Castle Towers Report

Retail Consultancy Report For Castle Towers

QIC

Created for Centre Management

Shane Carswell

July 2008

By Debra Young Boom Merchandising Services

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Castle Towers Retail Consultancy Report

CONTENTS

Section 1 Current Summary & Objectives 3

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Methodology

1.3 Current Situation and Key issues

1.4 Aims and Objectives 3

1.5 Current Trends 4

Section 2 Castle Towers Review & Recommendations 5

2.1 Introduction 6

2.2 First Impressions Entrances 7

2.3 The Experience - Centre Flooring & Furniture 12

2.4 Interiors – Toilets 18

2.5 Parents Room 19

2.6 Customer Service Desk 21

2.7 Fashion Precinct 23

2.8 Casual Leasing 28

2.9 Tenant Casual Leasing 32

2.10 Casual leasing Income 36

2.11 Aesthetically Challenged Area 37

2.12 Ceiling 40

2.13 Entertainment & Cinema Precinct 42

2.14 Children’s Facilities 44

2.15 Food Court 45

2.16 Circulation 47

2.17 Signs 48

2.18 Navigational Styles 51

2.19 Other Areas for Consideration 53

Section 3 Action 54

3.1 Action Steps from the Report 54

Section 4 Summary & Conclusion 56

4.1 Conclusion 56

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Section 1 Current Summary & Objectives

1.1 Introduction

The following report summarises the outcome of the retail consultancy review of the Castle Towers and

provides recommendations for consideration for Centre Management. The review was conducted by

Debra Young of Boom! during July 2008.

1.2 The review involved:

Observing customers within the centre, at all entrances, toilets, food court, car park and within

the shopping centre.

Informal discussions with several customers on navigation, what they enjoyed about the Castle

Towers and what they liked and disliked about competition Rouse Hill shopping centre.

Interviewing two customer service desk officers and the casual leasing coordinator.

Capturing over 200 digital photos of Castle Tower’s entrances, car park and shopping centre

interiors.

Examining key areas within Castle Towers during the school holidays

Testing all signs to their destinations from entering to exiting the centre

Reviewing the immediate competition, Rouse Hill & Macquarie Shopping Centre on their interior

presentation, colour, display, landscaping, mall layout, entrances, casual leasing, landscaping,

positioning, marketing and car park.

1.3 Current situation & key issues are:

Castle Towers appears to be dated

Poorly presented casual lease sites

Wayfinding and signage needs further improvements

Castle Towers brand is not being fulfilled on all levels

Entrance and ceiling architecture is dated

Retailers’ window presentation and visual merchandising is poor

Lack of atmosphere in some areas of the mall

Key fixtures do not reflect the image of the Castle Towers brand

The mall appears to be cluttered and unkempt due to casual leasing and anchor tenants

presenting outside their lease line

Key tenants have outdated fittouts i.e. Kmart & Target

Lack of key precincts which lack style and design

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1.4 Aims & Objectives Of This Report Are:

The Castle Towers Retail Consultancy Report is designed to assist Centre Management in

creating a successful mix of signage, retail aesthetics, colour, landscaping, and atmosphere, to

offer the most complete shopping and dining precincts possible, and become a destination

location for all your customers’ shopping and entertainment needs over the competition. In the

environment, your customers will find new ways to discover, dine, shop, share, enjoy and buy

products and services from Castle Towers retailers and bringing new revenue opportunities to

your asset through innovative leasing and renewed tenancy mix. The market is now demanding

an environment where the basic aspects of daily life can be accommodated in a way that is

convenient and enjoyable. The establishment of mixed use areas where people can work, rest,

and play has become the focus on all new shopping centre developments.

As well as offer recommendations to help strengthen Castle Tower's presence and set Castle

Towers apart from other shopping centres like Rouse Hill or Macquarie Shopping centre and

further align the Castle Towers brand & image for consistency & fulfillment.

