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