ICSC announced the winners of the 2019 Asia-Pacific Shopping Center Awards, which recognize the region’s most innovative shopping centers for achievement in design and development; retail; and marketing.
The competition is open to shopping center owners; developers; management companies; architects and designers; and retailers. ICSC announced the winners today during a ceremony at ICSC RECon Asia-Pacific, in Singapore. The Gold winners are cited below by category.
Marketing — Business-to-Business (B2B)
SOOKSiam — Bangkok, Thailand
SOOKSiam is an artisan village located on ICONSiam’s ground floor, featuring authentic handicrafts, street foods and locally grown fruits and vegetables. The environment was developed in partnership with artists, farmers, agriculturists, craftsmen, and small and midsize enterprises from across Thailand’s 77 provinces.
Marketing — Cause-Related
The Kindle Project: Internship Program at U.P. Town Centre, Quezon City, the Philippines
The Kindle Project is a six-week-long internship program for students over the age of 18, developed in partnership with U.P. Town Centre’s management and operations teams, its retailers and its service providers. Each week the interns are given opportunity to acquire hands-on experience in some of the roles involved with the mall’s operations.
Marketing — Emerging/Digital Technology
Sunway Pyramid Mobile App at Sunway Pyramid, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
Sunway Pyramid’s innovative mobile app offers visitors real-time navigation through Google Indoor Maps, as well as personalized content and exclusive rewards and discounts from participating retailers. Since its launch, this app has been downloaded at least 200,000 times and has generated nearly 50 organic-media pieces, reaching an audience of about 15 million.
Marketing — Grand Opening, Expansion & Renovation
ICONSiam Grand Opening at ICONSiam, Bangkok, Thailand
ICONSiam’s opening-day celebrations included a ceremony presided over by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, an exploration tour for 1,000 media members and social-media influencers, and a by-invitation-only gala event featuring dancers, acrobats and live music from national and international artists.
Marketing — Integrated Digital Campaigns
A Beary Merry Christmas, Frasers Property Malls, Singapore
The Beary Merry Christmas campaign invited visitors to find and scan themed QR codes for a chance to win daily prizes and also featured weekend competitions involving multiplayer activities. This festive campaign generated increases in social-media engagement rates of about 30 percent.
Marketing — Market Positioning and Brand Awareness
Style Hashtags at Nexus Malls, Mumbai, India
The Nexus Malls Style Hashtags initiative featured 24 digitally driven campaigns to promote retailer merchandise suited to seasonal, cultural and other special occasions. The yearlong campaign generated some 27 million impressions, about 1.3 million video views, roughly $32.6 million in total sales, and a staggering 28 percent increase in fashion-category growth.
Marketing — Public Relations and Events
PR Campaign at ICONSiam, Bangkok, Thailand
ICONSiam’s multifaceted campaign highlighting its distinctly Thai nature attracted about 1,000 reporters from around the world to the opening-day events. This generated coverage in 16 top media outlets, about 300 print sources, 14 TV broadcasts and 1,500 digital environments — all at an estimated value in excess of $30 million.
Marketing — Sales Promotion and Traffic Activation
Harbour City Enhances Its Beauty Kingdom at Harbour City, Hong Kong SAR, China
Harbour City joined with some of the world’s premium beauty brands to play host to a variety of immersive and interactive events, weekly product launches, celebrity appearances, live-streamed events and creative installations. This yearlong Beauty Kingdom initiative generated a category-sales increase of nearly 27 percent, as well as about 1,000 clippings in traditional and online media, all of it valued at about $15 million.
Retail — Store Design
Duty Zero, Hong Kong SAR, China
The Duty Zero shop, at Hong Kong International Airport, is a shop-within-a-shop environment that features a digital sommelier, lounges, tasting stations and selections of wine, spirits, tobacco, cigars and specialty merchandise. A distinctive portal gate is fronting the shop.
Design/Development — Renovations and Expansions of Centers Measuring Less Than 13,935 Square Meters of Total Retail Space
Red Market (Kwong Yuen Market), Hong Kong SAR, China
The modernized Red Market features uniform display stands and generous aisles, all accented with the use of such design elements as cement, red brick, steel girders and wooden pallets. This retro-inspired environment also incorporates energy-conserving operational systems and is the first Hong Kong market site to accept Octopus and all major credit cards.
New Development — Centers Measuring More Than 46,451 Square Meters of Total Retail Space
Changsha IFS, Changsha, China
Changsha IFS incorporates two office and hotel towers and a 241,000-square-meter podium housing some 300 retail brands and 70 food-and-beverage vendors, plus a rooftop dining and garden zone displaying the world’s first permanent Kaws sculpture.
Mixed-Use Projects
ICONSiam, Bangkok, Thailand
The ICONSiam lifestyle development is a melding of traditional Thai culture and architectural elements with a modern design aesthetic and innovative technology, creating an immersive environment in which to experience the best that Thailand and the world have to offer.
Design/Development — Sustainability
Sunshine Plaza, Maroochydore, Australia
The redevelopment of Sunshine Plaza included the installation of 2,760 solar panels on the rooftop parking area, intended to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by about 1,400 metric tons yearly. To date, the center has received a five-star NABERS rating and is on track to achieve a five-star Green Star Design rating as well.
By Brannon Boswell
Executive Editor, Commerce + Communities Today