1.5 Current Trends In Shopping Centre Design Are:

Greater diversity of uses in shopping centres, particularly the provision of entertainment/lifestyle

attractions such as cinemas and outdoor dining;

Non traditional centre design

Sustainability and environmentally friendly centres

Increasing spending on food and merchandise;

Creation of precincts targeted towards certain parts of the market;

The impact of the increasing popularity of electronic services

Creating environments that respond to changing demographics including more singles and

childless couples and increasing average age;

Creating environments where people feel comfortable - a place away from home and work where

people want to spend their time;

The breaking down of visits into categories including chore shopping, discretionary shopping and

leisure activities such as eating, drinking and movie going;

The importance of design aesthetics including the use of high profile architects/interior designers.

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Section 2 Castle Towers Review

2.1 Introduction

What We Need To Offer Customers

Today, we need to go beyond the traditional elements that a shopping centre offers.

We need to incorporate comforting elements that enhance customers shopping experience and

give them a sense of belonging that motivates them to shop, to discover, to share, to enjoy and to

relax. In other words, we need to design comfortable spaces for them:

Where they can find all the products and services they want and the information they

need;

Where they can easily park, feel safe and be visually entertained

Where they can browse through a variety of stores easily and see the wide variety of

products & services because of better display & layout

Where they feel at home and interact with others, exchange ideas and get involved with

local communities which, in turn, expand to a myriad of other similar spaces that help

build a genuine community.

What We Need to Offer Tenants

Provide retail expertise to the tenants who come from a combination of experience,

understanding, skills, tools and the ability to pull these together to create a distinctive

and successful shopping centre community under one umbrella of a strong identity -

the “Castle Towers” brand.

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Introduction continued…

What We Need to Create at the Castle Towers

Architecture and interior design have taken central stage in planning retail shopping centre

environments. The days of offering “behind the counter retailers” and large vacant enclosed malls

are long gone. Today, it’s all about “open floor retail” where customers enjoy increased

accessibility, can enjoy key precincts & categories to obtain traditional services and be exposed to

other impulse products and services in the process. When customers walk into a well planned

shopping centre space that actually transmits a message, they go through a complete physical

and emotional shopping experience. This leverages the power of suggestion, encouraging

customers to feel more, do more and buy more. The following fundamental principles should be

kept in mind to create an effective, customer-friendly shopping centre retail space:

Security

Convenience

Effective first impressions

Lines of Visibility

Comfort

Atmosphere in key precincts

Location of Amenities

Pause Zones (seating areas)

Entertainment & Sound

Effective wayfinding & signage

Merchandising & display

Creating the brand on all levels

Creating a sense of community

Landscaping

Lighting

Design

Communication

Toilets & Parents rooms that exceed traditional services

While the recommendations in this report might be viewed additional capital expenditure and further

owners contribution funding it should be noted these changes are what turn on the customer to

spend, and the new tenant renting a space or casual leasing. If not, they have a choice to go to

other destinations like Rouse Hill and Macquarie Shopping Centre that are close with the same or

similar retail offer but have a fulfilling experience for their shopping and entertainment needs.

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2.2 The Entrances - “Creating First Impression”

Observations & Recommendations

The first impression of the shopping centre is created at this point. This area is the “sense of

arrival”. Overall the first impression is to “capture the customer” visually and turn them on. This is

done through signage, lighting, ambiance, first message, colour and sound. This is the area we

call the “moment of truth”.

This entrance looks very dated, is not inspiring and lacks atmosphere as the first impression.

Finding this entrance into the shops is difficult because the exterior is not painted.

The brand is not fulfilled due to the lack of signage and colour.

The perception going to the entrance is it feels unsafe due to low light levels.

Recommendations:

1.) Paint this area with a bright colour so it is easily identifiable.

2.) Place operational car park hours or centre trading hours on the exterior windows.

3.) Have one speaker playing soft music which will create welcoming feeling at the entrance.

4.) Place identification sign and car park name above the entrance. For example, “Welcome to

Castle Towers – car park entrance 1 - Red.”

5.) Leaving the car park most shoppers find it difficult to remember where they parked. A sign

“talking to the customer” saying, “you are now leaving...” is helpful.

