Wonderpark: a good neighbour and a great trader

Wonderpark Shopping Centre in Pretoria spans more than 90 000m2, sizing it a regional mall. Yet, it functions as a neighbourhood and community centre for its shoppers. This ensured it continued trading strongly, even though many South Africans favoured their nearest open-air shopping centres during the pandemic lockdowns.

Wonderpark’s positive performance is reflected in its key metrics: foot traffic, spend per head, trading densities and tenant vacancy percentage.

This achievement for Wonderpark, the largest and most valuable property asset in JSE-listed Emira Property Fund’s portfolio, is not a mere coincidence. Ulana van Biljon, COO of Emira, reveals that Emira and property manager Broil agreed on a clear strategy to retain tenants and stay engaged with shoppers and the public. They also drafted the malls service providers into actioning it.

“It is important for Emira to have the team at our flagship shopping centre supporting the strategy so that they could execute it on site. Of course, a major focus was providing a safe, clean and friendly environment to ensure shoppers were comfortable to continue visiting the centre. We also stepped in where new needs arose, such as assisting the elderly with chairs while waiting in long queues. Centre management also maintained a visual presence in the mall during all levels of lockdown to show their commitment to the community,” says Van Biljon.

In light of its purpose as a community centre, its team ensured regular communication on various platforms to inform the community that the centre remained a safe and clean environment in which tenants were trading. Open parking bays were also made available for customers collecting shopping. Creative marketing campaigns were implemented, including taking the opportunity to reward shoppers with a little something in return for supporting Wonderpark in turbulent times.

The mall has adapted with agility to meet evolving shopper needs and expectations by keeping a keen eye on shopping patterns for any changes. It detected a noticeable increase in importance that its shoppers are placing on quality and value.

The centre’s leasing response was far-reaching. It engaged with national tenants, which led to Game and Builders Express revamping. Cotton On and Wonderpark agreed they have different target markets and Mr Price Home relocated to Cotton On’s position. In the process, the home store was right-sized into bigger premises. Wonderpark’s Ocean Basket was relocated closer to the cinemas, which also created the opportunity to increase the size of OBC Butchery to offer a wider product variety. The Hub was also right-sized, paving the way for Clicks to relocate to bigger premises and increase their merchandise levels and variety to enhance the in-store experience. Fabiani opened, appealing to the centre’s loyal young shoppers, and more, similar brands are set to follow it soon.

More stores are being introduced to Wonderpark later this year, like Gelmar and The Bed Shop, due to open in December 2021. “Ackermans Woman, an important tenant for the centre, is also due to open this December,” confirms Van Biljon.

Updating the leasing mix of Wonderpark required a dedicated focus. At the same time, its team made a concerted effort to keep tenants motivated while they dealt with the many burdens that South Africa’s COVID-19 response required.

Communication was key to this. The team interacted with tenants regularly to listen and respond to their concerns and challenges, and to understand the goals and vision they have for their businesses, or to identify areas where they need assistance. The mall provided appropriate rent relief, which was well communicated to the tenants in a positive manner, and met with appreciation. Tenants were updated with any changes at the centre via its newsletter, which also shared valuable guidance on adapting to the challenges. Wonderpark’s marketing campaigns were designed to benefit tenants by encouraging spending and rewarding shoppers for doing so.

“We identified the struggling tenant categories and focused on assisting them with integrated marketing strategies,” explains Van Biljon.

The annual tenant awards became the perfect opportunity for inspiration and encouragement, and they were adjusted to instil positivity.

It also became necessary to adjust the centre’s communications strategy, engaging with shoppers through online and digital platforms to a greater extent, including social media, focusing on the media channels that reach customers while they were at home. This also made it easier for the centre to interact with its customers more regularly.

A community-based communication strategy was adopted. Taxi associations were part of this by distributing communication inside their taxis. Wonderpark liaised with the taxi drivers regularly to keep them informed in light of their importance for the centre and its customers. Communication also extended to churches and schools within the centre’s catchment area.

Wonderpark’s marketing strategy focused on campaigns to reward loyal shoppers. It also supported learners and parents with a ‘Print It Forward’ campaign where scholars could print their schoolwork free of charge at the centre, helping them keep up with their homework requirements even if they had limited access to technology at home.

Keeping tenants, shoppers and the community informed and inspired above and beyond delivering the usual high standard of management and operations of the centre required a big push from the Wonderpark team, which found effective ways to stay motivated and positive. “Having the strategy to focus on and a plan to execute helped,” reveals Van Biljon. “The team approached the challenges with a positive mindset, made plans to adapt when necessary, and they never ignored the community.”

The onsite management team at Wonderpark applied an “Ubuntu communication” strategy, where everybody came together on Fridays to share ideas in an open forum. Guided by an empowering management approach, these ideas were shared, implemented, and applauded.

“Wonderpark’s management, operations, service providers, marketing and tenants worked together to contribute to the centre’s success. The entire team is driven by fulfilling Emira‘s purpose of being great in the provision of great real estate,” concludes Van Biljon.