(From left): Goh, Siow Chung, Tan, Koe, Choong, Gabbani, Yong, Wilson and Ong gesture 10 with hands to signify the 10th-anniversary of SCM.
SETIA ALAM: Setia City Mall (SCM) is leveraging its new tenant mix to cater to the changing demands of shoppers and visitors to the mall in the wake of its expansion from 740,000 sq ft to the current 1.18 million sq ft of net lettable area (NLA).
With the expansion, SCM now stands as the largest shopping destination in Shah Alam. In line with its pole position, the management of SCM has adjusted their marketing budget to accommodate the changes in the market as well as allow an increase in the food and beverage (F&B) segment.
About 20% of the mall is currently occupied by F&B outlets but SCM has the flexibility to increase the percentage to 26%, said Lendlease Malaysia head of retail and The Exchange TRX project director Mitchell Wilson during a press conference after the 10th-anniversary celebration on June 30.
It has 329 retail outlets with Lulu’s Hypermarket as one of the anchor tenants in the new expansion building. SCM, which opened in 2012, is situated in Setia Alam, SP Setia Bhd’s township development that was launched in 2004. There are currently 22,000 households with a population of about 90,000.
To add to the 10th-anniversary celebration, SCM has planned several activities for July including lucky draw prizes worth up to RM50,000 when visitors spend RM380 on one or two same-day receipts as well as gifts like special jerseys and mugs with their purchase. On July 30, there will also be the Setia City Mall Run with visitors able to ride in hot air balloons for a view of the township.
Also present at the celebration were SP Setia president and chief executive officer Datuk Choong Kai Wai, deputy president and COO Datuk Seri Koe Peng Kang and divisional general manager Tan Siow Chung, Lendlease Asia CEO Justin Gabbani as well as Lendlease Malaysia chairman Dinesh Nambiar, managing director Yong Su-Lin and asset management and funds head Ong Kee Leng, and Greenhill Resources Sdn Bhd financial controller and director Goh Hong Chuan.
The selection of which F&B outlets to include in the mall was garnered by research from customers, he pointed out, explaining that there was fresh demand for certain F&B options.
The mall is jointly developed by SP Setia Bhd and Asian Retail Investment Fund (ARIF), a Lendlease-managed fund.
As the economy reopens and more people are coming back to malls, SCM’s management has put in efforts in supporting their retailers, said Wilson.
“Consumer behaviour has changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic past two years. This has resulted in mall operators and retailers having to re-strategise their business models, change the structures, re-assess the mix of their tenants, and incorporate online services to drive their business into the new normal.
" This means moving forward, malls will need to provide a truly omni-channel experience," said SP Setia executive vice president Datuk Tan Hon Lim.
Wilson added that the key to the success of a retail asset is building confidence in the community, confidence in safety not only security safety but also health and wellbeing safety.
Meanwhile, Tan pre-empted that SP Setia will also be opening a new mall in September in one of their growing developments.
“We just completed a new mall in Semenyih called EcoHill Walk. There are three components there - shops, the mall and later the residence (towers). We target to open the mall on September 1," he said.
The gross built-up of the suburban mall is estimated to be over 200,000 sq ft and two-thirds have been leased out, with the target of 80% occupancy by the end of the year, Tan said.
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