The great outdoors
Published: 03 August, 2011
Centres are learning how to turn outdoor areas into profit centres with well-planned summer events.
With summer underway and plenty of time to book events for the summer months next year, extending commercialisation activity beyond the mall into the great outdoors could pay dividends, both in terms of driving footfall and spend and generating additional income. And for centres lacking in outdoor space or to safeguard against the unpredictability of the good old British weather, moving an outdoor concept in, could work just as well.
Traditional open markets are a staple across continental Europe and are making a comeback in towns and villages across the UK. With a wave of consumer interest in good-quality, organic produce and with summer in the air, setting up market stalls outside or in the malls could give a welcome boost to commercialisation activity.
The farmers’ market at Mahon Point shopping centre in Cork, Ireland, is now in its sixth year and has over 50 stalls selling high quality foods every Thursday.
According to Nicola Cogan, commercialisation manager, Savills Marketing Commercialisation and Research, Ireland, much of the market’s food is “organic, lovingly grown and produced or sourced by small producers across the county.”
“It provides a vibrant and exciting shopping experience for the people of Cork and enables the public to meet their local food producers and celebrate the exceptionally high quality of locally produced food,” she says.
Described as Cork’s largest farmers market, it’s on every Thursday from 10am to 3pm and has won several awards including Good Food Ireland’s Best Farmers Market Award 2010 and featured in the Sunday Independent list of the ‘most chic people, places and things’.
PROMOTIONS
To maintain standards the market has a strict set of guidelines, outlining that the sale of GM products, intensively reared meat, imported fish, battery eggs or large-scale commercially grown vegetables is prohibited.
The market helps to boost commercialisation activity on the mall.
As Cogan explains: “Having the market on site greatly benefits the centre in a number of ways. The phenomenal success of the market has led to Thursdays often being the second busiest day of the week, and there has been an average increase in footfall on a Thursday of 20-25 per cent when you compare pre-market footfall and post-market footfall.
“Keen to take advantage of the increased footfall numbers, the number of bookings from promotional agencies and mall traders has surged on Thursdays [typically 38 per cent of bookings have been for or included a Thursday] and promoters have also become increasingly aware that the market attracts a more affluent customer demographic.”
Cogan also says that based on their success in the market, some of the local producers have taken seasonal spots on the mall in an effort to generate extra trade for particular times of the year, including Christmas and Mother’s Day.
And because the market is food only, the centre can accommodate art and crafts traders by encouraging them to take a mall booking as an alternative.
They’ve been able to accommodate cake, donut and candle stands on longer term licences on RMU’s on the mall.
“Markets, if successfully managed, can bring great advantages to shopping centres in terms of creating a point of difference and increasing customer numbers, satisfaction and dwell time,” says Cogan. “And these benefits can in turn create opportunities to develop and increase bookings on your mall.”
International market development managers and consultant, Quarterbridge, has numerous property clients including Hammerson, Land Securities, St Modwen, Thornfield Properties and Town Centre Securities and has recently assisted in creating or revitalising markets at the Bullring, Birmingham and The Mall Blackburn. The company offers a full range of services from design to project management, legal advice and letting.
Joint director Raymond Linch says markets “add footfall, a point of difference and are the antidote to a cloned high street”.
The national average rent for space in a food hall is £50 per sq ft and can be as much as £70 per sq ft depending on quality and location.
Lease lengths usually range from one to seven years but Linch advocates offering 30-day options, which he says tend to bring in “wonderful young entrepreneurs”.
Churn is inevitable – often 10-12 per cent or more – but Linch says this should be seen as an advantage.
“Stalls can be replaced quickly,” he explains. “And churn helps to increase variety adding to a hardcore bulk of high quality tenants.”
As well as the traditional food and farmer’s markets, Quarterbridge bring in a variety of traders and products.
“It can be anything from candles or kitchen utensils to children’s school uniforms, clothing and even milliners, fancy dress or a haberdashery,” says Linch.
