Case Study
An ‘Experiential’ Shopping Center for R&F Properties
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- R&F City, a 5.2 million-square-foot mixed use project in Beijing.
- R&F City, a 5.2 million-square-foot mixed use project in Beijing.
The Challenge
In October 2005, R&F (Beijing) Properties Development Co., Ltd., solidified plans for R&F City, a mixed-use project covering 48 hectares (5.2 million square feet). Within that development, R&F envisioned creation of a 120,000-square-meter (1.3 million-square-foot) retail development, one that would provide Beijing a unique, vibrant shopping environment.
R&F had extensive experience building massive projects, but had not ventured into retail development before. R&F selected us based on our international reputation for retail services and highly regarded local team. Our brief: Propose a unique overall concept for the retail development; examine the development's market positioning; propose an ideal tenant mix; and critique all architectural designs to maximize their commercial viability.
Our Impact
We proposed positioning the retail space as Beijing's first 'experiential' shopping center, with extensive interactive features to attract consumers and fully involve them in the shopping experience. Recommendations covered a broad spectrum, from adding a cloakroom service that would enable shoppers to shed winter overcoats to more high-tech features, such as a big mall screen where shoppers could send text messages.
Based on this overall concept, we provided detailed advice on interior layouts and internal transportation, ensuring that the center would be user-friendly for consumers and target retailers. Other advice ranged from building systems to detailed recommendations of potential target tenants by tenant type and location within the mall.
The Outcome
All of our recommendations explicitly showed R&F how our approach would positively affect overall rental income for the project. We are continuing to implement our concept, working to attract the type of anchor tenants envisioned in the plan.We also are working closely with R&F on other projects throughout China.
| For more information contact: Michael Thompson 86 21-2320 0888 Michael.Thompson@ap.cushwake.com |
Services: Retail Shopping Centres 
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