CHAPTER 4 PROFILE OF SHOPPING MALLS Chapter 4 Profile of malls Page No. 4.1 History of malls 91 4.2 Meaning and definition of malls 94 4.3 Top stakeholders of Mall 95 4.4 Types of malls 97 4.5 Key components of Mall management 100 4.6 Scope of malls 108 4.6.1 International scenario 108 4.6.2 National scenario 109 4.6.3 Mumbai level scenario 112 4.7 Problems of malls 125 4.8 Conclusion 127 4.1: History of Malls: A shopping centre, shopping mall, or shopping plaza is the modern version of the historical market place. The mall is a place where different retail stores, services, and a parking area, which is conceived, constructed, and maintained by a separate mall management firm as a unit. They also include restaurants, banks, multiplex (theatres), professional offices, service stations etc. Period of 1920s: The concept of developing a shopping district away from a city center is generally recognized to J.C.Nichols of Kansas city. His Country Club Plaza, which opened in 1922, was constructed as the business district for a large scale residential development. It was having integrated architecture, smooth and lighted parking lots. In the latter half of the 1920s as automobiles to block the central business districts of large cities, small centers were built on the outskirts, The centres were usually anchored by a supermarket and a drugstore, supplemented by other convenience Country Club Plaza 1922(USA) type shops. Period 1930s: Many people’s consider Highland Park shopping village in Dallas city, in 1931 to be the first planned shopping centre, like Country Club Plaza, its stores were built with managed and control under the single owner, but Highland park occupied a single site and was not bisected by public streets and its store fronts faced inward, away from the streets, a revolutionary design. Period of 1940s: Sears Roebuck& Co. set up large, freestanding stores with on-site parking, away from the centres of big cities. Night time shopping was inaugurated at Town & Country Shopping Centre in Columbus, Ohio in 1944. Period of 1950s and 1960s: The early 1950s was the decade of opening of the first two shopping centers anchored by full-line branched of department stores. Northgate in Seattle opened in 1950 and Shoppers World in Framingham in 1951. The concept was improved upon in 1954 when Northland Center in Detroit used a “Cluster layout” with a single Southdale Center Mall 1956 (USA) department store at the center and a ring of stores around it. The parking lot completely surrounded the center. Northland was also the first center to have central air-conditioning as well as heating. By 1964 there were 7600 shopping centers in the USA and many of them were strip centers serving new housing developments. Period of 1970s: By 1972 the number of shopping centers has increased due to a number of new formats and shopping center types evolved. In 1976 Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston (USA) which was the first of the “Festival Marketplace” built in USA. In 1975 also marked the debut of the country’s first urban vertical mall, Water Tower Place, which Water Tower Place Mall-1975 Boston opened in Chicago (USA). Water Tower (USA) Place mall were having its tony stores, hotel, offices, and condominiums and parking garage. Period 1980s & 1990s: In 1990 it was established that people shopped most frequently at regional malls and neighborhood centers. It was found that People’s average trip to mall was four in a month. Between from 1989 to 1993 new shopping center development was dropped drastically. The sharp decline in new center starts was credited to the savings and loan crisis, which helped sudden a severe credit crunch. In end of 1990s one of the innovative retail formats that have become Mall of America-1992 (USA) increasingly popular in the USA is the power center, which defined as a center between 2, 50,000 and 6, 00,000 square feet, with approximately 75% to 90% of its space occupied by category killers or destination anchor stores. In 1992 the largest mall in USA was Mall of America in Bloomington, which includes a seven acre amusement park, night clubs, restaurants and covers 4.2 million square feet with 50% devoted to retiling. 