A whale of a centre and awards to prove it
Winning the overall Spectrum Award, as well as Best New Development Award at the 2018 Retail Design and Development Awards is a testament to the Whale Coast Mall’s exceptional shopping-centre design, and the economic success it has enjoyed since opening a year ago.
The Whale Coast Mall (WCM) has had an estimated R500 million turnover in 2018, with more than 800 people employed by tenants and contractual service providers. According to Leon Swanepoel, the centre manager and Andrea van Rensburg, the centre’s marketing manager, the mall have made a massive impact on the economy of the Overstrand in the twelve months since its opening.
“But you can’t look at the 800 employees only – each person has four to five dependents,” says Leon, emphasising the actual number of people benefiting from each employment opportunity in the mall.
Every day, approximately 9 000 people visit the centre. “This number, however, can almost double over the month-end and holiday periods,” says Andrea. Peak times are between
11:00 and 14:00 and after 17:00.
It is clear that “much of the business which previously flowed out of Her-manus is now contained in the town”, she affirms. According to Andrea and Leon, customers are travelling from Gansbaai, Betty’s Bay and Kleinmond, as one would expect, as well as from Caledon and Villiersdorp.
The WMC’s construction costs reached approximately R500 million, making it one of the biggest private investments in the Overstrand, to date. Substantial monthly rates and taxes each month renders it one of the leading contributors to the municipality budget. “Remember, rates are calculated on land and building,” Leon adds.
With a total of 84 tenants out of 92 spaces, including ATMs as they too are considered tenants, the mall has been tremendously successful.
“It is common for shopping centres of this size to have a few tenants fail within the first year of trade,” Andrea points out. “Our fail rate, however, is well below average. Some were pop-up shops, which is a common phenomenon in malls.”
Pop-up shops are stores that take a limited ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ lease period to either test whether there is potential in the mall for their brand, or to use the retail space temporarily to create a long-term, lasting impression with potential customers.
Senqu, a retail chain for outdoor apparel and gear, will be opening in mid-December and WCM management is in “advanced” discussions with stationery and household appliance
stores for the lower level of the mall.
As part of their environmental programme, WCM’s overall water consumption has been reduced by 25% by installing taps with a more conservative spray mechanism. A borehole for irrigation has been installed, lighting systems are controlled, refuse for recycling is separated from general waste and, as far as possible, only energy-saving lamps and light bulbs are used.
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