Effective partnerships between property landlords and their retail tenants are crucial for fostering vibrant, successful commercial spaces. In this exclusive Q&A feature, published in the latest issue of SCN, we invited six retail partners to share their personal experiences and career highlights and provide insights into their business – the current challenges, opportunities, trends, growth strategy and more… Here we feature Nejmi Elia, Head of Property – eCommerce, Woolworths Group.

Woolworths Group, an iconic Australian and New Zealand retailer, has been serving communities for nearly a century. With a commitment to quality, value and sustainability, Woolworths Group primarily operates a diverse portfolio of supermarkets and online retail platforms. Driven by a commitment to customer satisfaction and innovation, Woolworths Group continues to evolve and adapt to meet the changing needs of its customers, ensuring its position as a leading retailer in Australia and New Zealand. 

What is your current role and main responsibilities?

I am the Head of Property – eCommerce for the Woolworths Group. My current role focuses on strategically deploying online solutions into existing and new supermarkets across Australia. The role involves solving customer-centric online solutions across the supermarket network. These property solutions require consistent collaboration and co-investments with landlords to achieve a seamless integration into the physical store environment. These online initiatives include; Direct-to-Boot (DTB), pick-up services, eStores, and other unified eCommerce solutions to enhance customer convenience.

Tell us about your career journey and how you got started in retail property?

My journey in the retail sector began approximately 20 years ago at David Jones, where I held various positions, ultimately working in the B2B division. My mentor then approached me to consider property, specifically to stabilise an asset post a major redevelopment. This was followed by a role at 151 Property, a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group, where I led the retail asset portfolio team, setting the repositioning strategy through to the execution stage, overseeing the delivery of the capital investment projects, customer research, and marketing strategies.

What do you love most about your job?

What I love most about my job is the constant change, the challenges and the satisfaction of achieving key milestones. Retail is a dynamic, challenging and rewarding sector, and my role embraces all of these aspects. The integration of online shopping into a physical store environment is driven by the evolving shopping behaviours and expectations of our customers, and seeing the results of these projects come to life is extremely rewarding.

Tell us about your current projects?

In addition to the bespoke delivery of the Direct-to-Boot services across our supermarket network, my team and I are focused on reviewing catchments’ population growth and demographics in correlation to our existing and planned store network. This analysis and findings help us determine the most suitable long-term online fulfilment format for each specific catchment under review. The formats of the online solutions we aim to deliver are designed to serve these areas beyond ten years, and they range from manual home delivery hubs to eStores, the latter being approximately 2,500m2 in size, mostly automated, and attached to our supermarket. This strategic approach ensures that our eCommerce capabilities can meet current demands while being scalable for future growth.

Do you have any career highlights or proudest moments you can share?

It’s hard to pinpoint a single role from my career as each one has led seamlessly to the next. I have had a well-rounded career, beginning my career on the retailer side, understanding the key drivers of business growth, and then applying this knowledge to shopping centres. I believe understanding retailers and their business models is imperative to managing a well-performing shopping centre.

While I’m proud to have completed my Master’s Degree in Business and the Company Directors Course with the AICD, I look forward to applying my skills in a boardroom environment in the near future.

What are some of the major challenges facing the industry?

The major challenges facing our industry include;

Rising costs: The high cost of construction, labour and materials continues to make new developments and refurbishments challenging. To date, this remains a challenge as it places pressure on the feasibility of projects and capital investments.

Technology integration: The need to integrate advanced technologies such as AI, data analytics and omnichannel retail solutions is essential to remain competitive. However, the integration of these technologies can be complex and requires substantial investment.

Sustainability Requirements: Increasingly, environmental regulations and a growing emphasis on sustainability are pushing retail property owners to invest in energy efficiency and sustainable building practices. While these investments can be beneficial in the long run, they represent significant upfront costs.

What are some of the trends you are seeing in the industry?

We see some synergies in trends across the US, UK and Australian retail sectors, despite differences in the format of shopping centres. Beyond the well-known trend of omnichannel retailing, other key trends driving a heavy focus include:

1. Bricks-and-mortar revival: Despite the rise of online shopping, physical stores are experiencing a resurgence. Retailers are leveraging omnichannel strategies to integrate in-store and online experiences to enhance overall customer engagement and achieve a seamless shopping journey. At Woolworths, the seamless integration of our omnichannel experience – spanning the website, mobile app and physical stores – is a key driver of customer loyalty and frequent return visits. However, it’s crucial that we continue to enhance and adapt both our online and offline experiences to keep pace with evolving customer expectations and changing shopping habits.

2. Personalisation and AI: Retailers are increasingly using AI to create tailored shopping experiences and recommendations directly to customers to enhance customer satisfaction. This is driving the revival of bricks-and-mortar.

What do you think makes a successful retailer/shopping centre?

In my opinion, the customer should always be the driving force behind the strategy of a shopping centre or a retailer. Staying true to this customer-focused approach naturally drives change and overall growth.

The key to a thriving shopping centre starts with its convenient and accessible car parking, how well the retail mix aligns with the needs and preferences of its demographic, along with the ability to adapt as those demographics evolve. Additionally, a centre that offers well-maintained, convenient amenities and has a strong commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles is highly attractive to customers and investors.

What excites you about the future of our industry?

I am excited about the future as we are no longer on the express train; we are on a bullet train where innovation, data and AI will play a pivotal role in value creation. It’s new, different, and challenging, which makes it exciting. The retail property industry is continuously innovating and adapting to meet the ever-changing market demands.

What advice would you give to someone starting in the industry?

My advice to someone starting in the industry is to be curious and don’t hesitate to ask for help. Embrace setbacks with a positive mindset, as everyone faces challenges. It’s important to have the right attitude and stay true to your values. Continuously educate yourself about your customers, the industry, and the key interests and beliefs of future generations. Remember, success is not final, and the journey of learning and adapting never ends.

This profile featuring Nejmi Elia forms part of a special feature published in the latest issue of SCN magazine.