Back from the Brink

Corporate partners can help foot the promo Bill.

Story by Myriam Beaugé You can always tell when a centre is about to go bust. Popular retailers that should be sure winners begin to close their doors, peak-hour footfall drops and clearance sales become the most attended events. As produ[...] Tactics Subscribers Read More...

Grown-up Wishes

Customer Service, Services

Lakeside is committed to constantly creating new customer service initiatives.

For many consumers the annual Holiday season brings an increase to an already hectic pace of life. Office parties, family gatherings, food preparation, present wrapping, getting the kids to their annual visit with Santa, and shopping, shopping, [...] Tactics Subscribers Read More...

Backstage Pass

Celebrity Appearances, Customer Service, Entertainment

Ocean Terminal has managed to carve out an entertainment niche for itself by playing up its amenities. The event that truly put Ocean Terminal in the big league, however, was the 2003 MTV European Music Awards.

If the organisers of the Brit Awards wanted to hold their event at Ocean Terminal, Dennis Jones would take the call. Maybe. The centre manager would first have to check his calendar, which has featured some very high-profile events ever since Oc[...] Tactics Subscribers Read More...

The ‘S’ Word

Amenities, Customer Service, Services

Service is the new marketing culture in leading shopping centres.

Get used to it: from now on, service is a word you’re going to hear a lot. In a retail marketplace still trying to reconcile multiple goals—profits, corporate citizenship, technological advance, among others—customer service weighs in heav[...] Tactics Subscribers Read More...

Breaking Rank

Amenities, Customer Service

The ‘build it and they will come’ approach to shopping centre development doesn’t seem to work anymore; there are simply too many players vying for the same consumer dollars. However, when new development concepts are at the core of community regeneration, they have a much better chance of breaking rank from the mall clones and offering a unique destination to shop, play and live.

The city of Lodz is about to come full circle when Manufaktura shopping centre opens for trading in the heart of Poland. Once called the Promised Land, after the Polish government created a textile-focused industrial core there in the early 19th[...] Tactics Subscribers Read More...

Service First

Customer Service, Services

BCSC president Bob De Barr aims to steer the industry toward higher customer service standards.

It’s easy to be portrayed as a lip server when you head up an association as large as BCSC. That hasn’t stopped Bob De Barr from setting an ambitious course for the organization, with the end goal of raising customer service standards across[...] Tactics Subscribers Read More...

The Big Leap

Amenities, Customer Service, Shopping Center Business

Stand at any Western petrol station these days and, if you listen carefully, you can almost hear the echo of Middle Eastern economies clicking as fast as the pump. With oil prices trading high, indicators across the Gulf region are pointing to one thing: a continued boom in all sectors, including retail.

Stand at any Western petrol station these days and, if you listen carefully, you can almost hear the echo of Middle Eastern economies clicking as fast as the pump. With oil prices trading high, indicators across the Gulf region are pointing [...] Tactics Subscribers Read More...

There’s A Whole Lot Of Buzz Going On

Customer Service, Technology Lab

New technology finding its place within the shopping center environment is not only an absolute given, it’s a burgeoning fact. From fantastical digital display to wireless hot zones to interactive retailers, the future is definitely here at a shopping center near you.

Google the word ‘technology’ and you'll return more than 283 million results. There’s no denying it. That’s a whole lot of buzz. But wading through the specifics of each new technological advance and how it might apply to you and your sh[...] Tactics Subscribers Read More...

Shopping: It’s a Kid Thing

Amenities, Customer Service

From a kid’s perspective, going shopping at the mall can sometimes be boring. Dalton Park is a prime example of making things right for kids.

Much of the mall shopping experience was once deliberately geared to grown-up tastes. But that’s not necessarily the case anymore. "The ‘mini’ revolution has brought about a whole new generation of retail kids who know what they want, w[...] Tactics Subscribers Read More...

The Hunt Takes Aim

Customer Service, Design Studio

Richmond Centre’s advertising campaign, “The Hunt”, aims to identify with anyone who’s bagged the ultimate shopping trophy.

At Richmond Centre in Richmond, British Columbia, shopping is all about bagging the perfect trophy thanks to the mall's new advertising adventure. The Hunt campaign aims to identify with anyone who's bagged the ultimate shopping trophy, be it th[...] Tactics Subscribers Read More...