has turned into a consumer hangover and once the Sales are finished the tills stop ringing. So it’s never a surprise when some throw in the towel.

This year Brantano and Blue Inc have been the most prominent victims although rumours of a CVA at British Home Stores are troubling. Sainsbury’s acquisition of Argos will lead to store closures and Dixons Carphone’s decision to consolidate its portfolio has been on the cards since the merger almost two years ago.

It would be easy to get carried away and use this as evidence that the recovery in the retail sector has stalled, but Deloittes point out that retailer failures are running at their lowest level since the last recession began.

Equally, numbers form the Local Data Company show voids are continuing to fall.

This year’s early Easter should bring some relief for retailers, and once the Spring weather arrives fashion sales will surely pick up again.

Finally can I thank Mia Hunt for her support over the past five years as Shopping Centre’s deputy editor, and wish her good luck in her new role.

Graham Parker Editor Shopping Centre

CONTENTS NEWS & ANALYSIS 05 06 07 09

Hammerson to buy Grand Central Liffey Valley expansion unveiled Metquarter changes hands Blue inc and Brantano enter administration Page 09

FEATURES 12 37 42

Christmas – It’s never too early to start planning the Christmas 2016 campaign.

Shopper Engagement – Information drives meaningful communication with individual shoppers.

Retail Liaison – How can shopping centre landlords and retailers work more closely for mutual gain?

REGULARS

Shopping Centre is published monthly.

ISSN 0964-1793 | Printed by Stephens & George Ltd Shopping Centre 55 North Ltd 19 Waterloo Street Glasgow, G2 6AY www.shopping-centre.co.uk

40 43

Data – Retail facts & figures People – Arndale’s Empty Shop full of charity

Page 12

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5 NEWS

Hammerson to buy Grand Central Hammerson has concluded protracted negotiations to buy the new shopping mall above Birmingham’s New Street station for £335m. And it is now in talks with an existing partner about injecting the property into a new 50:50 joint venture.

Grand Central, which opened in September 2015, provides 435,000 sq ft of prime retail space, anchored by a 250,000-sq ft John Lewis department store. It was developed by Network Rail and Birmingham City Council as part of the £750m New Street Station regeneration project.

With an iconic design the centre provides 40 premium stores including Monsoon, Fat Face, Hobbs, The White Company, Cath Kidston, Joules, Kiehls, Jo Malone, L’Occitane and Mac and 20 casual dining brands including Carluccio’s, Yo Sushi, Pho, Ed’s Easy Diner, Caffe Concerto, Giraffe, Handmade Burger Co and Tapas Revolution.

The retail is already 96 per cent let with topped-up annual net rental income of £13.9m. It has demonstrated strong performance since

opening, attracting average footfall of 62,000 per day in its first three months of trading with up to 105,000 per day over the Christmas period. Many retailers have reported trading well ahead of budget since opening.

Hammerson was advised by CBRE and Birmingham City Council was advised by Cushman & Wakefield.

Queensberry appointed on Bradford Leisure Quarter

Queensberry Real Estate has been brought in by Meyer Bergman to provide development management advice for its Bradford Leisure Quarter development.

The project is the second phase of Meyer Bergman’s development in Bradford, following the recent launch of the Broadway Bradford on which the team at Queensberry Real Estate also provided advice.

Meyer Bergman’s second phase of development will include a six- screen cinema and restaurant offer directly adjacent to the Broadway Bradford. Cinema brand ‘The Light’ has already been signed up to operate the new state-of-the-art cinema.

The extension, which was granted outline planning consent by Bradford Council in August 2015, also includes four restaurants totalling 35,000 sq ft of additional dining space.

Paul Sargent, CEO and co-founder of Queensberry Real Estate, said: “This development management instruction is a great opportunity for us to continue our successful working relationship with Meyer Bergman and its partners. Broadway Bradford is one of the most exciting retail and leisure schemes currently under development in the UK.” www.shopping-centre.co.uk

Broadgate Estates lands 16 new retail properties Broadgate Estates, the property management company owned by British Land, has been appointed to manage a further portfolio of BL’s retail assets throughout the United Kingdom.

Broadgate Estates has taken over the management of 16 assets totalling over 2.5 million sq ft. Each asset has a strong retail offering with leading major brands including Marks & Spencer, Next and Starbucks.

The assets include Beaumont shopping centre, Leicester; Eden Walk, Kingston-Upon-Thames; Kingston Centre, Milton Keynes; Mayflower shopping park, Basildon; Serpentine Green shopping centre, Peterborough; Surrey Quays shopping centre, Rotherhithe and Whiteley shopping centre, Hampshire.

Steve Whyman, CEO at Broadgate Estates, said: “Being appointed to manage British Land’s retail portfolio strengthens our planned strategy of continued expansion in the retail environment. The regional portfolio is diverse and allows Broadgate Estates to expand its presence across the UK.” FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

6 NEWS

Hines unveils Liffey Blanchardstown on the block in Dublin Valley expansion Hines Ireland, as asset and development manager for the consortium that owns the Liffey Valley regional shopping centre to the west of Dublin city centre, has submitted a planning application for an additional 22,000 sq m of net retail space; 1,800 car parking spaces, a major new civic plaza and a 2,500-seat Olympic-sized indoor ice arena.

In advance of this planning submission, US architect RTKL was selected in an architectural competition to come up with a world class design for the

SHOPPING CENTRE FEBRUARY 2016

proposed new retail and leisure spaces at Liffey Valley.

Brian Moran, senior managing director of Hines Ireland, said: “Our research shows that if the planned expansions to all Dublin shopping centres went ahead in the next five years, it would add 12 per cent to the retail floor area in the city region. Customer spend and population growth will outstrip this, so we are making this application now as economic growth accelerates.”

The Liffey Valley complex is owned by clients of HSBC Private Bank, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland and Hines Ireland.

Green Property has appointed JLL and Eastdil Secured to sell the 111,000-sq m Blanchardstown Town Centre, located on the M0 motorway west of Dublin. The existing development has 176 stores anchored by Debenhams; Dunnes Stores; Marks & Spencer and Penneys (Primark) with 20 catering outlets, two retail parks and a multiplex cinema all supported by 6,000 parking spaces. It attracts annual footfall in excess of 16 million.

And there is development capacity for another 150,000 sq m including 93,000 sq m of retail, offices and leisure as well as 600plus apartments, under a masterplan that governs the site. Detailed planning consent has already been granted for a 25,000-sq m extension to the main centre including: a major store unit over three floors, 17 internal retail units; eight external retail/restaurant units and a food court over two storeys; as well as two underground levels of car spaces totalling 749 spaces.

The current rent roll is approximately €50m pa with significant scope to increase through asset management and development opportunities.

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7 NEWS

Metquarter changes hands Queensberry Real Estate and Bywater Properties have exchanged contracts with Columbus UK Real Estate Fund to buy the Metquarter shopping centre in Liverpool. This will be their second joint acquisition after the Kingsway centre in Newport The centre comprises 129,102 sq ft retail and restaurant space across 44 units over ground and first floors. It occupies a city centre position in the Castle Street Conservation Area, fronting on to Whitechapel, Liverpool’s traditional high street. It is also on the fringe of the Cavern Quarter and close to Liverpool One. Queensberry Real Estate will act as asset manager and developer

of the site on behalf of the joint owners. Paul Sargent, CEO and co-founder of Queensberry Real Estate said: “Our joint business plan seeks to reposition the Metquarter as a premium dining and retail destination within the city. The main objective is to convert the north-west end of the property into A3 use and attract a high quality cluster of restaurants with an all day and evening offer. This in turn will complement the existing retail offer, which includes Jack Wills, Armani Exchange, Hugo Boss and Jo Malone among others.

Queensberry Real Estate and Bywater Properties were represented by Savills. Coady Supple represented Columbus UK Real Estate Fund.

Milton Keynes retail scheme approved Palatium Investment Management has been granted planning consent for the refurbishment and redevelopment of Lloyds Court in Central Milton Keynes.

The scheme will provide 121,180 sq ft of retail and restaurant units, including five double-height MSUs and a range of smaller units.

