Our Relationships
Our Malls sit at the heart of the communities in which they operate, and we take pride in nurturing and developing a number of important relationships at each of our Malls.
Retail Partners
The Mall's retail partners are key to the success of our business and we work closely with them. Our Retail Development team works continuously and directly with retailers' acquisition teams to understand their changing requirements. We undertake regular retailer surveys and have established an annual Mall Retailer Awards programme which recognises and celebrates retailer success in our Malls.
The Mall subscribes to the Property Managers Association (PMA) service charge code of practice and communicate accurately to our retail partners how their payments are spent. The Mall is the first shopping centre owner / operator to undertake a PMA Quality Assurance audit, and won the PMA Award in 2006.
Shoppers
The Mall aims to deliver an outstanding shopping experience. We sum this up as shopping as it should be. We create excellent facilities in our Malls and use our Mall branding to add value to the shopping experience.
We are constantly looking of ways to improve our shoppers' experience. We undertake regular focus groups and other research to find out what shoppers want, and we strive to deliver it. In 2006, for example, we conducted a survey of 29,000 Mall shoppers - an exercise which has been recognised as the most extensive piece of research in the retail industry for that year. The results of this research informed our business plan for 2007 and beyond.
Investors
Underlying all our activities is the goal of providing our investors with outstanding returns.
With our fund manager partners we report on a quarterly basis, recording our performance against targets and setting new targets for the period ahead. Our objective is to create and deliver the number one shopping centre investment vehicle in the UK.
Suppliers
As The Mall's business has grown, our ability to form mutually profitable long term partnerships with suppliers has increased. Through expert procurement of facilities, intelligent marketing and dedicated property professional services we form relationships that enable The Mall to be a great client and our suppliers to deliver a great service.
Local Authorities
Integration with surrounding town centres is critical to the success of our Malls. Our relationships with local authorities are therefore fundamental to our efforts to drive the success of the town centre communities in which we operate. We maintain regular contact through our General Managers, Retail Development Managers and Chief Executive to ensure that our interests and objectives are aligned with those of our host communities and local authorities.