6.) The light levels are very low. A recommendation is to paint a light colour as this reflects light

and make it appear “more friendly & airy” and reduces operational costs. This would be

recommended as the perception of this car park appears to feel “unsafe”.

7.) A managed car park system would be recommended with 3 – 4 hours free parking.

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2.2 First Impressions - entrance continued…

The exterior sign system has the greatest impact of the "first impression". The clarity of directions, ease

with which they enter and leave the shopping centre, and overall appearance of the surroundings will be

motivating factors in their decision to return.

The first criterion of information on the exterior of the shopping centre is to achieve “the destination” -

arrival at Castle Towers. Secondary information is how the customer can identify the entrance; navigate

from entrance and onto the goal location i.e. Kmart or Coles


The first impressions that the sign create is it appears to be dated and do not reflect

Castle Towers image of being sophisticated, up market and aspirational.

The signage font is dated and the graphics need to be renewed.

Recommendations

1.) Refresh the exterior signage to a more modern image that reflects your brand.

2.) Place hours of trade and any key information tastefully to the right.

3.) Simple “no smoking” symbol placed under the hours of operation along with the web site

details.

4.) Place identification signage at the entrance.

5.) Landscaping always softens an entrance. Continuing with the trees that are seen at some of

the other entrances would be recommended.

6.) Lastly, as a shopper would you be inspired at this point?

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2.2 First Impressions – Red car park entrance continued…


The entrance has the ability to turn on a customer instantly. There are many affordable options

that could make this entrance spectacular.

A recommendation would be to paint the main wall in a striking colour to make it a feature.

Casual leasing could package deals with key corporate accounts and provide value-added poster

display spaces to the right and left of the coke machines or behind the bench. This would suit

FMCG companies.

Or create a sophisticated image could be created with the marketing department to give

impression of quality and style. This could be achieved through painting, updating the wooden

benches to modern ottomans, creating a key wall feature and internal branding of Castle Towers.

Some ideas to support the brand would be dark charcoal feature wall accented with silvers and

white. The ottomans could be covered in bold graphics using silver, black and steal gray colours.

Wall ornaments in the “Castle Towers Tree Logo” in brushed aluminum and key accent lighting.

Castle Towers name applied directly to the feature wall. Two trees similar to the exterior trees

placed in this foyer. Place vending machine of an up market coffee brand. Other colours like

chocolate browns, rich reds, tans and off white accents could also be used. Combining metallics

with woods, and blending light and dark wood tones within the same environment would work

with the Castle Towers brand. These ideas would really make your entrance “pop” and position

the brand immediately in the minds of the shopper.

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This entrance is an improvement on all other entrances.

Recommendation would be to say “car park 2 mall green entry” for identification.


Leading from the red car park into the mall the travelators are on the wrong side. In the southern

hemisphere we move left naturally because we drive on the left hand side so therefore escalators

and travelators should follow suit.

If this area gets refurbished in the future swap the travelators over. This appears to be the only

place in the mall that this occurs.

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Although this area is a secondary entrance it needs to be consistent with all other entrances.

Identification signage and branding is required.

A feature wall identifying this area would work well and establish an image.

Place one of the many plants in this location to warm the entrance.

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2.3 The Experience - Centre Flooring & Furniture


The flooring is an expensive option to update however it does look old and tired. When the

budget allows replace the floor with terrazzo or synthetic terrazzo for easy maintenance & cost.

This pattern draws so much attention that it draws away from the retail offer. It creates heavy

contrast, movement, and is rather unsettling pattern to look at. Furthermore, it visually advances

at the viewer which encloses the space, and it makes the space feel smaller.

My recommendation would be to replace the tile with a more simple and stylish tile that can go

the distance for the next ten years.

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2.2 The Experience – flooring continued…

Photo 1 Photo 2


Photo 1 – The colour of this tile is very dated, absorbs light and visually encloses the space.

A recommendation would be to put in large contrasting inserts into the flooring to refresh the look

or replace the tile all together. This colour encloses the space and needs to be opened up visually

so it does not feel so “cave like” in this area. The lighting is also dark in this area and requires

further illumination.

