Benu Sehgal, Retail and Marketing Head, is planning to provide the right tenant mix at the malls and working on ideas to connect with customers by providing them more convenience…
Benu Sehgal – the power woman that turned around DLF Mall, Saket in just about six months when she was the senior vice president of DLF Utilities Limited and mall head of DLF Place, Saket – is all set to give her new baby, Ambience Mall a retail makeover.
Highlighting her role of Head – Retail and Marketing, Ambience Malls, Sehgal says that based on her experience, she is planning to work on getting the tenant mix just right as well as connecting with customers by providing them more convenience.
Some of the services that the mall is planning on adding under her able leadership include increased parking space and facilitating ease of arrival. She is also working on introducing beacons – after studying footfall patterns – as well as a loyalty program which will take customer gratification beyond the walls of the mall.
Sehgal believes cinema, fashion beauty, food court and entertainment are the five pillars for the success of the mall. The content inside these pillars can change but these five pillars will always hold the mall together.
In an interview, she reveals: “We have wonderful properties which are very unique because of their positioning and location. However, as far as brand mix is concerned, we have raised the bar of both the malls. We are also looking to increase the entertainment factor in both our properties.”
Talking about the introduction of new brands at the mall, Sehgal says, “We are focusing on F&B at Ambience, Gurugram. Mamgoto, Dhaba, Bar-Be-Que Nation, Punjabi By Nature and Johnny Rockets are some of the brands which we are bringing to the mall. We are also in talks with new food brands to offer varied cuisine choices to our patrons.
Complete Women Zone
“We have created a zone completely dedicated to women, with brands like Fabindia, Biba, Rangriti, Zardozi, Satya Paul, Ritu Kumar, Neeru’s, Meena Bazaar, CoverStory, Jashn, Anita Dongre, Global Desi, F21, W, Vajor, Mia, Caratlane and Taneira. The anchor on this floor is Project Eve which is a MBO from Reliance which has a nail bar, blow dry bar, dietician and a stylist. We still have space, so we are still in talks with other major women brands to join us and make this brand wagon even better. Then we are also concentrating on making a shoes wing where all the shoe brands will be located for easy accessibility,” she states.
Sehgal explains that the mall had recently introduced Miniso, a consumer-friendly Japanese brand, in India. Apart from this, she was also considering a plan to re-zone the first and second floors of both malls.
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Sehgal says that Ambience, Vasant Kunj is planning to build a new entry. The idea – to make this entryway absolutely stunning and women friendly. Women can be dropped off right at the entrance of the mall, and enter the shopping arena without having to navigate through the parking lot.
Shorter Leases for Brands
To add to customer experience and increase retail consumption, Sehgal feels that emphasis must be laid on shorter leases. “This is because the interest span of consumers is low, and they get bored of brands sooner than usual nowadays. The idea is to ensure that the mall looks young and fresh all the time and to capture the attention of the youth.”
Aside from this, Ambience is not spending on building an Omnichannel strategy.
“Retailers are welcome to go Omnichannel, but the mall as a whole is not going Omnichannel any time soon. We are not threatened by retailers who are interested in laying out Omnichannel strategies for their plans,” Sehgal concludes.
