Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is set to increase its focus on its Westfield shopping centre brand as it seeks more franchise partners following the signing of a 10-mall deal with Saudi Arabia’s Cenomi Centers.
URW Chief Customer and Retail Officer Anne-Sophie Sancerre said URW made a decision when it acquired the European and U.S. assets from Westfield to develop the power of its brand in a sector that has traditionally promoted individual locations, not the landlord.
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“A lot of people asked us why we focused so much on the Westfield brand when we first made the acquisition, but I think the deal with Cenomi Centers demonstrates the reasons behind our original strategy, and we plan to do the same in other geographies, supporting local partners with our expertise,” she said, speaking to Bisnow in Hamburg on the eve of the official celebration of the opening of its Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier scheme on Saturday in the city’s regenerated HafenCity district.
That deal involves URW providing a range of support services, but with the Saudi Arabian developer constructing and revamping the malls. It is a direction that Sancerre said comes from its global approach to Westfield, which means shoppers and retailers have an expectation and a reassurance of what they will get from a Westfield-branded mall, regardless of the location or operator.
While key schemes including Mall of the Netherlands and the Hamburg mixed-use project have been delivered in recent years — and there are further prospective new projects, including Milan and finally finding a mixed-use solution for Croydon in south London — much of the recent activity has centred on creating a brand around Westfield services.
These include enhanced facilities via improved digital wayfinding, more comfortable seating, improved toilets, storage lockers, valet parking, loyalty schemes and the expansion of its retail media platform Westfield Rise, which allows retailers and brands to advertise on in-mall screens around its centres.
“The digital screens mean brands can engage with customers at the point when they are shopping and we can provide information for brands about how they move around the mall and their behaviours, which provides really powerful tools for the retailers,” Sancerre said. “It is a huge opportunity.”
She said this combination of initiatives had allowed URW to develop a common ethos across its centres, keeping each scheme individual but at the same time setting expectations of what a Westfield-branded shopping centre will offer and linking its centres through activities like international music tours.
“To come to a mall, visitors are looking for experiences and for more moments, so we have built our approach around passion points,” she said. “For partners in other markets, it means they know that for both customers and retailers, the Westfield brand will provide a guarantee.”
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