Photo 2 - while leading to the Piazza this floor is a ramp which means the shoppers move faster

in this area. To refresh the area either place carpet on this area to slow the shoppers down or

update this area with a modern flooring design. Encourage shoppers to slow down and browse

this area.

Replace the dark coloured flooring with this flooring above. It is simple, stylish, and modern, and

will stay current for a long time and reflects the Castle Towers brand.

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2.3 The Experience – Furniture continued…


While the tub chairs are in good condition the rugs need replacing. These areas are called “pause

zones” and they generate sales for the retailers.

A recommendation for future upgrade: Use leather ottomans that are slightly rounded throughout

the centre. This encourages sales because the shopper does not sit for long and is viewing

directly into the store rather than towards the oncoming foot traffic. 77% of sales are generated

through impulse purchases. So it is best to have a seat that can be accessed from both sides.

The customer needs to look into the store not away from it.

Place the seating outside stores that present the merchandise in an attractive manner. This will

contribute to the visual experience the shopper has within the mall.

These areas currently are not that peaceful because the shopper who is seated has people

coming up behind them which create an unsettling feeling.

Break up the visual line with greenery but allow at least 2.5 metre gaps before placing the next

seating area.

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2.3 The Experience – Furniture continued…


Observing customers in this area, they tried to move towards the travelator and noticed they

could not negotiate their way through this area due to the other shoppers blocking their access

with their prams and bags. This seating area blocks one avenue to another which affects

wayfinding, access and sales for the retailers.

A recommendation would be to have a smaller rug, ottomans and 1.5 metre pathway leading to

Medicare. Replace dated display cases and replace rugs. This might mean replacing the furniture

and rugs but the leasing of the vacant store might have better success and the furniture store

might get even higher sales. This is excellent zone for a “meeting point” so ensure access is

given freely to both sides and in the future go with horizontal landscaping like in the fashion

precinct as it does not impede site lines.

Centre Management should not allow the furniture store to have their rollers doors down on one

side of their store during trading hours as it creates a poor image, limits sales and creates a

negative message.

Avoid closed roller doors

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2.3 The Experience – Seating Area continued…

Observations and Recommendations

This area is interrupting the circulation between the sides of the mall. Always allow 1.5

metre access points to each side of the mall.

This reduces the sales on each side because the shopper can not move freely.

Avoid placing seating, rugs and display cases in this area. Replace with two simple

ottomans and no rugs.

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2.3 The Experience – 30 x 40 Poster Stands Observations & Recommendations

The 30 x 40 stands give an overall look and feel to the centre and are effective communication

points for marketing. These stands reflect your brand, are stylish and communicate marketing

messages. Some tips are:

Avoid placing dark background advertising in these stands as they will not get noticed by the

viewer.

Avoid placing 30 x 40 poster stands in between columns. This limits access and visibility to key

areas.

Place 30 x 40 posters stands in front of the column or alone in the middle of the path with a 1.5

metre distance around them.

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2.4 Interiors – Toilets

(1) (2) (3) (5) (6) (7) Observations & Recommendations

Photo 1 has a very long hallway and has opportunity for casual leasing to create income from a

series of advertising posters from one company. 1 out of 2 shoppers will visit your toilets when

they visit Castle Hill which gives great exposure to advertising and communication of messages

to your shoppers.

A directional sign is required pointing which direction the toilets are located at the end of the hall.

The “electronic opening doors” at the restrooms are a real positive that customers mentioned.

Ensure all the toilets have this option. Currently only half the mall’s toilets have electronic

opening door feature from the restroom.

Toilet door signage for casual leasing and for marketing is a must. Ensure the frames can

withstand the fortnightly clean so the advertising does not get damaged by the water.

Place two A4 signage poster holders above the hand dryers. This would suit pharmacy and

FMCG related products to be featured here.

The worst toilets are located by Dan Murphy’s. They desperately need to be upgraded.

While the toilets were clean the interiors are very dated. While upgrading toilets is expensive they

really need new tiles, sink and taps. The cleaning schedule needs another visit through the busier

days as I noticed through the day the toilets were not clean.

