The creativity, speed and fabulousness of our retail and hospitality industry progresses and retailers, operators and landlords alike continue to innovate and create to impress today’s ever connected, always on, discerning consumer. In the face of sector disruption, Mirvac Retail explores and pursues opportunities to further harness product creation and exceptional experiences in the ‘reimagining of retail’ through strategic thinking.
Rachael Finch’s ‘Festival of You’ event at Toombul
At Mirvac, we are striving to be more than a developer, manager and facilitator of spaces that house retail brands. We see the future of our spaces as curated urban environments where entrepreneurs, fashion designers, retailers and hospitality experts are delivering dynamic and exciting experiences for communities and customers alike.
To respond to the rapidly evolving retail landscape, we are nurturing our teams’ unique and creative slant on responding to our varied consumer bases across our urban portfolio; giving us the flexibility to push boundaries and rethink retail. We are continually reimagining, reinventing and creating valuable experiences for our customers and it makes for a whole lot of fun to come to work every day.
We have developed a capability in customer insights via an extensive process of collating data, listening to customers and the wider screening and data capture from the broader environment.
Through consumer insights driven thinking, we are activating our spaces with varied and authentic experiences that are truly urban and reflective of our community and customers. Customer insights are informing our approach to all the assets within our business; across all facets from development, mix, marketing and partnerships.
At Toombul in Brisbane, an asset acquired in 2016, customer insights have enabled its transformation into a centre that is now enthusiastically embraced by its community.
Being one of the first shopping centres in Brisbane, Toombul enjoys an iconic legacy in Queensland retailing. The investment and works that Mirvac has delivered at Toombul have been summed up most recently in our Shopping Centre Council of Australia award winning ‘Reinventing an Icon’ campaign. At Toombul we recognise the significance of the asset’s history yet we also identify how its space could be adapted and developed for a new audience of ‘cultural pioneers’. This new customer is urban, progressive and experimental. They seek social experiences, not just bricks and mortar, and crave to be entertained and offered variety.
Through a series of mall works, remixing, rebranding and community engagement, Toombul has successfully maintained its ability to deliver shopping convenience while simultaneously delivering delightful new experiences. In the less than two years since acquisition, MAT turnover has increased by $21 million to $246 million. MAT traffic has experienced similar success, increasing 12.7% to 6.2 million.
Giant pink dog sculpture by Diadem at Orion
In retail, we talk a lot about ‘partnerships’. Partnering with retailers, other like-minded organisations, technology providers, agencies, consultants, community bodies, the list goes on. We have a clear strategy to cultivate and nurture partnerships where together we deliver value and experiences to our customer that will surprise and delight more than we could hope to achieve singularly.
Our art programs,for example, enable us to leverage partnerships to inform design and space in our malls.
At Mirvac, we view art as the external visual language of local urban communities.
We strive to respond to each asset’s locality and culture in their design briefs and there is no clearer example of how we can use local influences to inform design than the partnering with local artists to enliven our public spaces.
In July 2018, Broadway Sydney unveiled its art collaboration called Art for All, with five highly respected Sydney artists; providing works as part of the refurbishment of Level 1. Broadway now hosts eight bespoke columns and murals, as well as the Mulga façade and mural by Sydney’s world-renowned artist Sophi Odling.
Bespoke column at Broadway Sydney
Celebrating and respecting local talent is a key pillar of our urban strategy and is also essential to our ability to impact our spaces; but so too are our design experts and consultants. In a world increasingly connected by technology, experience and social connection remains paramount to communities that frequent our assets. Brilliant design, placemaking and architecture elevate our experience beyond anything that can be achieved online.
Our portfolio of urban, boutique assets bestow us the opportunity and responsibility to tailor each property specifically to its local market. Our challenge is to outpace emerging customer trends to consistently surprise and delight and evolve with these cultural shifts. Our design team focuses on flexibility of space to shift with customer trends.
Broadway Sydney dining precinct
Our National Manager of Placemaking and Design, Aleks Zoric has noted in today’s urban environments a “shift of need from just providing open plan spaces within centres, to also requiring nooks and quiet break out spaces.” With the increasing numbers of people who are now able to work flexibly and from home, shopping centres and community spaces have become their go-tos as they can also pick up their shopping, grab some food on the go, get great coffee and even meet friends and family later’.
This evolving use of space continues to shape the design of our spaces. Broadway Sydney is a blend of open space that can be used for events and activations and each floor has its own nooks to be discovered. We are increasingly utilising movable furniture to provide flexibility in how we curate and tailor our spaces to constantly engage customers.
Tramsheds
At Tramsheds, we specifically designated a central flexi space, ‘Artisan Lane’. Each ‘pod’ is customisable in design, shape and size and seating can be adjusted to allow for weekend markets, pop-ups and other retail opportunities. At Orion we’ve ensured even the outdoor space is flexible allowing for us to cater for bigger outdoor celebrations and concerts.
We continue to move away from traditional design; softening spaces, creating intrigue and stylising customer flow and movement through our malls. Artwork and flexible landscaping provide points of difference for the customer and this continues to be a focus for Mirvac.
The rooftop at Greenwood Plaza
In our urban cities, as is the case for other global cities of the world, we are challenged to utilise our vertical space effectively. Most recently, Broadway partnered with Sydney Fringe Festival and activated the festival’s headlining attraction; an open-air rooftop roller-skating rink. The rooftop at Greenwood Plaza similarly has been activated for North Sydney CBD workers to enjoy, an example of how a design approach can enrich otherwise often vacant spaces. Greenwood creatively utilises its rooftop for all sorts of fun including charity bike rides, yoga and even Christmas in July. Importantly, our assets are also utilised by families for play.
In the past two years alone, Mirvac Retail has invested $2.5 million into providing innovative playgrounds within our retail assets.
Harbourside opened its state-of-the-art play area, Caterpillar Lane this May, and at more than 40 metres long, the play area includes interactive digital panels, climbing towers, slides, light projection games and a special soft play area for children four years and under. At Orion Springfield Central, Urban Plan has been commissioned to create a million-dollar, three-storey playground of excellence, appealing to the asset’s family-oriented catchment.
Caterpillar Lane play area, Harbourside
At Orion, we opened Sirius Dog Park, acknowledging that 62% (RSPCA) of today’s modern families consist of at least one furry child. The park, complete with a giant pink dog sculpture by Diadem allows our community to socialise their pets off the lead and is another Mirvac initiative this year that encourages connectivity and community through design.
Our customer insight driven and design approach to our assets enables us to deliver urban spaces that connect our communities of customers. Opportunities to curate spaces that encourage interactivity, curiosity, innovation, facilitate convenience and add delight and wonder are embraced across our portfolio of assets.
Today’s retail centres must continually innovate and grow with fast, ever changing customer needs and adapt to emerging trends. Responding to the market through informed and strategic design drives success within our assets and there is little more important in the evolution of our urban destinations.
