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. Shopping Centre News profiles a range of interesting people from the industry each week. This week we speak to Zoltan Heinrich, an Area Centre Manager for Vicinity Centres in the beautiful state of South Australia.
What is your current role and main responsibilities?
Area Centre Manager for Vicinity Centres in SA, mainly responsible for the management of Colonnades Shopping Centre, together with oversight responsibilities for our teams at Castle Plaza, Kurralta Central and Mildura Central.
Colannades, South Australia
How did you get in to this industry?
Undertaking my property degree, I decided to apply for an Assistant Property Manager position at First Pacific Davies (now Savills) and I think my naïve boyish charm got me the position.
What has been your hardest career decision?
Whether to remain in Sydney where there were ample career opportunities, or to return to Adelaide for family reasons. I chose the latter and things have turned out pretty well!
What do you love most about your job?
My teams, whom I love seeing achieve and get satisfaction from their work. I love the team based nature of the work we do. There are so many cogs that turn the wheels of shopping centres, not just in the physical space, but the asset management component as well.
What motivates you?
Coming to work everyday for Vicinity. The way in which we operate, the way in which we care about our people, it makes me very motivated to be working for a professional, market leading, culturally robust company like Vicinity.
What do you think makes a successful shopping centre?
A centre which has been developed and managed to be completely in sync with its trade area expectations. We often hear about the right retail mix for example, but what is that? Who is it right for? We hear about the amenity, but again, who is the centre catering to? When the retail mix, services and amenities and the overall centre experience is in sync with its market, that makes a successful shopping centre.
What are some of the trends you are seeing in the industry?
The rise of online retail has definitely had an impact on the way retailers have to keep re-inventing to stay relevant. Retail is no longer about having the best product at the best price. Retailers have to move into the experiential space in order to offer a point of difference humans still crave, but can’t obtain online. There are many, many retailers doing this well, but a number still aren’t, which will make it difficult for them to get growth into the future. Another key trend that I believe is super important for the current generational expectation of wanting everything now, is offering customers financing options like Afterpay and Openpay. Getting the items they want now, and getting payment from the finance company immediately, is a simple, yet brilliant way to maximise sales in otherwise difficult trading periods.
Colonnades, South Australia
What advice would you give to someone starting in the industry?
Firstly to embrace change, because the one constant in this industry is change. Secondly, and somewhat related, find a mentor from whom you can learn the basics, then apply your own thinking and ideas to make your mark. Mentors can only tell you what they have learnt up to a point in time in Retail. The industry will be different tomorrow, and again the next day.
What do you do in your leisure time to de-stress?
My wife and I are passionate foodies and we love entertaining. Cooking is something we do together and it’s our down-time. We need to enjoy at least one of the daily chores, given we’ve also got 4 crazy kids in our house. I also dabble in some home wine-making in my garage, which provides me immense satisfaction, especially once a new vintage is ready to start drinking.
What’s your favourite retailer and why?
FOSSIL – I’ve been obsessed with their products for a lot of years, as a collector of watches and wallets. Unfortunately there is no Fossil outlet in SA, so each time I come across one in Sydney or Melbourne, I ALWAYS walk out with a watch or a wallet.
Do you like shopping?
Not as much as my partner and my teens!
What is the single most important quality you need to possess to be in this industry?
Our industry is ever changing, so you need to be constantly evolving with it and not tire or be stagnant, staying still and dreaming of how it was in the good old days – whatever that means for you. Instead treat it as a fresh injection of something new to grab onto and push on!
What to be profiled? Contact Belinda Daly at belinda@shoppingcentrenews.com.au