Casual leasing could place scales near all bathrooms for easy additional income and dispenser

machine for the sale of tissue packets.

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2.5 Interiors – Parents Rooms

Rugs need replacing

Graphics that can be seen from distance A warm paint colour would look nice in kitchenette

Recommendations

Features that are highly desirable to consider in a parents room include:

Easy pram (stroller) access, including twin prams

TV playing cartoons or small TV in the breast feeding area.

Play pen or toddlers area for mums who have 2 children with them.

Interesting kids features that keep the kids amused

Doors should be light to push and have the ability to be propped open for pram access, but not

automatic (kids escape).

The room should be clearly marked and easy to find. Large display graphics on the exterior would

create easy identification and destination. Place a family symbol or sign so fathers feel welcome

and that mums know that they are allowed.

Hot water thermostat regulator on taps

Change bench within arm’s reach of taps so baby can remain attended to

Dispenser machine to buy disposable nappies

Dispenser machine for paper cups

Toddler toilet with low wash basin with automatic cut off taps, no automatic hand drying facilities

and a door able to be pushed open from the inside. The current toilet is ok.

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2.5 Interiors – Parents Rooms continued…

Feedback from mothers say Stocklands Wetherill Park (NSW) has the best facilities (haven’t

seen) followed closely behind Robina Town Centre when they visited on holiday.

Other

Rugs need to be replaced – they are filthy. Refresh of the rooms is needed.

Mums commented that they liked the locks on the breast feeding doors.

Information placed on the back of the doors would be useful like a community message or non-

profit message advertising a local service or breast feeding association or small LCD TVs.

In the US large baby food companies sponsor the family rooms in exchange for branding rights.

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2.6 Customer Service Desk


The information desk does not look like an information desk.

All retailers on this level expressed the exact same opinion and the customer service desk

ladies said the customers would walk straight past the counter or ask “is this the customer

service desk?”

The gift cards are poorly merchandised and do not communicate clearly the point that you

have gift cards for sale. The stand is in the incorrect position to create sales.

The desk is too large and poorly designed for the information desk staff. A “triangle” method

of key tasks needs to be considered in the design. The desk does not need to be this large.

Castle Towers has a large family market however the information desk does not offer “Kiddy

Cruisers” for hire. Kiddy Cruisers should be considered to create additional income.

The uniform that the customer service staff is wearing does not have clear branding for the

customer to see from a distance. The name badge is to small to see if they work at Castle

Towers.

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2.6 Customer Service Desk continued…

This desk is in the wrong location and should be located down a level or on the lower level for

better service for the majority of the customers. It also is a prime leasing area.

My recommendations would be to move the desk and rebrand the front clearly with “Castle

Towers Customer Service”

The desk is too large and unfriendly due to the design. The staff are towering over the

customers. This is a “win – lose” position and not appropriate for customer service desk.

Key site lines have not been used, for example the pillar to the right. This could be used for

identification signage saying “Customer Service” or presenting key marketing promotions.

Gift cards need to be presented on the front counter at the main area for better sales. A small

merchandising unit that sits on the counter is required. The header card should say “Give

the gift that they can’t complain about” “Gift Cards for $20 - $1000 for sale”.

Remove the plants around the information desk as they impede visibility lines and access to

the desk.

The school holidays were in full swing but no merchandising of the “Towers of Fun” was

displayed. Inside the brochure they did not clearly explain the location of the shows. A

suggestion would be, “on stage….level 2 near retailer x”. This should have had 30 x 40

poster of the event near the information desk.

The information desk should have identification sign (blue information symbol) placed above

the desk so shoppers can view from a distance.

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2.7 Fashion Precinct


The fashion precinct has many opportunities to be a real destination over any competitor in the

area. Castle Towers offers fashion in all price ranges and truly covers most income brackets in

the retail mix. The fashion precinct has wonderful opportunity to be targeted towards the high

income bracket and be aspirational for all fashion shoppers and be a key precinct compared to

your competitors.

Further positioning the fashion precinct would also support the financial return to ensure

profitability on an ongoing basis. With Castle Towers being affected by the changes in the market

with Rouse Hill competition the need to further enhance is imperative for future viability.