Lloyds Court covers a prominent 2.5-acre site at the junction of Secklow Gate and Silbury Boulevard, next to thecentre:mk and intu Milton Keynes. Palatium proposes to rebuild Lloyds Court behind the existing façade, which will be restored and improved through new glazing, lighting and paving. It is anticipated that the works will be complete by Spring 2017.

Lloyds Court was built in 1975 as a mixed retail and office building and as the first commercial building to be constructed in Central Milton Keynes is a designated heritage asset. The new scheme has been designed by Colman Architects and will be BREEAM Excellent including new energy efficient glazing and a green roof.

Green & Partners and GCW have been appointed as retail agents. www.shopping-centre.co.uk

Savills wins Crown Estate mandate Savills has been appointed as property manager for the Crown Estate’s delete regional portfolio, comprising dominant retail and leisure schemes outside of London.

The portfolio, valued at over £2bn, includes 14 regional shopping parks, interests in three shopping centres and two leisure schemes.

Assets within the portfolio include; Silverlink shopping park in Newcastle, Aintree shopping park near Liverpool, MK1 shopping and leisure park in Milton Keynes, the Coliseum shopping park in Ellesmere Port and CrownGate shopping centre in Worcester.

Savills’ role includes working closely with the Crown Estate’s asset management team to manage day to day relationships with occupiers and deliver property and facilities management services. Savills has taken over from Cushman & Wakefield which continues to act for The Crown Estate as its valuer on the Regent Street portfolio.

Savills already acts as property manager for the Crown Estate’s partnership with TH Real Estate at Princesshay shopping centre in Exeter.

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9 ANALYSIS

January sees wave of store closures January brought a rash of store closures from Blue Inc, Brantano and Dixons Carphone. And Sainsbury’s purchase of Argos is likely to lead to more consolidation.

Fashion retailer Blue Inc announced it was to close 60 shops out of its UK-wide portfolio of 232 stores as part of a restructuring. The company blamed poor winter trade as well as the growth of online retail, and said it needed to focus on its most profitable stores.

Most of the branches earmarked for closure are understood to be former Officers Club stores which Blue Inc bought in 2011.

And PwC has been brought in as administrator for value shoe retailer Brantano UK. The company operates 140 stores and 60 concessions across the UK. The move comes only three months after the UK arm of Brantano was bought by Alteri Investors.

Tony Barrell, lead administrator at PwC, said: “The continuing challenging conditions for ‘bricks and mortar’ retail stores are well documented. Like many others, Brantano has been hit hard by the change in consumers’ shopping habits and the evolution of the UK retail environment.”

And in a further blow to landlords Dixons Carphone announced the closure of 134 standalone stores and it moves to bring its disparate brands – Currys, PC World and Carphone Warehouse – under one roof.

However Tony Devlin, head of high street retail at CBRE, made a distinction between this and the other two announcements. “Unlike Brantano and Blue Inc, this news is not a tale of woe or anything to do with the underperformance of the Dixons Carphone business,” he said. “Since buying Carphone Warehouse, some form of rationalisation was inevitable, and the opportunity to have all products under one roof can only be seen as a positive for the consumer.

“Approximately 90 of the disposals are either PC World or Dixons with the remaining 40 or so being Carphone Warehouse. They are almost wholly out of town and the majority of these are existing disposals and not a major shift in the company’s property strategy.” www.shopping-centre.co.uk

And the wave of consolidation did not stop once February arrived, with Sainsbury’s making its long-awaited £1.3bn bid for Home Retail, parent of Argos and Homebase. The offer was immediately recommended by the Home Retail board.

A £340m sale of Homebase to Singapore-based Wesfarmers will go ahead, with the 265 stores expected to be converted to Wesfarmers’ Bunnings Warehouse format. This leaves Sainsbury’s holding the bit of the business it wanted – the 700-strong Argos portfolio.

Sainsbury’s and Argos had already been collaborating on a trial to locate Argos branches within Sainsbury’s larger stores. This success of this trial gave Sainsbury’s confidence to do for a full bid, and Argos branches are expected to migrate into Sainsbury’s surplus space as soon as the existing leases fall in.

But against this backdrop, new research rom Deloitte shows that retail closures are actually down on recent years. The number of retailers entering administration fell from 119 in 2014 to 96 during 2015, a decrease of 19 per cent.

Lee Manning, restructuring services partner at Deloitte, said: “We seem to have avoided what was once a traditional New Year clear-out of the High Street, with only Brantano and Blue Inc calling in the administrators this month. Although the clothing sector was heavily impacted by unseasonably warm weather, the value of December‘s online sales figures was well ahead of expectations.

“The annual data reminds us that administration is being used less and less as a restructuring tool, especially by the medium and larger players in the retail sector. Solvent restructuring practices are more common due to the current availability of funding and a pattern is emerging whereby we are working with companies on restructuring and refinancing.”

FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

12 CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS TREND SPOTTING

It’s that time of year again.

The decorations have only just been taken down but shopping centre teams are already looking ahead to Christmas 2016, working with their suppliers to create this year’s stand-out festive display.

SHOPPING CENTRE FEBRUARY 2016

www.shopping-centre.co.uk

13 CHRISTMAS

W

ith so many alternatives to choose from – so many themes, colours, materials and textures, lighting options and technologies – picking a scheme that best suits the centre and its customer demographic and that stands out from the crowd can be overwhelming. But getting it right is more important than ever.

“Christmas decorations create an atmosphere and an emotional reaction and because they can only be displayed in the physical space, they have the unique advantage of giving people a reason to visit,” says Michelle Moffitt, managing director at MK Illumination UK. “There has been a step-change in people choosing to shop online vs visit a shopping centre but if Christmas decorations are atmospheric and engaging, visiting the mall becomes more of an immersive experience and that’s

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reflected in performance.”

The traditional Christmas theme, complete with Father Christmas, fireplaces strung with garlands, fir trees, baubles, off-white fairy lights and reds, greens and golds has always been popular, but while some are wary of losing the Christmas message to modern interpretations, others are able to strike a balance that feels both fresh and unique and suitably Christmassy.

Last year, Land Securities commissioned MK Illumination to incorporate a sea theme into the display at Brighton Marina resulting in the installation of a huge octopus – complete with a festive hat and Father Christmas clutched in its tentacles – on a roundabout at the entrance to the complex.

“It’s great when you have a client who gives you a detailed brief but allows you creative free range,” says Moffitt. “We were able to create something uniquely different – the octopus was a real focal point and it told a story relevant to the

location.”

For Blachère Illumination, whose UK clients include Westfield London, this attraction towards traditional Christmas decorations but with a modern twist has resulted in a new range, Origins, that blends a natural theme with technology.

“In a fast-paced world, people like to come back to traditional decorations that evoke feelings so warmth is important,” explains Blachère CEO Johan Hugues.

“Nature is a trend that links in to this and we expect green colours and natural materials like wood mixed with a touch of modernity and interactivity thanks to LED technology to be popular this year.”

MK Illumination also notes a trend for the natural and organic and has produced a line made from recycled materials to cater for centre landlords keen to reduce their carbon footprint. Lighting products which provide maximum lux levels with low power input are an option as are items that look crafty or handmade – like knitted products – coming to the fore.

Fizzco Projects has had a lot of requests for giant trees and reindeer centre pieces, made or adorned with a range of textures, tying in to the theme for traditional shapes in unexpected materials.

FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

15 CHRISTMAS

Smooth textured decorations are a trend this year, says The Wonderworks’ Rob Curran, with high-gloss lacquer props and sharp edges set to make a big impact in retail environments.

“Materials can make or break a scheme and for 2016 we’ll be looking to use highgloss items whether it be for baubles, large letters or other props. Those finishes can really set a scheme off and make an impact in centres with clean architectural lines,” says Curran. “The more traditional fabrics and materials work best in older centres and arcades but we like to introduce an edge to those schemes; a mix of the two styles will be a popular choice this year.”

He gives an example: “Last year we installed oversized foil decorations into a slick, contemporary store. The effect was very Christmassy but it had a retro feel which appealed to both the older and younger demographic.”

