Unlike what is happening in other countries, in Mexico, the shopping centers continue their expansion and at the same time, they evolve in their formats to continue being successful.
Los Mexicans are still very used to going to the mall, to the physical store. So there is certainty here, there is no risk of it happening the same as in the United States where many malls closed their doors hand in hand with their anchor stores. In Mexico, we can convey the assurance that there is still much to be done.
But regardless of the expansion of the shopping centers, there are developments -such as ours- where we are making expansions to incorporate new formats, for example, entertainment, with the aim that hand in hand with e-commerce, we can offer a full experience to visitors.
A fundamental trend is the evolution of the formats, through the incorporation of new entertainment options, very focused on satisfying the consumer experience. More than entertainment, we should all focus on offering pleasant experiences to our customers, constantly surprised, even this will make the difference between buying via e-commerce and go to the physical store.
For example, in the United States, the traditional format of shopping centers has been changing; We currently see very successful malls in that country, but obviously with a different format. The theme focused on experiences, restaurants, open spaces like parks where you can go not only to buy, but to perform different activities. There are places where you see people going to walk your pet or take a yoga class, and this complements very well with the sale because obviously you have yoga class and you have three stores that sell items in this discipline .
This type of shopping centers in the United States work perfectly well. In my opinion, the places that have closed their doors in that country have been fundamentally a matter of not renewing themselves, precisely because they want to preserve a traditional format and not look for that evolution.
The competition is good
The presence of departmental stores in shopping centers is a good complement for both parties. Having a wide range of retailers in one place generates a greater flow of visitors because people will prefer to go to a mall where they can have much more variety.
From my point of view, it is beneficial for all types of retailers to always be in a shopping center, because in the end, you get many more customers.
Even in the shopping centers where all competitors (departmental) are present, this is where the best anchor stores are, contrary to what one might think.
Market challenges
One of the challenges of the market that we observe is that there are proven cases where a shopping center works well without an anchor store. However, I believe that they themselves know that if they had an anchor shop they would probably have twice as much success as they have already achieved.
There are few cases that we know today, and so much so that most developers prefer to always have an anchor store, as a backup, because it may save you a lot of time on the road. Opening with an anchor store saves you several years of consolidation; without it, it could be that eventually, you get it, but it will take you much longer.
Another interesting challenge has to do with the saturation of the market in some places. The oversupply of shopping centers has occurred because of the birth of the Fibers in Mexico, not only consolidated developers were dedicated to building shopping centers, but also anyone who had some capital saw it as a good business opportunity, for later I can offer it to some Fiber.
This triggered an oversupply of shopping centers in certain cities. In some areas, you have up to four or five within a radius of three kilometers.
Here the challenge is how to select the right place to put a shopping center. As developers, our vision and objective are long-term, we do not seek to build it to sell it the following year, or get rid of it after the operation and leave it in the hands of a third party.
Obviously, it also has to do with a good location, that is a place that allows having good access roads, that is in an area of the level at which you want to direct your market.
Liverpool Real Estate
In Inmobiliaria Liverpool, through the Galerías Group, we currently have 27 commercial centers owned by us. We are currently expanding some of them and we have a new one on the doorstep for 2019.
The objective is to continue with our expansion and we seek to be the best point of reference for retailers. We want to demonstrate our strength in shopping centers so that our tenants know that by participating with Inmobiliaria Liverpool they are participating with a solid company that has a very long-term vision.
We have presence in Mexico City; Mexico state; Tabasco; Monterrey, Nuevo León; Saltillo and Torreón, Coahuila; Chilpancingo and Acapulco, Guerrero; Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco; Merida Yucatan; Cuernavaca, Morelos; Celaya, Guanajuato; Zacatecas; San Juan del Río and Querétaro, Querétaro; Campeche; Mazatlan Sinaloa; Tlaxcala; La Paz, Baja California. The next opening will be in the metropolitan area of the city of Guadalajara.
Source: Real Estate Market
The Mazatlan Post