This fashion area has the opportunity to pull the high income earners from Dural, Upper Castle

Hill, Cherrybrook and Glenhaven.

In reviewing the fashion precinct it appears that it is almost hidden from the rest of the shopping

centre. It’s quiet and lacks foot traffic to support the retail. The lines of visibility are blocked by the

customer service desk, low ceiling heights and no introduction to the area. The area lacks

excitement as well as colour.

There are many opportunities to make this area really dynamic over and above any competitors.

The desired “future character” for the fashion precinct needs to be enhanced. This could be done

by announcing this area with signage that leads customers from a distance, improved flooring for

example, carpet would create “exclusive and browse factor”, painting the dated ceiling arches to

identify this area, replacing the mannequins, improve the lighting, visual graphics, furniture,

tenancy mix and making a statement with the mannequins through out this area.

A recommendation would be to attract a café that specialises in great coffee, glasses of wine and

good caesar salads would be complementary to the fashion area.

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The feedback from customers and the retail staff said the café in the middle is not like it use to be

(last six months). The customers expressed that the salads they ordered had brown leaves and

lack freshness. The coffee was weak and return service once they had ordered was nil. In further

observations this café was quiet at peak times of trade. While David Jones coffee bar on the

middle level was fully occupied and was consistently busy throughout all times of the day.

Feedback received from some customers is that Castle Towers fashion area is lacking a specialty

shoe retailers. The customers specifically mentioned they liked stores such as Warrick Dawson

who do fine Italian shoes and some of the smaller specialty shoes stores you find in the

neighbourhood shopping centres with price points between $190 - $350 for shoes. The

customers wanted something different than the brands offered at Myer & David Jones.

The photo below – Could be an introduction area for the fashion precinct. The customer service

desk could be moved down a level and the flooring is a perfect introduction to this area.

This area could have illuminated signage on the pelment with high fashion images to lead you

towards this direction. The current site lines to this area is congested and not easily seen from a

distance.

Painting the arches so they recede would lift this area and make it appear more modern. Or

alternatively painting the entire area in a crisp white would look sophisticated and modern in its

feel.

Suspend large fashion shots branded only for Castle Towers would give it a nice feel,

excitement, and lead people down this avenue.

The toilets need to be upgraded to align with the fashion precinct.

Whilst upgrading this area might be seen as an expense it is an opportunity to own this segment

over any competitor within 30 km radius. Macquarie Shopping Centre does not have this fashion

area, Rouse Hill does not have this fashion area, and the closest is Westfield’s Parramatta.

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2.7 Fashion Precinct continued…

Further recommendations

Replace the greenery in the urns above with a more modern plant or the topiary trees that are on

the exterior to give it exclusive image.

Place two reassurance signs on each side announcing what is ahead and with emphasis on

Medicare and Myer (see red square below).

The avenue between “Kikki K” and Medicare seems desperate and unloved. A

recommendation would be to have affordable rents to attract the boutique shoe stores,

exclusive skin care like Ella Bache or small makeup brands.

The avenue should have a lot of mannequins to introduce the fashion precinct and their

stores.

Remove all the dated display cases and replace with a modern design.

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The mannequins are well dressed and colour grouping which reflects the style of this fashion

level. The mannequins do not have wigs or stylised hair and this makes them look bald. A stylised

mannequin is featured below – they are timeless due to the non descriptive features and hair.

A recommendation would be to purchase new white headless mannequins. They now retail for

$198 + GST. From www.shopfittingsdirect.com.au/mannequins_ultra

The mannequins bases ensure you buy all the same style and size. This gives consistency and

are easier to manage when displaying.

The mannequins are facing the wrong way and are in the wrong location.

A recommendation would be to purchase 12 headless mannequins on single bases and place

throughout the fashion level towards the direction of the foot traffic.

The display cases were great in their time but they are very worn and need interior display

ticketing. Either replace the cases or have them powder coated if possible.