4.2: Meaning & Definition of Mall: 4.2.1: Meaning of Mall: The word mall is first originated in the 17th century and it was coming from pall-mall game popular in the 17th century. Pall-mall, first recorded in the late sixteenth century, is borrowed through French from Italian, from elements meaning 'ball' and 'mallet'. It means mall 'a large area with shade trees used as a public walk or walkway’. Thus, a mall can be regarded as a kind of park, but a park is not necessarily a mall. The original sense of mall was a passageway used for pall-mall game and one particular pall-mall path, in London, was known as The Mall, and after this the word mall became a public walkway. The concept of ‘Mall’ has become undividable part of modern people living in cities all over the world. In old days, people had to make a choice among shopping stores but today all that is available under one roof with a good shopping experience and different amenities such as gaming section, food courts, theatres etc. In simple terms, a shopping centre can be distinct as a building that contains many units of shops but is managed as a single property, with different facilities less than one roof. A shopping mall provides good shopping experience, national and international variety of products, cinema, restaurants etc. A shopping mall is having huge space approximately 60000 sq ft to 70000 sq ft. providing spacious space and parking facilities. Malls are located normally from center of urban areas to outskirt of urban areas with growing culture of mall mania. Malls are well-known for six factors i.e. comfort range, luxury, spirit, entertainment, and convenience, which make malls beautiful to consumers or visitors. 4.2.2: Definition of Mall: I) “A shopping mall or mall is a large building or series of connected buildings containing a variety of retail stores and typically restaurants also” (defined by- Oxford Dictionary). II) “A shopping center is a group of retail and other commercial establishments that is planned, developed, owned and managed as a single property, typically with on-site parking provided. The center's size and orientation are generally determined by the market characteristics of the trade area served by the center.” (defined by- International Council for Shopping Center) 4.3: Top Stakeholders of a Mall: 4.3.1. Government/Local statutory bodies: It seems quite surprising that how a government or its allied agency can be a stakeholder in the development and growth of a mall but this is true. One should not forget the fact that it is the government or municipal corporation that has given permission to construct the mall. Though government is not a direct beneficiary but it has number of expectations from a mall ranging from changing demographic patterns of a underdeveloped area to provide employment opportunities, better lifestyle, increase in trade, and better urban image. 4.3.2. Customers: It has been rightly said that it is not the product but the customer that gives you the profit. If customers are not visiting to your store, how a mall will survive in the long run. Thus, end consumers are the important stakeholders. The significance of the customers can be learnt from the viewpoint that they are the reason for the success or failure of a mall. Customer can visit your mall any time during the trading hours. Customer can be any one like a student, housewife, businessman, teenager, young executive, newly marries couples, tourist, or even a senior citizen. He can be from any age group, caste, and religion. 4.3.3. Occupants (Shopkeepers): Shopkeepers (occupants) are as important for a business as blood for a human body. They are Departmental store, Multiplex, Food comers, Saloon, Banks (ATMs), Anchor store, or any other shopkeeper. They may have purchased property or can be on lease. Accordingly, they may have permanent or temporary occupancy. Shopkeepers can be global brand (like Tesco, Wal-Mart, and Sony) and purely Indian (such as Big Bazaar, Airtel, and Reliance Trends). 4.3.4. Mall Developers: Mall developers themselves may be the stakeholders. Though it looks strange that how developers can be some sort of stakeholders knowing that they have no role to play once the malls are ready. Once a mall is built and possession is complete, developer, hands over it to mall and facility management team. In practice, facility manager is third party and mall management/marketing team is a separate business unit (SBU). 4.3.5. Investors: Investors and financers are different entity. Investors are the persons who purchase property in malls in bits and pieces when mall is under construction or can come also in finished stage. 4.3.6. Mixed Stakeholders: Besides the above mentioned stakeholders, still there is a long list of people that have different expectations from a mall and thus are interested in the growth of malls. These stakeholders may vary from mall to mall and are very important for variable income and mall marketing plan. They usually are either associates or partners in the business. They would be media partners (Television, Radio FM, and Newspaper), Airline Partner, Event sponsors, Kiosk owners, and Outdoor advertisers. 4.4. Types of Malls: 4.4.1. Neighborhood Mall: This center is designed to provide convenience shopping for the day-to-day needs of consumers in their local area only.