As for colour, Curran sees the upcoming trend for large-scale,

CHRISTMASWORLD TREND PREDICTIONS 2016/17 The Trend Show at the annual Christmasworld exhibition in Frankfurt showcases a veritable treasure chest of suggestions and ideas for the design and selection of Christmas decorations for retail and retail property as well as other sectors.

Each year the accompanying trend book aims to answer two questions: Which colours, materials, designs and forms will be the ones to prevail over others? And how will festive decorations be displayed in future?

The trend bureau bora.herke.palmisano has derived some reliable prognoses from current trends on the design scene and has transferred these into the world of festive and seasonal decoration, with cues taken from the fashion world, product design and architecture. It has divided its findings into four key trends.

SURREAL LABORATORIES Synthetic colours and futuristic ideas go together to create some fascinating decorative effects, somewhere between science fiction with innovative technology and festivity including traditional art and craft work. This futuristic theme is accompanied by artificial colours, glitter and play of light, with a lot of transparent materials, as well as shades of cool blues and greys.

Foils, acrylic glass, latex and high-gloss effects, foam-like surfaces, perforations and cut-outs all form part of this trend. As do high-tech materials which conduct light and fluid and futuristic forms, and to go with them pearls and sequins, crystal, porcelain and glass with iridescent effects.

BOHO TREASURIES Glamorous materials, colours and patterns linked to nature combine luxury with the simple and the natural. Designs include striking flowers, blossoms and leaves evoking the era of flower power. The colour palette includes pumpkin yellow, pea green

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and beetroot coupled with sensuous earthy shades such as clay to emphasise the natural charm of the countryside.

Nature and the 1970s provide inspiration for patterns like floral prints, botanicals, clouds and mosaics, line drawings and appliqué work. These are complemented by paisley and jacquard patterns and tapestry effects. Simple materials like cotton, canvas, clear glass and plain wood meet luxurious-looking materials such as brocade, embroidery, sequins, feathers, velvets, lurex and sheepskin.

QUIET HARMONIES A theme made up of simple, plain materials, clean-looking surfaces and neutral tones – nothing complicated or exaggerated to spoil the easy atmosphere. To go with this, a colour selection of clear neutral colours from light and dark shades of grey to the warm tones of enamel white, vanilla and honey.

Natural linen, wool and cotton, as well as soft felts, cashmere and merino go with elegant woods, glass, enamel, ceramics and porcelain and materials are carefully worked and often hand-crafted. Shapes are muted and understated, and the effect created by the design is minimalistic.

PLAYFUL POSSIBILITIES Vintage pieces and retro looks linked to aspects of modern design make for unusual and unconventional motifs and figures, which often have no explicit connection with Christmas, combined with traditional motifs and designs, which have been interpreted in new and unconventional ways to create an original effect. Colours range from pine green, dark denim blue, coral and a milky mandarin to grey, sand and dark brown.

Materials include denim and tweeds, geometrical patterns and checks and extend to lacquered surfaces, plastics wood – either natural or stained – and quilting.

FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

16 CHRISTMAS

high-gloss products in either autumnal shades like mustard, oranges, dark reds and teals or neons and other bright, brash colourways. Something backed up by MK Illumination whose clients have been asking not just for the traditional palette but for more vibrant colours including pinks, oranges and blues.

“We believe that softer dusty shades will be popular to reflect a warm, natural elements theme, adding vibrancy to capture the attention with a contrasting mix of big, bold primary colours,” adds Stephanie Aldridge, national sales manager at Seasonal Group. “Paired with materials such as weathered wood and Perspex will demonstrate the contrast of manmade, clean and simple but bold lines against a rustic, organic and homemade feel.”

One key thing to take into account given the short days and extended opening hours is lighting that works both

SHOPPING CENTRE FEBRUARY 2016

in the daylight hours and when it’s dark, whether it be uplighting a character within a display or illuminating a full atrium.

The Wonderworks is working on oversized illuminated baubles, stars and presents that can be installed inside or out, complemented with a mixture of warm and bright white lighting with a soft twinkle effect designed to work just as well during the day as at night.

“Neon lighting also works well for

props creating a strong visual effect and grabbing peoples’ attention which goes down well with retailers,” adds Curran.

Wendy Clarkson, director at Fizzco Projects, warns those responsible for decoration schemes not to go overboard.

“It keeps coming back to traditional with a twist,” she says. “People want something classical with a limited colour palette, nothing too garish and nothing that loses the Christmas message – a sculpted art piece might look great but it doesn’t say ‘Christmas’ so keep it simple; baubles are great for adding colour and instant Christmas appeal, as are stars and snowflakes.”

TECHNOLOGY & INTERACTIVE A key and developing trend is for Christmas schemes that utilise technology and include interactive elements to engage and delight. From animatronics, to screens and

www.shopping-centre.co.uk

www.mk-illumination.com

Victoria Quarter, Leeds

Enlightening your vision Festive Lighting. Decoration. Animation & Grotto.

18 CHRISTMAS

decorations that can be manipulated by iPad, the number of possibilities is burgeoning as technology evolves.

“Customers want to feel welcome in shopping centres, and with the challenges presented by online retail, we need to offer solutions that will bring customers to the malls and increase dwell time,” says Blachère’s Hugues.

“We have developed, and are continuing to develop, interactive solutions that allow people to control and play with illuminated decorations linked with music, or social media. Interactivity is definitely a key trend.”

“LED technology allows us an unlimited number of possibilities,” he adds. “We can make a tree change colour with an app or a decoration move based on the number of Tweets received. There are so many ideas – too many to fit into a single catalogue – and we like to sit around the

table and discuss the expectations of the mall management team, and then create the appropriate interactive solution for every budget.”

One of the reasons it’s an important consideration, as Aldridge highlights, is because as technology improves so kids’ expectations increase and

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When it comes to Christmas, we have the gift.

21 CHRISTMAS

what once captured their attention now requires more “thought, innovation and ‘magic’” to ensure it delivers the desired experience.

Systems that combine lighting products with music and projection are evolving, facilitating light shows based on a particular story or theme that can be programmed to come to life at regular intervals throughout the day.

For East Kilbride shopping centre, Fizzco designed a 7m Christmas tree festooned with colour-change RGB lights that could be controlled by customers via iPad in exchange for a donation to the centre’s chosen charity.

“Anything unusual that can be photographed and shared on social media is great. We also installed a 5m walkthrough bauble at East Kilbride that fitted that bill perfectly and increased footfall in an underused part of the mall,” says Clarkson.

When it comes to limited budgets, most suppliers design and tailor each

www.shopping-centre.co.uk

scheme based on the individual centre, taking into account its architecture and the demographic of its shoppers, and being bespoke, often they aren’t budget restrictive. But MK’s Moffitt is keen to point out that schemes don’t have to be expensive.

“You have to be cleverer with smaller budgets, perhaps choosing between a large focal point or coverall coverage,” she says. “Keeping it simple is the key – intricate designs might look fab on paper but they don’t necessarily translate into the mall and will push up the cost of installation. I often look at schemes and think ‘if they’d have taken that piece away it’d have looked just as beautiful but it would have taken half a night less to install’ and that would have driven down the cost.”

“A centre doesn’t have to be dripping with decorations to make an impact,” adds Clarkson. “Christmas should be apparent throughout the centre but that could mean a few key pieces, one in

FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

22 CHRISTMAS

the atrium and others at the entrances for example.

“Historically many shopping centres owned their own Christmas decorations and these can be reworked to create something new,” she suggests.

COLLABORATION While suppliers used to have free rein, coming up with and pitching ideas with little input from clients, many have seen that change, with shopping centre teams coming forward with more and more detailed and creative briefs, underpinned by a deeper understand of shoppers informed by data.

“As shopping centres gather more insight from their customers, they are able to use that to inform their briefs which gives us a solid foundation from which to execute the most amazing schemes,” says Moffitt. “They also understand the style and architecture of their centres better and what will work in those spaces. The more savvy centre managers are also beginning to look at the trends and what’s available on the market. They’re ahead of the game and they challenge us to continue to innovate. It feels like we’re going down a new path.”