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The chairs look like they are in great condition but being a fashion area these could be used

elsewhere and fashionable chairs could be purchased to reflect the type of merchandise that is

found on the level. It makes purchasing a Lisa Ho dress for $700 and sitting down afterwards a

nice reminder that it is a special area to shop. See photo on the right this type of style would give

exclusive look to this area.

Replace the carpets as they are very worn and tired

Establish only “first cut” tenancies in this area. The jewellery store before Cue is a very poor

introduction into your higher end fashion. This store requires better visual merchandising of their

jewellery and their fit out is poor.

A good tenant mix will really make this area successful. The shoppers in this area want brand

names. Adding additional higher end stores would be advantageous to the retail mix for example

Hugo Boss, Herringbone, Alannah Hill, Polo Ralph Lauren, Saba, Bally, Nine West and/or

another woman’s store that is not readily available in the market.

Casual leasing or marketing could have stylists on this level as a value added service.

Hang large graphic banners. This would create excitement through colour & graphics in this

fashion area

Poster rails on the top of the column to hang centre advertising. This would be approximately 2

metres between each bar. This would be excellent for summer and winter fashion campaigns.

During seasonal times the pelment void could be sponsored by a national name brand.

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2.8 Casual Leasing Tenant


While casual leasing is extremely important return for the centre and for the owner it must be

managed effectively. The difference between Rouse Hill, Macquarie Shopping Centre and Castle

Towers is the presentation of the casual leasing, the allowance of retailers to trade out into the

centre and the volume of leasing (casual & tenant trade out). This is the biggest weakness

that is reducing the value of the Castle Towers as well as decreasing sales of your permanent

tenants.

The decrease of sales occurs when the space of the casual leasing becomes too frequent. This

decreases sales of the tenants who are trading near it. The reason for the decrease is that it limits

impulse buying through being able to easily access the other side of the mall and it inhibits lines

of visibility to the other side. As well as it tends to look like a garage sale rather than an up market

shopping centre.

The image of the centre is reduced because of the poor visual merchandising of the product,

hand written ticketing, dumping of stock, poor cable management, displaying over 1.3 metres,

and lots of stands with a variety of stock and every colour under the sun.

In the photo above

This type of display is over 6.5 metres long and 1.4 metres tall. This should not be

allowed as it will affect sales of the tenants behind them as well as accessing the upper

level. They do not do this in their own stores, so why should they be able to do this out in

the centre? A display should never be more than 2.0 metres long and have at least one

main path in the centre (1.6m wide) leading to access points like the escalators. It is great

to help the tenant but it is creating further negative effects for your other retailers and

moving people up a level which is always a challenge in itself. The display is presented

well and clearly ticketed but the volume & height is a real negative.

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2.8 Casual Leasing continued…


To create the market type feel, it must first start with the bases that the merchandise is presented

on. The opportunity here is to replace the stand with a new white slat wall display stand or

have the stands painted white if possible. The issue with all these retailers is the display base is

not helping to present the merchandise in the correct manner. If you create the background with

slat wall that is a hand width apart from the next slot this will help the retailer with the hang sell

product or place other accessories that you will permit. Having the same bases in the same

colour will improve the overall appearance.

Avoid handwritten signage and remove old chairs that are blocking the walkways.

Needs proper display fixtures

Give the retailer visual guidelines and template for signage. This helps the non English

speaking retailer with what your requirements are. Having template signs is great because the

retailer is buying the current signs from the Newsagency or sign supplier. Generally store bought

signs are ugly and there is not a lot of options in terms of attractive signs to buy. Create a “sale

sign” and general “price and product sign” with a border. Marketing should organise the design to

adhere to the Castle Towers brand and image.

Redesign the casual leasing contract, create standards & invest in proper fixtures to present the

merchandise. The types of proper fixtures required are 100 chrome pegs all the same length,

30


handful of small shelves, 20 brochure holders, A5 holders and 30 plastic risers. These can be

purchased from a plastic fabricator out of the Yellow Pages or shopfittingdirect.com. The retailer

can use these but a bond would be held until their return. This helps them present the

merchandise as well as your image.

This kiosk simply needs to be remerchandised. It looks junky because there is no visual order in

terms of presentation.

