Page 24 - July 2020

COVER STORY | MALLCOMM

LIVERPOOL ONE COAL DROPS YARD
Transforming to effectively engage, manage, secure and operate their physical opportunity to engage and learn about the occupiers and their
Liverpool, UK
London, UK
By connecting people at all levels, Mallcomm enables them
customers through technology. Bringing all these audiences into
Property environment. It creates efficiencies by streamlining operations one place can transform sales, loyalty, the user experience and data.
across all departments and subsequently, it generates significant
As the only platform on the market, Mallcomm enables full
integration of retail and mixed-use real estate audiences, breaking
savings through reallocation of resources. The companies using
down the barriers between B2B and B2C and allowing the property
Mallcomm have reported annual savings of up to 10 per cent
teams to be more knowledgeable and efficient when managing
of their service charge per asset. Across a portfolio of tens,
Management sometimes hundreds of assets this makes a real difference by these audiences. It’s a true collaborative platform because it allows
reducing the occupation costs to the lowest levels.
occupiers to actively participate in the content published on the
app, be reactive to external circumstances and make data-driven
DATA IS THE NEW OIL
Additionally, Mallcomm delivers something that landlords decisions that help generate revenue through targeted marketing.
were notoriously lacking in the past - huge amounts of THE NEW NORMAL
“I remember sitting in a meeting at the end of last year, discussing the turbulent few invaluable data. Compared to other industries, the sector has industry and we are all patiently waiting to see what the post-
It’s safe to say that Covid-19 has caused havoc in the
made relatively little progress in developing integrated digital
months retail had just gone through. Little did we know what 2020 had in store for us…” strategies that incorporate data management. But the landscape pandemic world will look like.
What we know for sure is that people will continue to crave
Michelle Buxton, Founder & CEO of Mallcomm, one of the most advanced technologies is changing and the most-forward thinking landlords are not only human interaction and a sense of community. Combine it with
capturing this data but are using the insight for decision making,
in retail real estate, explores why it’s time to put theory into practice. sharing it with their occupiers and driving operational efficiency. the requirement for remote management, digital operations
and data-driven efficiencies and we predict a future where
Reporting should be the essence of any PropTech solution.
Through Mallcomm, our clients have a real time overview of each platforms like Mallcomm are no longer seen as a luxury.
property as the platform focuses on collection of reliable and Instead, they will become a critical life-line to survival.
one of us could foresee the world would be resource light buildings and this is precisely where smart accurate data that builds a strong foundation for all leasing and
gripped by a global pandemic but the truth is building integration has a powerful role to play. marketing strategies. After all: “Digital and data strategies are of
that the industry had been restless long before Our clients understand the value technology brings to their no value if they are not driven by clear customer (or operational) “The traditional model
N Covid-19. We’d spent the year talking about business because they have seen significant benefits in productivity, outcomes,” says Brendon Ambersley, KPMG in the UK. of shopping centres as we
digital transformation and how our understanding of real quality of occupier relationships and end-customer connectivity first According to KPMG Global PropTech Survey 2019, the rental
estate must change from old to new. Well, if the outbreak hand through their use of Mallcomm. value is likely to increase significantly when software of this nature is know it is evolving and
has proven anything it’s that the time has come to put the An example of this is the partnership we have with Mall of implemented and Mallcomm does just that - it drives value through landlords, for the most
theory into practice. America, the largest retail and entertainment destination in deep knowledge of the place, resulting in occupier retention.
the US, which up until 2018, was still communicating with all part, have finally accepted
EFFICIENT ASSET MANAGEMENT, tenants via memo and emails. Our team worked with theirs THERE IS NO MORE B2B AND B2C - that their relationship with
RESOURCE LIGHT BUILDINGS to create and implement the ‘Mall of America Tenant Portal’ ONLY HUMAN TO HUMAN
The rise of PropTech is a natural part of this change and from a selection of Mallcomm modules and some bespoke The traditional model of shopping centres as we know it is occupiers must also evolve
digitising operations has become an indispensable part of development to satisfy all the challenges a mall with 520 evolving and landlords, for the most part, have finally accepted in order for both to survive
asset management. With service charges under ever-growing tenants can encounter, whilst ensuring the platform provided that their relationship with occupiers must also evolve in order for
scrutiny, real estate must find a way to maintain efficient but additional value to all users. both to survive the ongoing crisis. This change brings along a major the ongoing crisis”

24 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL JULY 2020