The team at MK Illumination show clients’ potential concepts during a meeting in which ideas are sketched out by the designers. At the next meeting, they are shown more detailed drawings and colour swatches and the process continues with ideas batted back and forth between supplier and landlord until the final scheme is agreed upon.

“We work really closely with our clients; the best results come with partnership and when they allow us to integrate with their teams. And the earlier in the year we begin these conversations, the better the price.”

She concludes: “Shoppers have so much choice now, they can shop online or they can get in the car and visit a shopping centre. Creating an immersive experience that engages with visitors at various touchpoints will help them choose the latter. A Christmas decoration scheme should have that trigger, that pièce de résistance that makes people walk through the door and think ‘wow’. It has to make people feel happy.”

SHOPPING CENTRE FEBRUARY 2016

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MAKE THE MOST OF CHRISTMAS With tones of inspiration for Christmas marketing campaigns and events, the results can be both diverse and impressive. We serve up a round-up of last year’s activity along with marketers’ predictions for the future.

I

t might be the busiest time in the retail calendar but with the Black Friday weekend and heavy discounting throughout December having migrated from across the pond, landlords and bricks & mortar retailers are having to grapple with a ‘new normal’ that often favours online. So, with a large proportion of the marketing budget spent on the six weeks leading up to Christmas, using that spend wisely to boost tenants’ trade and produce ROI is critical. And for some marketers that requires upping the ante.

“The advent of Black Friday has changed things,” says Melanie Lillie, managing director of AL Marketing.

“Online is absolutely massive and discounting continued all the way through December with shops like Hobbs offering as much as 50 per cent off.

Stores have found it very difficult to claw that margin back, although click & collect did help in the run up to Christmas.”

“There was a disappointing response to traditional Christmas activity, and as an industry we need to think why that’s happening,” she continues. “The experience people have in shopping centres is of heightened importance and their expectations are higher and higher.

In order to bring in the crowds, you need to do something people haven’t seen before, something that they’re going to want to tell their friends about.”

DIGITAL CHRISTMAS One way to keep things interesting is www.shopping-centre.co.uk

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to utilise technology.

“Shopping centres large and small have taken the view that it’s best to promote a message and at Christmas it’s one of traditional family values,” says Lillie. “While there will always be room for that, children are totally connected to the digital world and used to absorbing information on screens, but too often at Christmas, all that is suspended.

“The world has moved on and stunning, high quality visuals and augmented reality have a role to play. If shopping centres are going to compete with free events like Lumiere in London, we have to raise the bar and think very carefully about how we’re going to provide that allimportant experience to bring people out and into our shopping centres.”

Lillie gives the use of The Snowman & The Snowdog at intu Trafford in 2014 as an example of a campaign that engaged young and old alike; technological aspects like moving images captivated children while it proved nostalgic for adults.

At Manchester Arndale, events & production specialist Maynineteen organised the Vlogger’s Christmas Edit LIVE!, a two-day event in which eight

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YouTube stars – some with an online following of near 500,000 – were invited to record a vlog (video blog) live on the mall in which they showcased their favourite picks for the season in a number of categories including fashion, beauty and gadgets, and offered gifting tips and tutorials.

The videos were uploaded to the Manchester Arndale Facebook page – where it was viewed 95,000 times – and YouTube channel, as well as on the individual vlogger’s channels. Twitter outreach totalled three million, and the centre gained over 1,000 new social media followers.

“YouTube and vlogging is now such a popular way for young shoppers to access all the latest trends or beauty techniques and we wanted to use the channel’s popularity to present a gift guide with a twist,” explains the centre’s head of marketing, Sue Boor. “Inviting vloggers to record and edit their video blogs live on the mall was as exciting for us as it was for our shoppers and we produced some amazing guides.”

Toolbox Group also utilised a number of digital and online tools for campaigns

in the run up to Christmas including creating interactive content for centres’ Facebook pages. One centre opted for a virtual stocking which users could fill with gifts from a selection of suggestions – in categories for him, for her and for children – which highlighted retailer offers and produced both ROI and data through the collection of email addresses.

And for another centre’s Facebook page, it produced a virtual advent calendar which people could click on each day from 1-24 December to see if they’d won a prize. People had to register their details in order to play and redeem prizes, boosting the centre’s database, and engagement levels on social media increased.

TRADITIONAL WITH A TWIST As for the more traditional marketing activities, Toolbox organises annual Christmas parades as well as meet and greets. Last year it hosted ‘Breakfast with Santa’ in one centre restaurant that required parents to pre-book and pay online, making it suitable for a limited budget; it sold out within 10 hours.

For Shoppertainment Management, one of its most popular events last year was ‘The Toy Testers’ at The Brooks Centre in Winchester, which gave children the chance to become a part of Santa’s production line as they tried and tested toys from the centre’s retailers. ‘Santa’s Elves’ encouraged shoppers to visit the toy testing station and children were asked to choose their favourite toy and cast their votes.

And at St Anne’s shopping centre, Maynineteen put a seasonal twist on its pop-up, fashion themed game, Hook A Handbag. The spend-related event, Hook A Reindeer, invited shoppers to play a simple all-inclusive game by hooking one of the many handbags hanging from wall mounted reindeer antlers. To drive footfall to retailers, the gift bags contained vouchers redeemable inside participating stores and prizes included luxury hampers, jewellery, fragrances, hairdryers and electric tooth brushes as well FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

31 CHRISTMAS

as a host of stocking fillers like calendars, canvas bags and confectionery. During the day there were over 200 participants and retailers reported a boost in both footfall and spend.

SUITABLE FOR SMALL BUDGETS Marketing budgets are rarely as big as you’d like but Clare Andrew, managing director at Shoppertainment Management, likes a challenge.

“With smaller budgets the pressure’s really on because you have to make it work, but generating something out of nothing takes creativity and can be really rewarding,” she says.

“Sometimes, in smaller centres, the retailers don’t expect much return from the marketing spend so it’s great to be able to put on activity that has a positive impact on sales. Retailers are under an awful lot of pressure to hit their targets and working alongside them, both at head office level and locally, is so important.”

Maynineteen has a number of out-of-the-box events which can be rolled out at short notice and scaled up or down according to a centre’s budget.

Elf Yourself, which involves children dressing up in green felt collars and Santa hats and having their faces painted with rosy cheeks and freckles, is one of the options.

“The success of Elf Yourself is its simplicity,” says Jo Prosser, Maynineteen’s marketing manager. “It’s creative, fun and extremely adaptable so for centres with a larger budget we can scale it up to something really impressive by adding creative Christmas craft activities, including our ‘Letters to Santa’ workshop, and further still by adding a specially decorated event space to resemble a north pole winter village, propped out with snow covered wooden cabin, log seating, Christmas trees and candy canes.”

a huge crowd and isn’t uncommon for queues to form around the block. At one centre, footfall doubled and Byron staff began taking food orders from people in the queue.

As for traditional light switch-on events, Keith suggests adding a new and unexpected dimension by tying them in with upcoming movie releases.

“It’s a crowded marketplace, especially at Christmas,” says Keith. “Be aware of competitors’ timings and do your research.

Make sure your switch-on event doesn’t clash with another nearby, and differentiate – last year we tied in with Star Wars and it was hugely popular.”

Celebrity appearances continue to be a draw too.

Telford shopping centre welcomed Peter Andre to its light switch on event. The centre had worked with Gaynor Green, founder of MTM Presentations, for a number of years and she was able to negotiate a fee that the centre could afford.

“Peter didn’t disappoint,” says the centre’s marketing and events manager, Tracy Hadley. “Not only did he do a full length interview live on stage for over half an hour with our compere, Alex Winters, he also showed off some of the dance moves he would be performing that weekend on Strictly Come Dancing.

He was a great entertainer and much to the delight of his fans he was available to sign autographs before and after the event spending over two hours at the centre.”

During the event, footfall was up by 26 per cent against the previous year.

