Mall Talk Issue July - 01 - Scai.in

S CA IIssue-06 l Vol-04 l July 2013Mukesh Kumar,Vice President, Unique EstatesDevelopment Companylooked upon marketing activity,” says Philips.Kumar says that the world economic downturn has not impacted the fashion conscious whocontinue to shop, on the back of disposable income. However, Kurien says that the globaleconomic downturn has seen increased promotional activities. “The tendency to go on salehas only increased due to the past and current slowdown that we are witnessing. Whilethis temporarily helps to increase sales, it is not sustainable in the long term,” he says.In some markets, the downturn has resulted in structured, long term changes. “The onlychange witnessed during the recession in 2009-2010 is that the sale period was extendedby retailers to a 45-day period instead of the normal 20-30 days. Another noticeablechange that has been observed is that certain brands are now manufacturing specificallyfor the sale period. Instead of just being a stock clearance activity, sales are now a muchFor sales and indeed the shopping centres to be sustainable, stakeholders need to work in cohesion. For malls thathave a revenue share models, there are various combinations that suit both parties. “When sales rise, revenue sharein that month rises too,” says Yach.But, even who don't work on shared revenues, there is much to do. Kumar says, “As a mall we do loads of marketinginitiatives to encourage our tenants during their sale season. We plan a Flat 50 Per Cent off day in which more than100 brands participate. We extend ourselves and promote this day so that it helps in boosting the sale of the retailersand exert a pull on footfalls to the mall. Our marketing campaign runs through print ads, radio, outdoor hoardings,social media and online forums and in mall communications.”Given that sales seem to driving revenues – reports indicate that sales have zoomed up 40 per cent Year On Yeargrowth – is it not in the interest of the mall management to encourage them?Philips tells us that the norm is that at the time of signing the revenue share deal itself, a lesser percentage is agreedupon as the revenue share during the sales period. However, he says, “In case of revenue share as well, an increaseof 40 per cent is seen in the revenue during sales.”In fact, retailers in shopping centres, with revenue share models, have worked out for the benefit of both parties.They have it better than the high street retailers who are bearing the brunt of soaring rentals in tier-I cities.Kumar points out, “We do not operate on revenue sharing model. But, generally, on a revenue sharing model theprofits are marginal during the sales season. However, it generates huge turnover and also clears the dead stock.Revenues go up during the sale season giving more share to the developers.”Most shopping centres see the benefits of EOSS. Kurien says, “Malls can do a lot to supportthe sales periods of retail stores. Orchestrating the selling seasons, ensuring that retailerswithin categories complement each other, optimising the sales schemes of differentretailers to prolong the overall sales season,” are some of the measures he lists, along with“freebies thrown in by the malls such as lucky draws, coupon schemes.”Philips gives an example of Lulu Mall and shopping centres. He says, “Most mallsorchestrate a complete event out of the sales period. Some malls do one day off, some flat50 per cent off and there have been cases of the stores being able to do the whole month'ssales in a single day. Other malls do extended events with shop and win contests andother entertainment activities to cajole customers into shopping more. At Lulu Mall itself,we are combining the salesBijou Kurien,President & Chief ExecutiveLifestyle, Reliance Retail LimitedBackNext