Reinventing the shopping centre experience

Seamlessly addressing evolving consumer behaviours and attitudes, and an outdated shopping centremodel, QuadReal Property Group is thrusting the industry into the future with an entire portfolio of exciting projects that spans the country // By Sean Tarry > > > >

The Canadian retail industry is in the midst of an evolutionary period unlike anything its many players throughout its long and storied history have ever seen before. Driven largely by the need to modernize their businesses in the throes of an accelerated digitization of the world around us, merchants of all sizes and formats across the country are investing in the development and implementation of new technologies in order to increase efficiencies and enhance their operations. However, within the digital revolution that’s currently taking place, retailers cannot lose sight of their customer, the tactile experiences that they continue to seek and their ever-heightening expectations concerning the retail shopping journey. For shopping centres across the country, particularly in light of shifting consumer preferences and behaviours, the need to modernize the experience offered is perhaps more significant. In fact, according to Andy Clydesdale, Executive Vice President, Retail, QuadReal Property Group, the shelf-life of the traditional shopping centre has expired.

“The typical ‘mixed medley’ old school shopping centre that everyone has come to know through the years is dead,” he asserts. “Customers just aren’t going to go out of their way to get something they can get everywhere. So, the exact same shopping mall with exact same tenant mix, located in a different place, simply isn’t compelling enough in this day and age. The future, as I see it, is about having a really unique point-of-view, staying true to it, and offering a dynamic and engaging experience that people will literally want to write home about. It’s also about creattherimagazine.com ing amazing places for people to congregate, and integrated communities for people to live, work and play. In other words, total reinvention is afoot. And it’s about time.”

Portfolio of reinvention

The reinvention of the Canadian shopping centre that Clydesdale suggests as a remedy to the malaise that envelops most mall experiences is being spearheaded by he and his team at QuadReal who have an entire portfolio of properties that they are helping to thrust into the future.

From the breathtaking redevelopment of Oakridge Park in Vancouver to the inspiring reinvention of Bayview Village Shopping Centre, and all projects in between, QuadReal are approaching each with a similar mixed-use vision of the future that’s best described as an idyllic and seamless amalgam of everything a person

16 | Retail Insider the magazine | Issue two

or family might need in order to live, work, play and shop, all in one centralized and optimized location.

It’s a vision that Clydesdale says he and his team fully believe in, adding that they also recognize the importance of the work required in order to see it through to fruition.

“Given the sheer magnitude of what we have going on in our portfolio, we are extremely cognizant and conscious of our role in both creating communities and shaping the next generation of shopping centres,” he says proudly. “We recognize that every leasing decision, every design decision, everything we do at our shopping venues from a service and programming perspective, matters immensely as it contributes to the overall big picture. At the end of the day, regardless of whether retail is the amenity or the driver, it is always the connective tissue, the centerpiece, the heart, and the actual soul of the property. Obviously, to that end, we want to get it right.”

Authentic reimagination

Fortunately for Clydesdale, it seems that ‘getting it right’ is something that seems to come with the territory at QuadReal. It’s a track record that’s recognized by the retail and property development industry veteran. However, he’s quick to point out that it’s only possible to continue the company’s fine legacy into the future through constant learning and an ever-enhancing understanding of the customer and the experiences they seek within the shopping journey. And, he adds, the execution of the vision that he and his team are seeing out has got to be driven by genuine and thoughtful strategy and a focus on the things that people are looking for, raising the bar concerning the shopping centre experience of today, as well as tomorrow.

“If I were to assign a particular theme to what we’re doing across the country when it comes to reimagining our shopping centres, it’s authenticity,” he says. “It would be easy to fill vacant spaces with just any tenant. But we are very consciously and carefully curating our mix so that it is true to the brand and communities we serve. Similarly, it would be much easier to add a residential component to any project in a vacuum. However, we prefer designing the future in close collaboration with the community. For instance, over 15,500 people have shared their feedback on what the future of Cloverdale Mall looks like. We could simply pull a template from an old event out of the drawer. But we just don’t operate like that. In short, we aren’t at all haphazard within our approach to anything we do. At the end of the day, we are really committed to creating the best live, work, play experience possible and doing so in the most considerate and authentic way.”

Experiential hubs

Clydesdale goes on to explain that, although he feels that the traditional shopping centre concept and model is outdated, he also believes that the roles they play in the communities they’re located in are drastically underestimated.

He explains that shopping centres need to be viewed as far more than simply places of transaction. Going forward, he suggests that Canada’s shopping centres be designed and developed as experiential and congregational hubs where people can meet, engage, shop and enjoy life.

In fact, if executed properly, says Clydesdale, a shopping centre can serve to inspire, educate, entertain and spark a level of joy in their visitors. It’s representative of the work that QuadReal has built its reputation on – a constant reinvention that Clydesdale says he’s extremely pleased to be a part of.

“To say that it is an honour to be part of these development projects at QuadReal is an understatement,” he says. “Oakridge Park, for example, is one of the most monumental redevelopments currently underway in North America, given its sheer scale, ground-breaking design and overall ambition. The Post in Vancouver is easily regarded as one of the most ambitious heritage redevelopment projects in Canada’s history. Over at Assembly Park, we’re building what will ultimately become Vaughan’s new downtown. And, of course, the 32-acre Cloverdale Mall site is being completely reimagined to create a vibrant, sustainable, and innovative mixed-use urban community. These are prestigious shopping venues that have been long-standing fixtures within the communities they’re located in. To see these proj- ects, which have been called ground-breaking, game-changing, catalysts, ambitious and even audacious, unfold in real-time, with a front row seat, is a career highlight, to be sure.”

The future, today

Although the undertakings that Clydesdale refers to are but a few in the multi-development portfolio currently active under the company’s purview, they’re examples that do well to illustrate the emergence of the incredible microcities, new town centres, downtown cores, retail epicentres and cultural hubs that the property development leader is working on erecting. And, if you ask the retail and property development veteran, it’s work that’s laying a foundation for the future of the shopping experience.

“Retail has changed so much over the course of the past few years. But it’s also an industry that’s always changing, perhaps more often and quicker than any other. The pandemic precipitated some of the changes that are currently impacting the way we do things. And it accelerated other shifts and trends that had already begun prior to COVID. However, as we begin to truly enter the post-pandemic period in Canada, retailers and property developers have got to be cognizant of the evolving needs of a savvy consumer. Canadian shoppers are discerning, and they’re only going to become more discerning going forward, which means that the industry has got to be on top of its game in order to consistently deliver the always-fresh offering and experience that keeps them coming back for more. At QuadReal, we understand that you can’t fix tomorrow’s problems with yesterday’s solutions. And, we’re confident that by virtue of our strategies, which are grounded in research and inspired by innovation, that we’ll be able to help the Canadian retail industry meet the future head on.”