“Although high profile celebrities attract a higher price tag, it’s money well spent,” says Hadley. “Telford shopping centre had probably the biggest ever audience numbers in attendance that night with some queuing from early morning.”

Lillie has one last nugget of advice: “As an industry, we need to take hold of new opportunities but media budgets are never as large and you’d like them to be, and you should never do anything unless you can do it well. You can’t hold back the tide of online and intelligence tells us people are shopping less often so when they do visit, make the most of it.”

FOOTFALL-DRIVING EVENTS Signalling the start of Christmas and ever popular with families, Toolbox has hired the Coca-Cola lorry on several occasions in recent years. According to Toolbox’s Chloe Keith, it always draws www.shopping-centre.co.uk

FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

32 CHRISTMAS

LOW CARBON CHRISTMAS S hopping centre managers, and the public that visit their centres, are increasingly aware of the impact of their operations on the environment. Michelle Moffitt, managing director of MK Illumination UK, shares her insight on sustainable Christmas displays.

We as suppliers are very conscious of our own sustainable credentials as well as the external pressure shopping centres face to measure and report on the energy efficiency of their entire operation, and obligations to bring energy usage down as low as possible.

Sustainability has long-term benefits for all, and pro-activity in this area makes it easier to adapt to new regulations while keeping the costs of implementing any further changes less prohibitive.

When it comes to Christmas display, there is an assumption that little more can be done other than to switch to LED lighting. When choosing a new Christmas lighting scheme, LED is the best option – and very few shopping centres still rely on filament lighting – but not all LED products are created equal.

When choosing an LED supplier, it can be confusing, particularly when there is a vast difference in price. Some think the cheapest LED lights are the most cost-effective and have the same power consumption as the more expensive products. Or think that buying cheap lights and disposing of them when they fail saves money over opting for a more expensive product. That is not entirely true – cheaper lights are cheaper, yes, but cheaper for a reason. They are less reliable,

and have less inherent longevity, they may fade over time or fail completely, and when it comes to replacing them like-for-like the supplier may have changed their spec.

Any replacement of failed lights has an impact beyond the immediate financial implications – every set of lights needs to be manufactured, shipped to the UK and delivered, and then access machinery needs to be delivered, powered and operated – all of which uses more energy, and very little, if any, of that energy used will be from renewable sources.

By selecting a pure play supplier that uses safe, efficient, reliable products, manufactured from sustainable materials, the cost and energy associated with replacement and installation is vastly reduced.

The mounting costs of repairs can easily add up to more than the cost of a set of replacement lights, and a little more thought at the beginning of the process means a lot less work and expenditure further down the line.

MK Illumination has been right at the forefront of pushing this sustainability issue for many years.

As well as manufacturing CE certified lighting that is energy-efficient, sustainable, and consistently reliable, we also create bespoke decorations from sustainable sources and have developed an organic range, manufactured entirely from recycled materials.

Our founder, Klaus Mark, has always been a champion of renewable, sustainable sources – living in a beautiful setting at the foot of the Austrian Alps, he doesn’t want to look out of his window and see the snow-covered landscape befouled! Our quick fix organic range has seen sales double in the last two years due to popularity based on the appeal of decorative solutions that tick the sustainability box, and we are constantly expanding the range to meet with the requests of our customers.

The motifs – which include a range of shapes and colours from stars, trees and presents to bespoke designs - are developed using materials that are 100 per cent biodegradable whilst being weather resistant for use indoors and out.

SHOPPING CENTRE FEBRUARY 2016

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33 CHRISTMAS

The forward-thinking, environmentally-conscious shopping centre manager should be asking the right questions of their lighting and decorative providers, and take a holistic approach to Christmas.

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FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

35 SHOPPER ENGAGEMENT

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Centres can collect huge amounts of data about their customers. But how can it be sliced and diced so it provides actionable information?

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estfield Co-CEO Steven Lowy has highlighted the critical need for shopping centre developers and retailers to join forces. Speaking at the National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show in New York last month, Lowy called on the retail industry to leverage shared data and expand partnerships between retailers and real estate developers in order to drive competitiveness in a www.shopping-centre.co.uk

transforming environment Sharing a platform with Sir Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership and Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour, Lowy outlined steps to converge physical and digital retail to enhance customer experience.

Lowy told the audience: “Today, the relationship between retailers and real estate developers is designed to open

stores and the relationship has essentially ended there. I believe this needs to be turned on its head.” Lowy explained a future that requires collaboration over competition and a new retail landscape that’s built on much richer relationships and fundamentally based on the greater sharing of data and information.

Lowy asked: “Are we going to continue to be driven by narrow-minded FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

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institutional and historical thinking, and watch our revenue suffer? Or are we going to free our data from its silos, leverage the power of our collective knowledge, and create more value for the customer?”

Lowy continued: “With collective insight into shoppers’ browsing habits, geolocation and online activity, shopping centres and retailers can make the most of data in real time to seamlessly blend digital and physical shopping experiences.”

He said that Westfield has already made deep investments in building a digital team – Westfield Labs which opened in San Francisco three years ago – and now has product development, design, data, analytics and digital infrastructure teams.

And he concluded with a call to the retailers in the audience: “Imagine what’s possible when we all enhance physical retail spaces and take some of the

friction out of physical commerce,” he said. “Human interaction is still at the heart of what we love to do. When they’re done right, shopping centres can bring people together and give customers experiences that they simply couldn’t

“Shopping centres can bring people together and give customers experiences that they simply couldn’t have anywhere else.” have anywhere else. But we also know that digital can create an added element of interest, engagement, and value to the customers in our centres.”

REWARDING LOYALTY So what can shopping centres do in practical terms to harness data to better engage with their customers? Coniq CEO Ben Chesser says: “In today’s highly competitive retail market, understanding

customers and the customer journey will make the difference between those retail destinations that succeed and those that don’t.” And he believes one of the most effective ways to gain realtime shopper spend data is by running a loyalty programme. This enables the shopping centre manager or marketing department to create tailored activities and personalised communications to further engage with each customer segment.

To illustrate how a scheme can be used to target specific consumer groups, Chesser points to a successful loyalty programme at Value Retail’s Bicester Village, aimed at identifying and incentivising high-value shoppers.

“With high value customers, making up 30 per cent of a shopping centre’s customers, and accounting for 75 per cent of the spend, it is really important to make them feel special,” says Chesser.

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RETAIL REPORT REVEALED Shopping centre tech specialist ITVet has launched Retail Report, a new product that allows centre managers to track customer interactions. Director Richard Fountain introduces the new product.

“These days it seems that data is generated with virtually everything we do, but capturing and storing all of this data can be quite difficult. Harder still is shaping it in to something meaningful, to allow us to exploit the huge potential that all that data has to offer. This is no truer than in a retail environment where understanding or better still, being able to predict shopper’s habits and requirements is a significant advantage.

“There are usually a multitude of different systems in a shopping centre, such as footfall, car park, wifi, sales reporting, and shopper tracking and so on. The biggest challenge up until now is how to bring all of the data generated from these different systems in to one place. Historically it has been a case of generating a large number of Excel spreadsheets and manually copying data from each system, and sending off to the various interested parties. This is both time consuming, and can lead to inaccuracies, and does not begin to maximise the potential that all this data brings.

“Enter The Retail Report, a new cloudbased service which can integrate with the majority of systems to automatically collect, store and interpret data to create simplistic meaningful reports. Better still it can actually forecast how your centre will perform over the coming months with reasonable certainty. Also, it has the ability to send automated alerts when significant events happen, meaning you do not actually have to login and manually check to find out what is happening. Not only saving time, but also improving the efficiency and performance of a centre.”

SHOPPING CENTRE FEBRUARY 2016

shopping centre loyalty programme is a proven way to reward these important customers. Once high spending customers have been identified, it is possible to increase frequency, spend and dwell time by providing exclusive events and experiential offers such as fashion preview evenings, a VIP Lounge, free beauty treatments and dinner clubs etc.”

Coniq’s clients provide their customers with a range of channels for them to access their exclusive offers including a loyalty app, physical card, Apple Watch and direct via their email.

