Attacq gears up for the festive trading period
14 October 2021 – Attacq Limited (Attacq), the JSE-listed REIT with an award-winning portfolio, proves there is still life in bricks-and-mortar retail with improved trading numbers and overall occupancy at 97% for their Attacq-managed, South Africa portfolio assets as of 30 September 2021.
Attacq recorded an impressive financial year close owing to its precinct-centric development strategy and its willingness to embrace new technological advancements, its people-first mindset and focused customer experience approach. The calibre of interesting brands and convenient services within its retail-experience hubs, will stand Attacq in good measure as it gears-up for the festive trading period.
Attacq Asset Management Executive Michael Clampett says, “Since the onset of the pandemic, we’ve seen a significant shift in the need for connectedness in smart, safe and sustainable spaces. Attacq has responded by creating retail-experience hubs that provide an optimised client mix.”
These hubs allow Attacq to get closer to its clients and provide tailored offerings which address shopper’s needs today and, in the future, too. Attacq has seen green shoots thanks to this strategy, with over 25 new and exciting retail tenants announced, in preparation to open their doors for the busy festive trading period at its various assets, including Mall of Africa, Garden Route Mall, MooiRivier Mall and Eikestad Mall.
The success of any retail-experience hub hinges on the selection, placement, and the number of tenants chosen for an overall tenant mix; these decisions must be matched to the customer demographics, local market trends and tenant synergies.
Clampett adds, “With the explosion of online sales globally, consumer behaviours are demanding more from their brands and their communities. For a business like ours, the ability to not just embrace change, but to optimise for it, is imperative. That is why we developed the ShôPING app. We wanted to create a digital platform which would serve both our shopper and retailer communities and; provide convenient, consolidated access to services that complement the physical retail experience.” Read more about Attacq’s ShôPING app here.
The Mall of Africa recently completed its first five-year lease cycle at the end of April 2021, further reaffirming Attacq’s ability to adapt to customer needs and respond to changing market conditions. Management has further optimised the tenant-mix by introducing 20 new brands, some of which directly resulted from shopper requests. This includes new-concept stores for HiFi Corporation and Clicks Baby, as well as luxury brands Ted Baker and Hugo Red.
Clampett says, “Our revised retail-experience hub strategy has continued to exceed expectations, allowing us to not only sign new lease agreements but also to achieve impressive retail growth.”
Garden Route Mall, a dominant regional Mall in the Southern Cape, experienced strong operational performance maintaining its fully let status since November 2020. The centre welcomed Wonderland, Kingsley Heath and PNA.
Eikestad Mall in the heart of Stellenbosch increased its retail occupancy rates to 97.9% as at 30 September 2021 with the addition of Chicken Licken, NY Pizza slice, Missfit, Home Life and Side Step while MooiRivier Mall, the retail gateway to the North West, recently revamped stores for Sportscene, Totalsports, CUM BOOKS and Foschini in an effort to bolster shopper experience for the Potchefstroom customer. Eikestad Mall also successfully relocated a local community business De Jagers to its retail mix, in line with the retail-experience hub strategy.
“The building blocks for resilience supports a comprehensive retail mix, which is exactly what these new stores will provide. This recent onboarding across our assets is testament to Attacq’s growth, relevance, and value proposition to our shopper communities as we gear up for our festive trade,” concludes Clampett. Attacq continues to seek ways to grow its rental income in smart, safe and sustainable precincts servicing their diversified client portfolio, and increasing their trading densities by creating superb retail-experiences hubs for their shoppers.