With many companies going all out to get a foothold in the malls, every inch of space is being keenly contested
Walk into the Muscat City Centre and one comes face-to-face with a Nawras counter selling mobile phone connections. Walk a bit ahead and there is an Oman Mobile counter, selling phones and connections. This is followed by an Alliance Housing Bank (AHB) counter that sells home loans, which is followed by a Showtime one peddling satellite channels. Not far away is Orbit, roughly doing the same. And the grand finale is a brightly lit corner displaying Nissan and Renault vehicles. Welcome to the latest trend marketing in malls.
The clamour for space in malls like the Muscat City Centre is no longer restricted to getting a store there.
Even walkways and common areas are being keenly contested. Says Ibrahim Abdulla al Qasmi, general manager, Muscat City Centre, "Malls are emerging as an important medium, competing with outdoor advertising." So what is driving this trend? The answer lies in one word footfalls.
With the Muscat City Centre attracting eight million customers in 2005, Lulu getting 15,000-20,000 customers a day and Markaz al Bahja topping 1,800 families on weekends, marketers and companies cannot be faulted for wanting a place in the mall, even if it is a corner. Speak to CEOs or marketers, the refrain remains the same 'We want to be where our customers are, whether it is a mall, theatre or eating joint'.
Says V R Dilip, COO, OTE group, "Oman is one of the most competitive markets in the region with the best available choices. Given this, it is imperative that people are exposed to the best available choices."
Towell Auto set up an Auto Mall at Markaz al Bahja last year. With most of the automobile showrooms located at Wattayah, the decision to take up permanent space in a mall seemed a bit odd. Says Annurag Chawla, brand manager, Mazda, "Research conducted world over shows that customers like to shop in comfort. Though Wattayah, with 12-15 automobile brands, gives customers more choice, it is not a convenient place to shop due to parking hassles and the attendant congestion." The Auto Mall gives customers the luxury of looking at vehicles in a relaxed ambience.
Added flexibility
Apart from the common refrain about chasing one's target, a display or counter in a mall holds other advantages. For example, the AHB counters at the Muscat City Centre and Wadi al Ain hypermarket in Buraimi are open from 10am to 10pm. Compared to this, the bank works from 8am to 2pm. The longer working hours at the counter gives customers the conv-enience of walking up at any time to check out requisite information. Says Sukaina Mansoor Darwish, marketing executive, AHB, "We believe that our target customers are there. So we want to be at such a place any time that they need us." The two year old AHB counter gets anywhere between 10-20 customers a day. "We do a lot of business there," she adds.
Secondly, being bang in the middle of aisles give them the advantage of high visibility. Take the example Nawras and Oman Mobile, which came looking for a store at the Muscat City Centre, but set up counters instead as all the stores were already leased out. What started off as a second choice has proven to be a blessing in disguise. "From an interaction point of view and location wise, their counters have proved to be better than a normal store," says Qasmi.
Clients like Oman Mobile, Showtime and Orbit, which started out at the Muscat City Centre with a one-year contract have gone ahead and renewed the arrangement an indication of the good business that they generate. Emboldened by its Muscat City Centre experience, Showtime has set up a counter at the Lulu Hypermarket in Bausher, Muscat.
As most of these counters or cars are displayed in the middle of the aisles, do they not cause inconvenience to the shoppers? Counters Qasmi, "It adds to the shopping experience as we are able to bring a range of products to the customers. Moreover, we never compromise on customer safety or convenience to earn a few more rials."
As a rule of thumb, a three-metre space separates two counters. Clients are also not permitted to set up shop close to the exits or emergency doors.
Some malls have far more stringent norms. Says Keith Holt, group general manager, Al Bahja group of companies, "We allow only our tenants to put up stalls (in Markaz al Bahja) in aisles to promote their products. There is one exception though, charities." Most malls also make sure that these brands in their aisles match their profile.
"The brand needs to add value to our mall and customers. We are very selective and only choose strategically important partners," says Qasmi. So while most malls are inundated with requests for counters, only a few end up making the cut.
International model
The idea of 'temporary leasing', the technical term used to denote the trend, has been around for years. It all started in North America and has since caught on worldwide. Says Dilip, "In Japan you see cars on display in almost every shopping mall."
The idea behind such leasing is to give the customers an opportunity to experience the product. The arrangement can be for a week, a month, three months, six months or a year. The maximum tenure of a temporary lease (in Oman) is one year. The arrangement can be continued if both the parties agree.
Temporary leasing can be taken on various forms. One: companies can set up counters. Two: they can have a display of their products an example being a car being displayed with a given contact number to call for further information. Three: short bursts of tactical displays wherein products are showcased along with sales personnel to provide on the spot information. Toyota used a combination of static and tactical displays for the new Camry at Capital Commercial Centre (CCC) in Muscat during the month of Ramadan.
On the whole, it is a win-win situation for both the parties. Companies get exposure for their wares while malls get to rake in money. Aware of the benefits, most companies are looking at strengthening their presence in the malls. "We will be looking at more such options in the future," says Darwish.
Going by the response, it is clear that the trend is here to stay. "Malls are the way forward. Look at Europe where shopping malls have killed the high street; the same is happening here in Oman," says Holt. With malls being the way of the future, it's time to book your space there right now - at least a counter.
Temporary leasing
The options
Counters
Setting up a kiosk or counter in a mall or hypermarket
Static display
Displaying a product with numbers to contact for further information
Tactical displays
Showcasing products along with sales personnel who attend to customer queries on the spot.
By Mayank Singh
businesstoday 2006