Chesser explains: “Across our high value clients we have noticed a number of trends. The total spend per customer per visit increases by 20 per cent on average if they are in a VIP loyalty club. If a customer visits a VIP lounge their dwell time is 1.5 hours, and those VIP’s who don’t visit the lounge have an average dwell time of 1.2 hours compared to the average dwell time of 1.1 hours of those who are not in the VIP club.

Interestingly, Coniq finds around 40 per cent more women register for VIP loyalty programmes than men. Perhaps this means centres are going to have to come up with other methods of engaging with male customers.

This is a theme taken up by David Morgan, adviser to the executive board at shopper engagement specialist Velocity Worldwide. With 30 years of retail experience, Morgan believes there is no on-size-fits-all method of engaging with customers. “It depends on the type of person, and the type of environment they’re in,” he says.

And the same applies to the available technologies. “There’s a way to go still – I don’t think anyone is clear about what’s the right tracking and proximity technology,” he says. “Beacons may not be the answer because shoppers need to download an app to interact with them.

But we are seeing an uptick in people

logging on to wifi.”

With this in mind, Morgan advises centres to be wary of committing to one technology or supplier while the industry is still in flux. “Beacons and wifi have different benefits but you want to be able to use the one that’s best for your customers – to tie yourself into one method is risky.”

But however a centre communicates with shoppers, the offer has to be compelling enough for the shopper to respond. “You have to give the consumer a reason to give you information,” Morgan says. “And typically shopping centres haven’t given them enough reason.”

Morgan describes this as a ‘fair value exchange.’ “The challenge for any shopping centre operator is to convince the shopper it’s not just about sucking data from them. If you put something in their hands that is of value to them then they are more likely to engage.”

Velocity Worldwide’s Darius platform aims to address some of these issues.

Firstly, according to Morgan it is an ‘openservices platform’ which means it can operate equally well through beacons, wifi, SMS or email. And secondly, because it offers what Morgan calls ‘real time engagement’ it can provide offers that are immediately actionable, and are therefore of real value to the shopper.

“We’re in a very interesting period of change,” concludes Morgan. “Big data is too big and too complicated for most people and centres have to align all this stuff with what they’re trying to achieve as a business.”

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44 RETAIL LIAISON

BETTER TOGETHER

The last recession forced shopping centre landlords and retailers to work more closely together for mutual gain, but what more can be done to ensure the collaborative approach practiced in much of continental Europe can be realised in the UK?

A

t its last annual Retail Rocks Conference, held in July 2015, Ellandi hosted a panel debate on ‘Landlord and tenant relationships – why can’t we get on better?’

During the session, panellists from Capital & Regional, NewRiver Retail, Poundland and Pep & Co agreed the landlord/tenant relationship has improved post-recession – Andy Bond of Pep & Co thought landlords had been hugely responsive to the changing nature of retail – but also that there are still a number of issues.

Most thought the main problem was lack of transparency with information shared much more freely in other parts of Europe. There was a feeling from some that landlords would need to become more flexible, and panellists were in no doubt that retailers and landlords needed to work more closely together.

“There is a dysfunctional relationship between landlord and tenant in commercial real estate here that isn’t apparent in other parts of the world where turnover based deals are much more common, but we are committed to changing that,” says Mark Robinson, property director at Ellandi. “It’s a matter of breaking down the barriers and learning to do things better. The most important thing is to keep an open dialogue at all levels from the managing director to the Saturday boy who stacks the shelves.”

Improving channels of communication between it and its retail partners is one of Ellandi’s main focusses and it has established a number of campaigns and initiatives designed to support that.

One such initiative based on an idea SHOPPING CENTRE FEBRUARY 2016

from Workman’s Sasha Armstrong, and trialled for the first time last year, is Back to the Shop Floor. It involved 51 members of the Ellandi and Workman teams helping out in stores at 10 Ellandi shopping centres in the run up to Christmas.

Retailers at the Marlands shopping centre in Southampton were the first to benefit from additional help with Ellandi’s director of asset management, Alex Brooker, and centre manager, Tim Keeping, among those to spend a day working at Peacocks, Carte Blanche, Perfume Shop and Claire’s.

“It was beneficial on a number of levels,” says Robinson. “On a practical level, it helped us understand the pressure retailers are under, and on another, we learnt what they think about us and the services we provide. We want to raise awareness among our retail partners that we’re here to understand and support them and making ourselves available is a great way to do that.”

Ellandi also hosts annual retailer awards which celebrate the best retailers and retail staff and which Robinson credits as a fun and engaging way to build a dialogue with occupiers. And its new campaign, #indie2016, promotes a different independent retailer every day throughout the year, and has also been successful in establishing communication with retailers

who might otherwise keep themselves to themselves.

At M&G Real Estate’s Friary in Guildford, retail liaison is way up there on the list of priorities and centre manager, Vicky Hickson, is pushing it forward in a number of ways.

“Instead of talking at retailers we need to build and nurture strong relationships and provide them with support and guidance. Communication should be frequent and reciprocal. That’s paramount,” she says.

As well as holding quarterly tenant meetings and one-to-ones where retailers can discuss their specific needs – Hickson has an open door policy and ensures there is always someone on hand to assist retailers when she isn’t around – her team also produces a monthly tenant newsletter which includes centre trading performance, charity and CSR news, new deals, operational matters and a ‘60 seconds with…’ interview with new store managers.

It also commissions an occupier satisfaction survey with results fed back to www.shopping-centre.co.uk

45 RETAIL LIAISON

retailers, encouraging centre management to improve the quality of their service and deliver what tenants expect of them.

And Hickson has moved the concierge desk from the mall to a temporary location encouraging customer service staff to roam the malls not only helping visitors but liaising with retail staff. After reviewing the team structure, an existing member of the concierge team has been appointed part-time retail liaison manager and dedicates 20 hours a week to meeting store staff.

“Rather than take an overly formal approach, we communicate with retailers in a more relaxed style that tends to make them more comfortable to engage with us,” explains Hickson. “Retailers are under a lot of pressure to hit precious sales targets and they haven’t always had time to visit us and discuss their needs but going to see them regularly has had a positive impact – we’ve had huge amounts of information relayed to us via the concierge team that we wouldn’t historically have had, and we’ve gained a greater insight into their businesses.”

While closer relationships have been forged between landlords and tenants at existing centres, starting off on the right foot is essential for new schemes, and Queensberry Real Estate was keen to build a relationship with tenants ahead of the opening of Friars Walk in Newport in November last year. That meant establishing effective lines of communication from assigning the initial deal, throughout the months before opening and afterwards, with every member of Queensberry and the onsite management team encouraged to maintain rapport with incoming tenants.

Retailers and restaurant and leisure operators were updated throughout the process and store managers were contacted as they were appointed.

The need to understand retailers and be a good communicator was one of Queenberry’s main requirements when looking for a centre manager.

“Centre managers have to be able to build and maintain relationships, to www.shopping-centre.co.uk

encourage regular communication and to keep retailers up to date with performance, plans and any new initiatives,” says Queensberry co-founder and commercial director, Stuart Harris.

“There has been a change in what landlords look for when appointing management staff; for a centre to evolve, those skills need to be recognised.”

Data plays a part in it too, as Robinson explains: “What’s important is to train and empower centre managers to engage with the shop managers. And it’s not just going into store and saying ‘Hello Jan, how is everything?’ – the more data you have, the more you know about what’s going well and what isn’t and the more useful a conversation you can have with store managers in understanding and responding to any issues they may have.”

Staff at The Friary collect sales data from 88 per cent of the centre’s retailers

and collect anecdotal as well as turnover data for a true reflection of retailer performance, allowing Hickson and her team to focus support on the retailers who need it most, based on evidence.

“We gather performance insights from footfall statistics to sales data which enables us to build better relationships,” says Hickson. “Anecdotal data is also really important – every month we gather feedback about marketing activity and other initiatives so that we can access whether we need to do things differently next time.”

While for some retailers it is corporate policy not to share data, Harris has seen

many more willing to be transparent and providing meaningful and comprehensive information.

