NICHE RETAILING: A CASE STUDY ON CENTURY SQUARE, A LADIES MALL

Abstract

Over the years, competition among the shopping malls has been intense. The shopping malls have to constantly undertake steps to differentiate themselves from each other to increase shoppers' patronage. Finding a niche is therefore the future for retailing. Century Square has been chosen for this study to examine its strategy of using a ladies mall concept as a niche retailing strategy to differentiate itself apart from the rest of the malls. Attributes of the mall like the tenant mix, design, ambience, restrooms and promotions and activities are planned to tie in with the theme of a ladies mall. It aims to revamp the image of a neighbourhood shopping mall to be more of a sophisticated ladies mall image, turning itself into “A Mall for the New Century Woman’’. The study reveals that Century Square has made itself a niche mall, a distinct ladies mall through its various attributes of the mall. The specialized and unique tenant mix theme of Century Square also enables the shoppers to distinguish the difference between it and the other malls. It is also found out that different clusters of shoppers perceive different attributes that constitute a ladies mall to be of varying importance. This study will provide insights on how shopping malls should take all these attributes into consideration in planning for a theme for the malls such that the attributes should tie in with the concept and also identify the kind of attributes different groups of shoppers look out for in a themed mall.