THE EFFECT OF REPLACING DEPARTMENT STORE WITH A GROUP OF MINI-ANCHORS AND FASHION SPECIALTY STORES

Abstract

As competition heats up among the shopping centres, it becomes increasingly critical for shopping centres to constantly stay relevant to their target profile group of shoppers in order to continuously attract patronage from both existing and prospective shoppers. With the decline of departmental stores as an anchor tenant, one apparent trend is the replacement of individual department store with a group of mini anchors tenants or specialty stores. This refurnishing and reconfiguring of the retail spaces vacated by department stores allows mall management to the opportunity to rejuvenate tenant mix. Using Parkway Parade as the subject of study, this research seeks to determine the effect of replacing anchor tenant department store with a group of mini-anchors and contemporary fashion brands specialty stores, the effectiveness of it as a strategy to rejuvenate tenant mix. A survey on 263 shoppers was conducted. The results indicate that the replacement of departmental store with a group of mini-anchors and popular fashion brands has a positive influence on enhancing the appeal of suburban shopping centre in attracting higher frequency of patronage and retaining shoppers for a longer duration within the shopping centre. An important implication of this research is that it highlights the contributing role of rejuvenation of tenant mix towards the appeal of shopping centres in attracting and sustaining shoppers’ patronage. This is useful to mall operators in formulating a differentiated and attractive tenant mix to enhance the performance of suburban malls, and ensure its competitiveness and continued success.