“With this higher level of engagement comes a need for more buy-in, and more input,” says Harris. “This need to improve the relationship between landlord and tenant isn’t new but the sharing of information is more important than ever before. We can only react if retailers are open and transparent, it works both ways.”

Ellandi has employed a dedicated research and analytics director. “We’re more enlightened now and that’s a great foundation on which to build a business,” says Robinson.

“We’re working hard and investing a lot of money. The goal is to have an understanding of how our retailers are doing on a par with or better than they have on the continent. We’re a long way off that but we do have new and better ways of engaging that has been successful in securing tenants that we wouldn’t have done otherwise. They like the way we operate and they’ll ask about our other assets with many choosing to grow within the portfolio. Liaising with retailers effectively is absolutely and categorically the way to go.”

Hickson admits communicating with retailers continues to be a challenge, and she thinks it naïve of any centre to expect the retail liaison piece to just happen. While it takes a lot of hard work and focus, she says, it’s absolutely critical.

But it is getting easier, and with maximum engagement and a collaborative approach key to the centre’s strategy, she and her team aren’t resting on their laurels.

“The last recession was one of the longest in living memory,” says Robinson.

“The whole industry was under pressure but one of the beneficial outcomes of that was a more collaborative approach.

Landlords began to listen to retailers rather than thinking solely about finances.

There has been a dynamic change on the way landlords and retailers communicate but we have to be careful not to slip back into bad old ways as conditions continue to improve.”

FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

46 DATA

Rents on the rise across the UK Rents for prime Central London shops soared by 9.0 per cent in the final quarter of 2015, the fastest growth for the sector since 1988, according to the latest CBRE Prime Rents and Yields Monitor. Rents for high street shops in Central London rose by 18.0 per cent for the whole of 2015, highlighting the growing demand for units in London’s most sought-after luxury retail destinations. Nearly a third of retail locations in Central London monitored by CBRE saw rental increases in the last three months of the year (‘Q4’).

In the rest of the UK, CBRE found that prime retail rents grew by a more modest 0.8 per cent in Q4, and estimated capital values by 1.4 per cent, together having little impact on yields which remain around 6.0 per cent. Over the year, prime rents and estimated capital values for shops outside Central London increased by 1.0

per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively.

During the busiest season of the year for UK retailers, footfall declined by 3.9 per cent and retail sales grew at 0.1 per cent compared to December 2014. This has been attributed to the weather and to changing consumer attitudes towards online shopping. Online retail sales grew by 15.1 per cent during the same period.

Phil Cann, CBRE’s head of UK retail, said: “The Christmas period has been a mixed bag for retailers, with retail sales rising slightly on December last year, despite a marked retreat in footfall from UK high streets. Nevertheless, Central London continues to boast some of the most sought-after retail spaces in the world, a fact brought to light by the quite remarkable jump in rents toward the end of 2015.”

Social Media Index January 2016 - London Data collected from Toolbox Group’s i-engage platform shows us that the most popular time of day for social media posting throughout January, in London, was between 8am and 12pm with the busiest day being Wednesday. When we look at when posts received the most engagement, between 12pm and 4pm was the most engaging time of the day to post with Thursday being the most engaging day.

St Georges shopping centre, in Harrow, was the most successful at cultivating engagement in London throughout January with a fantastic 17.1 per cent engagement rate, performing significantly above the benchmarked average for London in January which stood at 2.17 per cent.

January can be a quiet time for engagement as newsfeeds can easily become flooded with sales information and store offers. While it is important to inform your customers, it is also essential not to drown them in a sea of sales. Constant marketing messages and store offers can quickly turn a follower off; curtailing SHOPPING CENTRE FEBRUARY 2016

growing up surrounded by digital marketing messages and standing out in the crowd is essential. Through our bespoke app and social media channels, we find success with a balanced mix of community content, retailer offers, competitions and throwing in a few surprises throughout the year.”

To see a full table of January’s social media engagement in London, visit Toolbox Group’s website www.toolboxgroup.global/smi.

engagement and possibly losing fans.

Darren Harman is the centre manager of St George’s shopping centre, in Harrow.

He said: “Within our centre we are quite limited with physical event space so we have to take digital marketing very seriously, a strong social media following is essential to engage with our local community. The biggest challenge is turning the digital engagement into footfall. Generation Z are Facebook Page

Fans Posting Volume Engagement

Engagement Rate

St Georges Shopping Centre, Harrow

1942

52

332

17.1

The Mall Walthamstow

3563

62

368

10.3

Walnuts Shopping Centre, Orpington

958

20

94

9.81

The Putney Exchange

727

38

54

7.43

Southside Shopping Centre, Wandsworth

1362

54

85

6.24

Elmsleigh Centre, Staines

1312

110

76

5.79

The Plaza, Oxford Street

2327

78

131

5.63

Riverside Shopping Centre, Greenwich

248

15

12

4.84

intu Uxbridge

7498

25

333

4.44

O2 Centre

2121

13

87

4.1

Average

16622

25

94

2.18

www.shopping-centre.co.uk

47 DATA

UK shopping centre vacancy rates fall for third consecutive quarter Vacancy rates at UK shopping centres dropped for the third consecutive quarter, according to the latest data from BCSC and The Local Data Company.

A 0.8 per cent drop in vacancy was recorded for the final and busiest trading quarter of the year and follows the same drop of 0.8 per cent for the previous quarter and a 1.4 per cent drop in Q2, compared with the same period in 2014.

Regionally, shopping centres in Yorkshire and The Humber and West Midlands saw the largest drops in vacancy, recording a 1.6 per cent and 1.5 per cent drop, respectively. And England and Scotland were the best performing nations with a 0.9 per cent and 1.1 per cent drop, while there was no change in vacancy recorded for Welsh shopping centres.

The data also shows there was a drop in the total units recorded in the largest shopping centres in Q4 2015 compared with the Q3 2015. And the proportion of multiple retailers in shopping centres increased by 1.5 per cent while there was a 1.5 per cent drop in independents.

Edward Cooke, director of policy and public affairs at the BCSC, said: “Declining vacancy rates over three consecutive quarters in 2015 indicates a longer term trend of strong consumer confidence which we predict will continue into 2016.

“Our research also shows increasing competition for space coming from multiple chains and international retailers which are starting to grow at a faster rate than independents.

“The drop in the overall number of units across UK shopping centres is evidence of the retail property industry adapting

to the changing needs of occupiers.

By proactive asset management and merging units, landlords are able to provide the larger spaces required by the multiple chains and attract big brands to shopping centres.”

Matthew Hopkinson, director at The Local Data Company, said: “The latest LDC/BCSC shopping centre index numbers show a positive outlook for shopping centres in one of the most important quarters for retailers in the year. The number of quality shopping centres has grown as a result of investment and strong retailer demand off the back of low inflation and improving consumer confidence. Also of note is the continued growth of food and beverage outlets outside of the top 30 shopping centres where saturation appears to have been reached.”

January sales revive retail fortunes Bargain hunters came out in force last month to give the UK high street a boost at the beginning of 2016, according to BDO. BDO’s monthly High Street Sales Tracker (HSST) recorded a 1.4 per cent growth in year-on-year sales for January. Fashion sales were particularly strong, recording a year-on-year rise of 1.9 per cent for the whole of January.

The lifestyle sector increased sales by 0.3 per cent and homewares sales grew by 0.8 per cent. Non-store sales rose by 20.2 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Retailers will be breathing a sigh of relief after BDO’s December figures recorded www.shopping-centre.co.uk

the worst Christmas trading figures on the high street since 2008 (down 5.3 per cent year-on-year). With December stock to shift, retailers managed to attract bargain hunters in the traditional January sale period. Fashion sales were up over 5 per cent year-on-year in the first two weeks of the month as shoppers continued to spend beyond the first week of January – something they failed to do last year.

Like-for-like sales did however move back into negative territory once the sales period ended.

Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, said retailers would be feeling better after the disastrous December, but warned that shoppers still

had a bargain mentality. “The lull between Black Friday and the January sales was particularly noticeable at the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016,” she explained.

“Retailers might be getting better at attracting the new generation of savvier shoppers in discounting periods, but margins will suffer unless they sell fullprice stock too.

