Over the years Guadalajara’s “Battle of the Malls” has left a legacy of derelict and half-empty shopping centers, most having met their demise due to improvised planning or inadequate market research.
Contrary to some prevalent thinking, there is no sure-fire recipe for a successful mall. No longer is it a case of mixing together a movie-theater complex, a casino, a couple of anchor stores, a food court, a few restaurants, some local and international retail “names” and adding a dash of salt and pepper and a squeeze of lime. Ingredients alone can’t guarantee a culinary masterpiece.
There’s a good reason why there’s no retail space going begging at Zapopan’s three-year-old Plaza Andares, while other recently opened malls – Centro Magno and La Ciudadela to name but two – have a glut of spaces boarded up and available for rent.
So is it that vision thing so often talked about nowadays?
Yes, but more specifically it’s an innovative approach to conceptual design, plus marketing and promoting the mall as more than a shopping, eating or movie-going experience that has rapidly propelled Andares to the exalted heights of being the current benchmark of the city’s plazas comerciales.
First things first. The bottom line for any profitable mall is to fill it with a good number of recognized brand names. Andares boasts department stores Liverpool and Palacio de Hierro, and electronics giant Best Buy – all three need little introduction in Mexico. Likewise the fashion conscious will be fully acquainted with Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Benneton, Brooks Brothers, Dockers, Bershka, Guess, Lacoste and so on. Locally-grown big retail guns include Maskota (pets), Gonvill (books), and Mixup (CDs and DVDs), while a dozen top-quality restaurants offer tempting international variety. Add to this mix an obligatory multiplex and casino (Play City), plus a host of specialist outlets such as Mac Store (Apple computers and goods), Juguetron (toys), Natural Scents (beauty products), Photofolio Gift (creative and original gifts), and the retail equation rounds itself out nicely.
Place these outlets in a very pleasing open-air architectural design, punctuated by lush green vegetation, colorful flower beds, comfy chairs, benches, shade, a playground, a golf putting course, a performance arena and mind-relaxing fountains (also, importantly, impeccable bathrooms) and you’re definitely on the right track.
It didn’t require a Madison Avenue hotshot to see the aspirational pull of Andares to dub it a lifestyle center. Those with a loathing for the abstruse usage of the English language might roll their eyes at the “lifestyle” connotation but fortunately Andares’ vision goes much further than an overworked moniker.
The mall’s marketing concept is based around four basic “pillars,” says Adriana Menchaca, Andares’ perky, U.S.-educated marketing director, who leads a nine-person (yes nine) team spearheading the creative part of the enterprise. The “pillar” concept might sound over-elaborate but actually makes good sense and helps clarify the overall focus.
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