Aside from permanent, weekly or monthly markets, many shopping centres have been setting up smaller one-off versions, often in conjunction with food and drink fairs.
But in terms of indoor/outdoor crossover and novelty commercialisation enterprises, markets are just the tip of the iceberg.
Shoppertainment recently set up a traditional Tunisian Bazaar at Clacton Factory Outlet, where authentic traders - who had travelled from Tunisia especially - sold freshly cooked foods like paella and couscous as well as dried fruits, olives and garlic.
The Bazaar also had non-food stalls selling traditional handcrafted Tunisian leather bags, handmade ceramics, lamps, slippers and tiles.
Shoppertainment provided a custom Bedouin tent where customers could relax and there was free entertainment for all the family with samba dancers, drummers, a local belly dancing group and camel rides.
INSIDE OUT
Artificial beaches, drive-in movies, music concerts, hosting a circus and – moving into the winter months – ice rinks all do roaring trade, adding a touch of fun and excitement to a shopping trip.
Melbry Events has experience of putting on such events and has an impressive client list including thecentre:mk, The Trafford Centre, Liverpool One, DTZ, Westfield London, Meadowhall, Jones Lang LaSalle, British Land, The Mall and PRUPIM.
In terms of drive-in movies, Melbry show Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story 3 and Rio. All you need is a car park and a licence from the council to allow you to play the film. Costing around £10,000 to put on, drive-in movies can be at the upper end of the investment scale for events and if relying on ticket sales alone, you need to charge £20 per car to make profit.
“People often forget that it’s only the two people sitting in the front seats that are going to be able to see the screen,” warns managing director Melanie Hurley. ”But if it’s a balmy evening, people can get out and have a picnic next to their car.”
A drive-in movie ticks the all-important ‘experience’ box, whilst costing little more – or less depending on the amount of people in the vehicle – than your average cinema ticket per person.
Promotions could be tied in to drive extra revenue or to allow management to lower the ticket cost.
“Speak to your local car dealership and charge them to park a few of their cars in the front row instead of doing a promotion in the mall,” suggests Hurley. “That way people could sit in the cars and get a feel for them, and it might be that someone from the dealership is around to answer questions and book test drives.”
Ice skating rinks can be a great draw during Christmas, and from a marketing perspective, Hurley says they’re a great way to collect data.
Melbry Events are collaborating with the biggest ice supplier in the world to offer an off-the-shelf rink, complete with box office and boot exchange – all the centre needs to do is supply the staff.
“You’re doing something very wrong if you don’t make money on something like that,” says Hurley. “You can get 40,000 skaters over the Christmas period in a good ice rink.”
She says centres should expect to make 30-40 per cent on top of the original investment but admits that success is down to quality and good customer service.
“It’s things like having new skates,” she says. “If you have boots that have done seven seasons and look scruffy, then nowadays people will get straight on Facebook and complain about it.”
And they don’t have to be run solely during the Christmas period. “Ice rinks tend to be run from November time until early January when the kids go back to school,” explains Hurley. ”But dancing on ice starts in February and runs through to April – why not have your ice rink run in conjunction with a TV programme? It’s so popular, people will watch it and think, ‘I want to have a go’.”
OUTSIDE IN
With the UK’s weather a tad on the unpredictable side, bringing the outdoors in could be another option. Artificial beaches, with sand, deckchairs and other paraphernalia, are one way to make your customers feel like they’re on holiday.
Melbry Events usually advocate charging £1 ticket, giving parents with young children a cheap way of entertaining them during the summer holidays. Commercialisation comes in with the concessions, selling drinks, snacks and ice creams, and RMUs selling things like buckets and spades, inflatables, swimwear, hats and sun cream could be brought in, giving the impression of a beachfront parade. In-line retailers could also set up stands or mannequins showcasing their summer ranges.
Melbry Events can supply a digital sea or ‘magic’ floor with moving waves, coral and fish.
“It’s what I would call a grounded event – it’s not flashy, just a lovely family-orientated event,” says Hurley’s colleague, Penny Chick. “And it’s organic, spend will increase naturally.”
