The shopping centre industry is driven by people. It’s the skills and expertise of the people that manage, develop and evolve shopping centres for their communities that creates this great industry. In this special ‘Movers & Shakers’ feature published in SCN magazine, we speak with nine industry leaders about their career journey and experiences, and discuss some of the key trends and major challenges facing our industry. Here, we profile Ben Conlon, National Manager, Retail Development Strategy at Mirvac Retail.
Tell us about your current role and main responsibilities
I am the National Manager, Retail Development Strategy leading Mirvac’s major tenant relationships; strategic asset planning and execution; and masterplanning and development management across Mirvac’s retail portfolio and a mixed-use development pipeline.
In terms of current projects, I’m working on the restoration of the heritage listed Model & Moxham building at Broadway Sydney, which is a fascinating piece of work.
Built in 1904, it has been a retail destination for 120 years and was the original home of Grace Bros. Currently under construction, the works will reinstate the grandeur of this beautiful building with extensive facade and lighting works and significant internal alterations, including reinstatement of the original heritage lift and stairs along with new escalators direct to the main centre. The project will rejuvenate, preserve and enhance the centre’s unique architectural history, delivering Sydney’s newest Rebel Customer Experience store and an expanded and refurbished JB Hi-Fi.
How did you get started in retail?
My first job was on the check outs at BIG W at Winston Hills Mall in Sydney, I thought I’d hit the big time when they moved me to the home entertainment department.
I was lucky enough to get a start in the graduate program at Mirvac 16 years ago and have held roles in various business units ranging from strategy and analytics, asset and investment management as well as retail development.
Do you have any career highlights, proudest moments, favourite projects?
A career highlight for me has been being part of the team that transformed the Mirvac Retail business, which was largely just a collection of individual assets, into the high performing urban portfolio that it is today. This involved creating a focused strategy and then being heavily involved in the execution, through acquisition and disposal, development and active asset management.
The proudest moment for me is showing my kids Finn (6) and Hugo (4) some of the projects that I’ve worked on over the years. I’m convinced they both think I’m a builder, so they often give me some direct feedback on the quality of the playgrounds within our centres.
Orion Springfield Central, QLD
My favourite project has been the multiple stages at Orion Springfield Central in Queensland.
I’ve always been involved with Orion in some capacity, everything from doing cashflow forecasts and valuations through to leading centre management teams, driving investment strategy, and now delivery development projects and leading masterplanning.
Being a greenfield development, the asset was developed ahead of a growing catchment, which created a few challenges. But we stuck to our conviction and with the support of the Mirvac integrated model, Orion has developed into one of our most prized assets and, more importantly, performs an integral role in shaping the Springfield community.
What are some of the major challenges facing the industry?
Retail can be a challenging industry simply because of the changing landscape in which we operate. But constant change brings great opportunity and, if there’s one thing the industry is great at, it’s being able to respond, adapt and think creatively. Currently, many of the biggest challenges in retail are macro-economic conditions where I would say looking at the underlying fundamentals, I’m optimistic about the future for the retail industry.
How can landlords and retailers work together better?
If there’s one positive thing that COVID gave us, is that it brought asset owners and retailers together through a shared challenge. The days of a purely transactional relationship are long gone and the best outcomes in retail come when landlords and tenants genuinely partner on opportunities – sharing insights, resources, and sometimes risk.
From a Mirvac perspective, we are at our best when we can offer our retail partners the full benefit of our diversified platform. Whether that’s opportunities across our portfolio of office, industrial and build-to-rent assets or within our residential projects.
What do you think makes a successful shopping centre?
Ultimately, shopping centres are the most successful when they holistically serve a customer and community’s wants and needs. Assets that have a unique positioning and that are right for the market in which they operate, will win out over their competitors. Mirvac’s retail portfolio is comprised of assets with a point of difference where the focus is on delivering to their individual catchments. They are not defined by their industry classification but by the role they play in the community in which they trade.
Broadway Sydney, NSW
Which in your opinion is the best example of a good shopping centre, retail precinct or place?
I love a great food hall, there’s something about the combination of food and a buzzing market that really appeals to all the senses. So the best examples of retail precincts for me would be in Europe. Mathallen Food Hall in Oslo or Foodhallen in Amsterdam would be two of my favourites. I haven’t been to Markthal in Rotterdam but it’s on my bucket list.
Your favourite retailer and why?
It’s hard to pick a favourite retailer – we have some of the best brands currently operating across our retail portfolio. Whether it’s an iconic Australian brand or a locally loved business, it’s important we provide our customers with the retailers they love. I’d say what defines my favourite retailers has very little to do with the products they are selling and more to do with the experience you have when you go there ie. the barista that knows your order before you get to the front of the queue or the local restaurateur that takes you directly to your favourite table.
What are some of the key trends you are seeing in the industry?
We’ve clearly moved beyond a world of either/or when it comes to online and bricks-and-mortar. At Mirvac, we are channel agnostic and are led by consumer needs – what’s good for the customer is good for us – but we always value physical customer engagement.
The trend that encourages me the most is the renewed focus on in-store as a driver of retailer growth. Whether this is through direct network expansion or through the development of new models or designed concepts, we want to engage with customers. The value of retail space extends beyond the transactions that occur there, it’s about allowing brands to connect with, engage and grow their audience.
Our role as asset owners is to create places consumers want to be and giving our retail partners the platform to connect with them.
What are some of the tools that influence your decision-making?
As an industry, we are far more progressed in developing the tools for decision-making in a financial sense than we are from a qualitative perspective. The big opportunity in this space is combining the multiple data points we have on our customers and their changing preferences and turning these insights into tangible strategies to improve our retail spaces.
What excites you about the future of our industry?
The thing that excites me most about the industry is our ability to respond and adapt – regardless of the economic environment retail assets continue to evolve. There’s always something you can do to improve a centre whether that’s expansion, ambience upgrades or improving the mix by introducing a new retailer.
What advice would you give to someone starting in the industry?
Absorb as much as you can from the people around you. I’ve been in the industry for 16 years, but I’ve had the benefit of the knowledge and experience of so many great people.
Property is a small enough industry that there’s a sense of camaraderie that comes along with it and I’ve always found people are happy share their thoughts and provide advice regardless of the organisation they work within.
This Q&A profile of Ben Conlon forms part of SCN’s Movers & Shakers feature. Premium members can view the full series in the latest edition of SCN magazine.
