Are we getting what we should get from the mall.

Situation Description:
In this topic “Are we getting what we should get from the mall”, ‘the mall’ refers to
the City Centre Mall Nashik Private Limited (CCMNPL). The title of this topic can be
broadly classified into three parts i.e., ‘we’, ‘get’ and ‘mall’. Here, ‘we’ refers to the
stakeholders of the mall business. Visitors, tenants, investors, administration, maintenance
team, owner, event management firms and local statutory bodies are some key stakeholders
of the mall who are associated directly or indirectly with the business. Each and every
stakeholder has an interest or concern in the mall business which is addressed by the word
‘get’ in the title. Lastly, the word ‘mall’ tells us that interest or concern of every stakeholder
is to be confined within the mall business. Focusing on the title again, the mall may be
visualised in multiple ways from different angles which means every stakeholder sees the
mall from its own perspective which may vary from one stakeholder to another. As the
perspective changes there is a chance of change in concerns also. Therefore, the topic “Are
we getting what we should get from the mall” can be described in “n” number of ways from
“n” number of stakeholders’ point of view. It is not relevant to describe the mall from every
stakeholders’ point of view and address their concerns as well. So, let us consider those
stakeholders who are directly involved in the business, who have direct impact in the mall
business and who are highly correlated with each other. Selecting stakeholders based on
correlation would help in identifying common concerns. The stakeholders satisfying these
criteria are owner, tenant and visitors.
Now let us describe the mall from each selected stakeholders’ point of view.
Owner:
As CCMNPL is a for profit organisation so profitability might be one of the areas of concern.
By and large mall is a space rental business which implies large portion of the revenue comes
from the rent. So, the consumption pattern of the visitors might have less impact on
profitability. But when it comes to lease agreement done through revenue sharing model, in
that case visitors or end consumers have direct impact on mall business as more the volume
of sales higher is the rent paid by the tenant. In mall context, profit can be maximised in two
simple ways i.e., by increasing the rent amount or by reducing the expenditure.
It has been cited by a senior executive at Nashik City Centre Mall that “even
though the occupancy rate does not come out to be 100%, the mall business is
doing well as it aligns well with the overall group strategy of high margin low
volume. Being the largest mall in Nashik, City Centre Mall provides an
opportunity for vendors to carry out their respective businesses at a prime
location. This is one reason the “premium” rent paid by vendors stands
justified.”
As per the above statement, the tenants are already being charged a premium for the leased
space. Now focusing on second option which is “reducing the expenditure”. Common area
maintenance (CAM), insurance, fixtures, utilities, safety and security, inventories, marketing
budget, professional services, licenses and tax deposits, etc. are some of the key expenses in
the mall. There are several scopes available for cost cutting, but it is not an easy task as there
is always a trade-off between quality and cost cutting. Safety and security is not only a
concern for the owner but also for tenants and visitors. Security system and security team play
a crucial role in keeping tenants, staffs, visitor and the property safe. If we would consider
mall as a public space, then significance of safety and security aspect further increases.
Handling the maintenance issues may be a possible concern. An ongoing maintenance issue
not only disrupt the business of the mall but also affects the experience of the visitors.

Tenant:
Now let us see the mall from a tenant’s perspective. Tenants of CCMNPL enjoy the privilege
of being a part of the largest mall in the city. A tenant avails all the sophisticated modern
features of the mall by paying a certain amount as rent. There is a positive correlation between
profitability of the tenant and the footfall of the mall. A tenant may face less competition from
outside until similar kind of malls open in Nashik, but s/he would face inner competition for
identical products available in other shops inside the mall. As mentioned earlier, safety and
security is also a concern for tenants as there is risk of theft, damage to the properties or any
kind of security breach. A tenant may face problems related to maintenance or renovation.
Unavailability of parking space may lead to loss of visitors which would directly impact on
the business of the tenants. Similarly, the shop owners in the food court may loss customers
due to unavailability of vacant tables. These implies that “space management” is a possible
concern for the tenant.
Visitor:
Visitors are the heart of the shopping mall as they bring life to the mall. Visitors have
multiple options to purchase a particular product. But the feature which makes the mall
unique and being preferred over other channels of shopping is the “experience”. It is a
complex term and several factors are involved to measure the same. If we consider
“experience” as a dependent variable, then some of the key independent variables responsible
in deciding the “experience” would be space management, return policy, safety and security,
cleanliness, offers, etc. In rush hours, a visitor may not get a place in food court due to
limited availability of tables. Even if a table is not fully occupied still a visitor may not feel
comfortable in adjusting with strangers. During sales or festive sessions, especially the
anchor stores become overcrowded. Also, the space for parking becomes an issue. These
possible scenarios justify that “space management” can be a potential concern. Usually,
visitors come to the mall with their family and friends. They may expect a certain level of
safety and security arrangement in the mall.
Other than these, there can be many more possible concerns identified in the mall business.
But these are the concerns which affect all the three stakeholders simultaneously.