Celebrating excellence, innovation and creativity in the global retail real estate industry, the MAPIC Awards, into its 23rd run,
received a total of 141 entries from 35 countries this year. The “Best
New Shopping Centre” award category honours the most outstanding
shopping centre opened in the past year that shows innovation through
new technologies, customer loyalty programmes, marketing campaigns,
retail mix and architectural features that all together aim to increase
footfall, customer satisfaction, average spending and offer a unique
experience in a new shopping destination.
Mr Wilson Tan, CEO of CapitaLand Retail, said: “We are immensely proud that Suzhou Center Mall has emerged the Best New Shopping Centre
in a hotly contested category alongside outstanding peers at MAPIC
Awards 2018. CapitaLand is committed to innovating the future of
retail, continually surprising and delighting our tenants and shoppers
with well-designed spaces and thoughtfully-curated offerings. The
successful opening of Suzhou Center Mall in end 2017 represented a new
apex in CapitaLand’s track record of creating destination malls that are
commercially successful. We will continue to harness our partnerships
and leverage technology to deliver retail spaces that fulfil the
ever-changing needs and aspirations of consumers.”
CapitaLand was the most nominated developer at MAPIC Awards 2018 with three projects making to the shortlist of 48 finalists. The other
two projects were Raffles City Chongqing, China and Funan, Singapore,
which were finalists in the "Best Futura Shopping Centre" category.
With three award nominations, this year also marked the highest number
of nominations CapitaLand scored since taking part in the annual event.
Two months after opening, the mall’s footfall matched Suzhou’s population of 10 million. This is equivalent to every resident in Suzhou
visiting the mall once – a testament to Suzhou Center Mall’s draw as a
destination mall. A year on, Suzhou Center Mall continued to dominate
Suzhou’s retail scene as the market leader, registering a footfall of
close to 50 million shoppers over a 12-month period.
Suzhou Center Mall is an architectural masterpiece with a distinctive multi-coloured glass roof located in the heart of Suzhou
Industrial Park, adjacent to the renowned Jinji Lake and traditional
Suzhou city centre. Housing 600 brands across 300,000 square metres (sq
m), the iconic landmark is a one-stop retail and leisure powerhouse
that houses a wide range of experiential retail offerings that elevates
and transforms the shopping experience. Examples include pony riding,
flight simulation, indoor skiing, counter strike gaming and ice skating.
Including F&B, experiential retail offerings account for about 50%
of the mall’s net lettable area.
Unfazed by online shopping, the mega mall opened on 11 November 2017 – coinciding with China’s annual online shopping bonanza. Supported by
a marketing campaign that began as early as February 2017, the opening
of the mall was an unprecedented success – attracting 400,000 shoppers
on a single day, the largest mall opening crowd ever recorded in Suzhou.
Two months after opening, the mall’s footfall matched Suzhou’s
population of 10 million. This is equivalent to every resident in
Suzhou visiting the mall once – a testament to Suzhou Center Mall’s draw
as a destination mall. A year on, Suzhou Center Mall continued to
dominate Suzhou’s retail scene as the market leader, registering a
footfall of close to 50 million shoppers over a 12-month period.
