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CASE STUDY<br />
Engaging our retailers – <strong>Stockland</strong> Townsville redevelopment<br />
<strong>Stockland</strong> Townsville, Qld<br />
Our <strong>Stockland</strong> Townsville retail centre<br />
in Aitkenvale, Queensland has over<br />
120 speciality stores and services and<br />
is due to be redeveloped in FY11. The<br />
redevelopment will include a Myer<br />
department store and will further position<br />
the centre as the region’s premier<br />
shopping destination and a focal point<br />
in the community.<br />
Masterplanning for the redevelopment began<br />
in 2007, but the global financial crisis meant<br />
that we had to put a temporary halt to our<br />
development plans. In subsequent years<br />
the shopping centre experienced increased<br />
competition from other centres within<br />
Townsville. During this time, sales were<br />
initially buoyed by the Federal Government’s<br />
Household Stimulus Package. By December<br />
2009, however, sales were reported to be<br />
significantly down.<br />
In January 2010, retailers raised concerns<br />
with us about the drop in sales, which was<br />
attributed to increased competition in the<br />
Townsville market and the lack of investment<br />
in the centre. <strong>Stockland</strong> Townsville Centre<br />
Management, together with our Leasing,<br />
Development and Marketing teams, held a<br />
series of workshops which were attended<br />
by more than 90 retailers. The purpose of<br />
these workshops was to understand and<br />
address retailer concerns. Feedback at<br />
these workshops identified a number of<br />
key areas for improvement. These included<br />
communication, security, uncertainty over<br />
future development plans and the current<br />
state of the centre, its ageing infrastructure<br />
and maintenance.<br />
At these workshops we sought our retailers’<br />
input to improve our operations and<br />
communications. This has resulted in:<br />
• The establishment of a retailer<br />
reference group,<br />
• Increased ability to respond to<br />
operational issues in the development,<br />
• Greater retailer involvement in local<br />
marketing campaigns,<br />
• The announcement of redevelopment<br />
plans and commitment with Myer with<br />
a timeframe for future development.<br />
A key lesson learned from <strong>Stockland</strong><br />
Townsville is that we cannot take<br />
for granted the importance of maintaining<br />
strong communications with our key<br />
stakeholders, particularly during times<br />
of uncertainty.<br />
Establishing strong and collaborative<br />
communication methods is vital.<br />
We remain committed to maintaining a<br />
high level of engagement with both retailers<br />
and the wider Townsville community<br />
through initiatives such as the retailer<br />
reference group, retailer and resident<br />
presentations, newsletters, website updates<br />
and newspaper articles. This engagement<br />
will continue both during and after the<br />
redevelopment project.<br />
<strong>Stockland</strong> Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report June 2010<br />
27