“The strong retail performers demonstrate that consumers are willing to pay full price if they see a desirable product. The stores that will thrive in 2016 will be the ones who combine a strong customer service proposition with an attractive brand and a compelling product mix.”

FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

Find out more about these suppliers Visit: shopping-centre.co.uk/directory Tel: 01293 416090 Email: trudy.whiston@jldmedia.com

48 PRODUCTS & SERVICES

ACCESS Gala Lights 01622 882424 www.galalights.com

JB Display 01274 563506 www.jbdisplay.co.uk

RED i Design & Display 01821 670544

BUILDING REFURBISHMENT

PP S ZIV ;I·VI ETMRK 'IRXVIW 7LS T ...makes the difference Office Block 4 Shenstone Business Park Lynn Lane Shenstone, Lichfield Staffordshire, WS14 OSB

Liquid Applied Roofing Car Park Refurbishment Movement Joints Concrete Repair & Protection Footbridge Refurbishment

T: 0845 8994444 E: enquiries@makers.biz W: www.makers.biz

CLEANING & MAINTENANCE Lixall 0800 783 1582

CHRISTMAS SERVICES

www.cleanall.co.uk

Christmas Creations 0203 411 1991

Vileda

www.christmas-creations.com

0845 769 7356 www.vileda-professional.com/en-GB/

Decx 01773 835552

COIN OPERATED EXPERIENCES

www.decx.co.uk

Coinfactory 0161 633 2298

Fizzco Projects

www.coinfactory.co.uk

01427 666029 www.fizzcoprojects.co.uk

COMMERCIALISATION Destination Space 0161 235 8551 www.destination-space.com

Forum CentreSpace 0191 226 8844 www.forumcentrespace.co.uk

InnerSpace 0161 477 3652 www.innerspace.uk.com

SHOPPING CENTRE FEBRUARY 2016

www.shopping-centre.co.uk

Find out more about these suppliers Visit: shopping-centre.co.uk/directory Tel: 01293 416090 Email: trudy.whiston@jldmedia.com

49 PRODUCTS & SERVICES

JFR Promotions

Premier Park

0161 440 7035

01392 308 480

www.jfr.net

www.premierpark.co.uk

CUSTOMER COUNTING

Smart Parking

Springboard

0845 230 3081

01234 436060

www.smartparking.com

www.spring-board.info Spring Parking

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

0845 496 7275

AM Support Services

www.springparking.co.uk

0845 300 6671 www.amsupportservices.com

UKPC 0844 800 8710

Cleanall

www.ukparkingcontrol.com

01772 425070 www.cleanall.co.uk

Incentive FM 0845 1477 121 www.incentive-fm.com

Robinson Services Ltd 028 9442 9717 www.robinson-services.com

LEISURE VENDING Clearhill 02840 622028 www.clearhill.com

MANAGEMENT SERVICES Shopping Centre Management Ltd

www.zoontjens.co.uk

01372 386983

Rooftop car park paving

www.shoppingcentremgt.co.uk

PARKING Concrete Repairs Ltd 020 8288 4848

• Innovative tensioned precast concrete slab technology • Prefabricated systems for fast all-weather installation • Accessible, demountable and re-usable where needed • Free from surface water for safety and SuDS compatible • At least 30 years expected low-maintenance service life

www.concrete-repairs.co.uk info@zoontjens.co.uk /

@zoontjensUK

G24 0870 0427215

PHOTO BOOTHS

www.g24.co.uk

Photo-Me International 01372 453399

Makers Construction

www.photo-me.co.uk

0845 899 4444 www.makers.biz

SHOPPING MALL WIFI Inkspotwifi

Parking Ticketing Ltd.

0131 5564034

0800 970 5109

www.inkspotwifi.co.uk

www.parkingticketing.co.uk

www.shopping-centre.co.uk

FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE

Find out more about these suppliers Visit: shopping-centre.co.uk/directory Tel: 01293 416090 Email: trudy.whiston@jldmedia.com

50 PRODUCTS & SERVICES

SIGNAGE

TRAINING COURSES

Sign Options

Greenbox Management

01254 695550

01268 680834

www.signoptions.co.uk

www.greenboxmanagement.com

Voodoo Design

WASTE MANAGEMENT

01454 202070

Nationwide Services Group Ltd

www.voodoodesign.com

02392 604479 www.nationwideservices.co.uk

TEMPORARY RETAILER Calendar Club 01392 826800 www.calendarclub.co.uk

THEMED AMUSEMENTS

SHOPPING CENTRE FEBRUARY 2016

www.shopping-centre.co.uk

51 PEOPLE / MOVES

Arndale’s Empty Shop full of charity This month’s moves . . .

Manchester Arndale’s awardwinning charity fashion initiative ‘The Empty Shop’ weighed in with nearly two tonnes of clothing donations.

Donations were made by local celebrities, shoppers, retailers and businesses over a 10-day period, including over £70,000 of brand new unworn garments donated collectively by N Brown Group, Bestseller and boohoo.com.

The clothing is to be resold at a number of events in Manchester throughout the year with proceeds going to homeless charity Mustard

Tree.

The 12 participating Manchester Arndale retailers including New Look, Evans and Simply Be, supported the event by providing donation points in their stores and offering exclusive discounts. Some staff ran their own individual social media campaigns to drum up support, and reported shoppers coming in specifically to buy items to donate straight to the cause.

Centre director David Allinson said: “Once again the city has demonstrated their generosity.

The involvement of high profile brands such as N Brown Group, Bestseller and boohoo.com has given a real boost to the campaign, and the support has enabled us to deliver yet another tremendously successful event.”

Entrepreneur wins rent free trade at Pentagon Phil’s Retro Stuff has opened at Pentagon shopping centre after winning six months’ rent free trade.

Space to Trade teamed up with Medway’s Pentagon shopping centre – owned by Ellandi, Medway Council and Chatham Centre Forum – to give one entrepreneur the chance to win a lucrative start-up package worth over £10,000.

Phil’s Retro Stuff – which sells retro home décor products and gifts including wooden boxes, crates, tinplate collectables and metal signs – was crowed winner and has also been awarded a £500 grant by Medway Council’s ‘Partners For Growth’ start-up initiative.

Paul Clifford, managing director www.shopping-centre.co.uk

of Space to Trade, said: “We are absolutely delighted for Phil; his passion for retail and keen head for business was evident throughout every stage of the application process. Space to Trade will be mentoring Phil through the process and we are sure his business will be a success.”

HELICAL BAR has appointed SUE CLAYTON as a nonexecutive director. She is an executive director at CBRE and a board member of the Hermes Property Unit Trust.

WPS, the pay on foot parking management specialist, has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of PHILIP HOWELL to a senior business development role. Having started his career with Central Parking Systems, he has held senior positions with APCOA, Xerox and EmPark.

PETER BARKER as UK property director. A former director of Savills, he has over 22 years’ experience in the UK market CBRE has appointed MARK BURLTON as global executive of its EMEA retail occupier team.

He joins from Cushman & Wakefield where he was global head of cross border retail.

ALASTAIR MILLER, the former chief financial officer of New Look Group has joined the board of NEWRIVER RETAIL as a non-executive director.

ST MODWEN has appointed MIKE MATTHEWS as shopping INTU has unveiled a series centre manager at of changes to its senior Kirkby Town Centre. He management structure was previously manager following the retirement of chief operating officer of Wigan Town Centre.

MIKE BUTTERWORTH. RIKKI TEML has been MARTIN BREEDEN appointed as the new has been appointed centre development director, manager for JULIAN WILKINSON has M&G REAL been appointed as asset ESTATE’S management director, Cwmbran Shopping. His chief financial officer previous roles include MATTHEW ROBERTS will assume responsibility for centre manager for centre-based operations both Clifton Down and Beechwood shopping and operations director GORDON MCKINNON will centres, mall manager at Westfield London, report directly to him. and commercialisation Fashion jewellery retailer and customer services manager at Cabot Circus.

LOVISA has appointed

FEBRUARY 2016 SHOPPING CENTRE