Shopping Network

When looking at a retail property it is important to look at the tenancy mix to see if any weaknesses exist in the current tenant placement. A poorly located tenant can drag down the performance of other tenants around them. That means a threat to rental and a potential vacancy exposure if the location becomes empty. Vacant tenancies are to be avoided at all cost if you want the property to perform well.

So here is a way of assessing the fundamentals of the property tenant placement.

So here is a way of assessing the fundamentals of the property tenant placement. It pays to use a checklist in the process so that all bases and issues are covered.

1. Firstly you need to understand just who the anchor tenants within property are. They are the tenants around which the property functions. They will be the main reason customers visit the property. The anchor tenants will contribute largely to the property image, so choose your anchor tenants wisely. Anchor tenants give you a long lease (typically over 10 or 20 years) but they pay a lesser rent average based on unit area measurement. A retail shopping centre will only have a small number of anchor tenants (1 to 3) and they will be strategically placed across the property to create flow of customers through the common area. The options for lease renewal with anchor tenants are an important factor for both the tenant and the landlord. If there is any potential for the anchor tenant to leave the property at lease end, then it could destroy the property identity and cash flow. Landlords have to cover the issue early with lease renewal negotiations or finding a new anchor tenant well before the current anchor tenant leaves.
2. Who are your major tenants? They are not always just your anchor tenants. Major tenants contribute to shopper interest and property visits. They supplement the anchor tenants but will not be as large as anchor tenants. They may be franchise tenants (although not necessarily). They are positioned between the anchor tenants on the traffic flows of customers. When you choose good major tenants you can create small clusters of tenants with complementary products or services. They become islands of interest for shoppers. Some major tenants will have sensitivity to being in proximity to certain other major tenants. The major tenants can trade off or through the trade of others, and experience in other locations influences their decisions and preferences in that regard.
3. After you have placed anchor tenants, and major tenants, you get to the decisions on specialty smaller tenants. They will fill in the smaller shops and extend the customer interest in and around the traffic flows. Specialty tenants are of the greatest value when they are placed in areas near major tenants that they complement. Specialty tenants can be destination specific as shoppers will visit them if the offering is very good and unique. Select specialty tenants that are well proven from other locations.
4. Convenience shopping is the next in the chain of tenant placement. Convenience shopping is centered on the daily needs of the community and will cover commodities such as food, bread, newsagent, butcher, fruit and veg. They will usually be placed in and around the supermarket anchor tenant.
5. So do you have a food court? Any decent shopping centre should have a food court to extend the stay and interest of the customers to the property. The food tenants will have to be controlled in their food offerings so you get the quality and variation of food that customers want. Not all types of food work in a food court, and the choices will largely be dictated by the surrounding customer base.
6. Do you have an entertainment type of tenant offering? In larger properties this will be cinemas or game type tenancies. They work the best when they are near the food tenants.
7. Access in and out of the property from the car park has to be convenient and safe. If customers do not get a feeling of convenience from the property then they will stop coming to shop. Take a walk around your property and do so from the car park as a shopper. See what a shopper would see; feel what a shopper would feel. A good retail property has to be convenient and fresh. The customers visiting the property should feel good from the event. Any frustration they could experience has to be lessened or removed.
8. Franchise tenants with a notable national identity are useful in a shopping centre as they will bring customers specifically wanting the offering or the brand. Space out the franchise tenants with local specialty tenants to achieve variation and interest for the shopper.
9. Always keep the image of the shopping centre and all the tenants at the highest possible levels. To do this you may need a property lease that supports approvals and controls relating to tenancy presentation and any changes. The landlord and the property manager can then enforce critical presentation decisions.

All of the above points reflect decisions and tenants that the community needs and wants. This says that you must understand the type of community around the property and what they want in local shopping.

A retail property is a vibrant living property investment that cannot be left to its own daily function. The best retail properties are well planned and organised with constant attention from the landlord, property manager, and leasing manager. The bond between tenants, landlord, customers, and property manager is critical to the success of the property.

The private online shopping websites will no doubt be pleased to see that fashion designer Liz Davenport has got a gong on Australia Day.

Davenport, who is a leading fashion designer and a popular with private online shopping website users, picked up the Medal of the Order of Australia for both service to the fashion industry and the community.

Davenport has been in the business for 35 years and is a recognised figure in the fashion industry. But nowadays a lot of her time is spent fighting for the rights of independent retailers. She believes they get poor treatment from shopping centre managers.

She told the media:
“I would like to start a group of independents that have the power to lease as a bloc, or the power of a voice as a bloc, to buck the system that has developed as part of the retail sector.”

She is also behind a new internet venture, which will no doubt further stimulate the private online shopping experience. She said: “Online will become a bigger and bigger thing, so it’s very exciting.”

But it doesn’t stop there. Davenport is also supporting a retail industry campaign to remove the GST threshold on overseas purchases valued under $1,000. The campaign is being led by Gerry Harvey, the executive chairman of Harvey Norman.

The campaign believes that the Australian Government is a being a little short sighted when it comes to the stamp duty and GST threshold issues, which cause more retailers having to commit to more administrative and accounting work than others.

Davenport said:
“If people are having to comply with onerous business compliance, why should somebody be able to step in and avoid that when others have to do it?”

Nonetheless, Davenport welcomes many advances in Australia as regards fashion and says that the shift to manufacturing offshore was inevitable, saying:
“All of our product up until five years ago was manufactured in Australia, but it became almost impossible to do that,” she says, adding that wages in Australia are no longer even close to those in other manufacturing-driven countries.

“Successive governments did not encourage the clothing industry, which was a tragedy because it was the highest employer of migrant women and it meant that it took away a whole industry that they could be employed in.”

Davenport is no stranger to awards, having already received the Grand Award from the Fashion Industries of Australia, as well as an Advance Australia Award for the contribution of lifestyle through fashion.

This is all good news for private online fashion websites, who thrive on good Australian designers, as well as those from overseas, all of which go to make up an exciting and innovative industry which is doing its best to provide exciting and stimulating fashion ranges.

Buying home patrol scanners is an investment. You want a great return for the money you spent. Of course, that is only possible if you are able to find a super deal. Many vendors sell home patrol scanners online. Most of them are quite reputable, and will do anything in their power to deliver quality products and amazing technical support. Then, there are those that only want to make money. They care little for customer service. These retailers are not very trustworthy and should be avoided at all cost. How?

You can protect yourself when you are shopping for digital home patrol scanners by following these rules.

1. Know about Internet shopping – Many sites offer detailed information about how you should shop online. Read that information, so you will know how online orders are conducted.

2. Trust your instincts – If you feel uncomfortable about the item or the sale, take a moment to reflect. Never feel pressured even when icons on the site are prompting you to continue.

3. Compare prices – Always comparison shop online, as well as offline. This includes checking the handling and shipping charges for home patrol scanners.

4. Privacy policy – Each vendor should have a privacy policy listed online. Read it thoroughly. If there is no ‘privacy policy’ or ‘legal term’ section, email the vendor to obtain a copy. Walk away from any electronics supplier who refuses to disclose that information to you. They probably have something to hide. Print the terms for your records.

5. Secure check-out – Verify that the check-out procedures and your payment information is secure. Identity theft is rampant, and you do not want to become another statistic. You also do not want your email information forwarded to third parties. Once you have your device, you do not need a ton of spam on home patrol scanners, radios, and other electronics.