Every now and then we come across shopping malls which are either totally abandoned, unfinished or have only a handful of retailers and patrons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In some cases, floors are blacked out indicating they are totally inactive and unpatronised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the shopping industry, we call these \u201cunderperforming\u201d or \u201cdistressed\u201d assets \u2013 in layman\u2019s terms, \u201cdead malls\u201d. However, we still see new malls crop up every year \u2013 in other words, while some malls are in distress, more are being born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if we make a careful observation, many malls are actually \u201csurviving\u201d rather than being in totally \u201cdistressed\u201d state. You would be surprised how resil- ient malls can be. Especially in Kuala Lumpur\u2019s Golden Triangle, in the Bukit Bintang\/Imbi Road vicinity, where many malls we once thought were dying have pulled through economic crises and are going strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their glory days may be gone due to strong competition but they are still active. Think of malls as being like dinosaurs in the Jurassic world: As the saying goes, \u201cLife finds a way\u201d. Go around your neighbourhood and you will find \u201csurviving\u201d malls and only a handful of dead malls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only do T. Rex malls not die but some have also been resurrected. In just the past few years, major reinvestments were made in some older malls and they came back in a massive way \u2013 Sunway Putra Mall (formerly The Mall), Viva Home (formerly UE3), Fahrenheit 88 (formerly KL Plaza).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here, some of these \u201cundead\u201d malls have been made alive and their performance is being closely monitored by industry players. How successful can these turnaround malls be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, there are key factors vital to a mall\u2019s success. These include the direction of the mall owner\/management team, the retail or merchandise mix in the mall as well as layout, marketing, location and accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important for mall owners and management to have a firm direction, to meet the needs of a captive market segment, whether the immediate neighbourhood, the high-end market, the mid-level market or the masses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some malls have failed simply because they have fallen short of this important objective and become \u201cdead\u201d due to the unrealistic aspirations of mall owners and\/or management for high rentals and brand names. Much also depends on the professionalism and experience of the management team \u2013 whether it has the commitment and enthusiasm to carry off the mall\u2019s strategic plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having said that, not all mall management teams have the necessary experience or exposure. To this end, the training of mall personnel is essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the long term, malls must consider securing trades which are magnets, to attract patrons. Again, some malls do not succeed because their merchandise mix does not cater for their captive markets; for example, they offer high-end merchandise in a lower-income location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, small neighbourhood malls can be highly successful because they cater for the surrounding residents \u2013 families or a predominantly student population \u2013 with basic services like a supermarket, fast food, a laundromat, tailoring alterations or key-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malls must keep themselves fresh and new, and offer the discerning shopper of today USP (unique selling points), be it a new retailer or F&B outlet in the country, a theme park or children\u2019s activity centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mall\u2019s layout needs careful planning, too. Many malls have failed due to confusing layouts or dead corners where it is both difficult to rent out and for businesses to survive. This will entail realistic architects at the planning stage who are willing to consult practitioners about the practicality of their designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It goes without saying location and accessibility are crucial. This is because shoppers have a choice of so many malls and they will not have the patience for the extra effort it would take to reach a mall at the back of beyond or which is a nightmare due to traffic congestion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So definitely location, location, location is one of the key factors in a mall\u2019s success and this has to match the captive market segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In these days of intense competition, mall owners\/management must be will- ing to allocate a mall marketing budget. For example, advertising and events will go a long way towards attracting and retaining loyal patrons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A \u201chappening\u201d mall with the right ambience is always more attractive than an inactive one with no events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the end, it is the survival of the fittest as competition among shopping malls intensifies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is also a matter of perseverance as once mall owners\/management identify their Achilles\u2019 heel and are willing and able to spend money to rectify it, the mall may pull itself out of distress and even successfully rebrand itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So the next time you pass a \u201cdead\u201d mall or an \u201cundead\u201d mall, remember \u2013 they can actually live longer than any of us. Some day, with the right timing and the right direction, they will soar like an eagle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
YL LUM is the vice president of the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Every now and then we come across shopping malls which are either totally abandoned, unfinished or have only a handful of retailers and patrons. In some cases, floors are blacked out indicating they are totally inactive and unpatronised. In the shopping industry, we call these \u201cunderperforming\u201d or \u201cdistressed\u201d assets \u2013 in layman\u2019s terms, \u201cdead malls\u201d. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2864","writers-corner","type-writers-corner","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/writers-corner\/2864"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/writers-corner"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/writers-corner"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/writers-corner\/2864\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ppkm.org.my\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}