A recommendation would be to group in colour order then hairstyles, ensure all the mannequin

bases are the same, and then group the scarves in a colour order. The colour order for the wigs

is light to dark. The scarves going left to right need to be arranges in red, orange, yellow, green,

blue, and violet. Pastels need to be grouped separately. If the heads are not all the same try to

group similar ones together then continue with the next pattern.

This retailer simply has the wrong stand. He needs a free standing slat wall or slat wall needs to

be placed all around this stand from 700mm from the ground up. Many of your retailers are given

the base but not display items to merchandise the product.

31




Between the two kiosks the casual lease retailers are occupying another 1.2 – 1.5 metres of

extra space (see above). The retailer should not be given a chair as this blocks the path to

Hairhouse Warehouse.

If the display stands were white they would open up this space and not make it appear so

dated. Further more, the flooring has extremely busy pattern that does not enhance this

avenue.

The retailer below is simply struggling with poor ticketing. The presentation is fine and correct

for the type of product he carries. A signage template is required for this retailer.

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2.8 Casual leasing continued…


This area is congested and looks like “visual vomit”. This means that there is over stimulation in

terms of communication, graphics, too much space being taken up in the area and sits in a

transition zone near the escalators. Not one message is getting through the clutter.

To improve this area simply remove the kiddy ride, plants, rubbish bin and give more space to the

tax return casual lease and the mobile phone casual lease.

The tax return kiosk needs to be positioned by the escalators or by a large wall. The enclosed

space creates dead space behind it and the average woman can not see behind it. The box like

structure would look better if they used posters that are the actual size of the panel. Avoid having

this tenant place any further signage on top of this box. Lastly, does the retailer really need this

size of kiosk? In my opinion it could be reduced by 1 metre after reviewing the kiosk and the

requirements. If the retailer wanted to stay in this space then the kiosk wall needs to come down

to rail height.

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The kiddy rides create a wonderful return but further areas need to be considered.

Kiddy rides statistically get the most use when placed near exit and entry points. This is

due to mothers negotiating with their kids to be “good” and they will receive a ride on the

way out.

Other key areas that kiddy rides work best are in front of anchor tenants near the seating

areas, Kmart, all grocery stores, Myer and David Jones.

Avoid placing the kiddy rides deep into the mall.

Avoid placing kiddy rides near the fashion areas, food courts, and on any main path as

they do not align with your brand and take the emphasis off the specialty retailer and

precinct.

These kiddy rides are unusually large; they are taking up over 1.5 metres in length and

depth. When the kiddy ride is not placed up against the column this creates an even

further barrier to access the stores behind it. These rides are tandem rides which would

fit two children. It is simply too large. I would recommend going with the smaller rides. i.e.

the motor bikes or horse

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2.8 Casual Leasing Continued…


This area is an opportunity to place LCD or display signage of one of the corporate companies on

each of these levels with a column wrap to match the offer. This creates great wayfinding

between the levels for the customers and excellent advertising. Further more if you are sitting in

the “pause zone” the customer is able to see the TV. Companies that could be approached

would be Channel 7 who are promoting their product “Tivo” or Foxtel’s product “IQ”. The centre

management should supply their own TV’s or have them sponsored by Samsung or Sony (they

have most market share for LCD right now).

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2.9 Casual leasing bulk displays

Observations & Recommendations...

Tenants need guidelines on the types of presentation that is allowed within the centre.

Tall fixtures interfere with the customer’s visibility of the area, retailers and focal points.

The average height of Australian woman is 5”3” so this display totally blocks off the visibility into

David Jones. This display is affecting the “human space” – the improper placement of fixtures ,

too tightly spaced – will make customers feel uncomfortable and cluttered. It also influences

consumer shopping behavior because customers will focus more on and moving around the

display than on the actual display.

Avoid doing this huge casual leasing as it is creating barriers and congestion. Avoid this at all

times. See photo above. This is basically blocking off the entire path and right hand side of this

area.

Avoid over stimulation. Too much stimulation can have a negative impact on customer behavior

because all displays, messages, casual leasing are fighting for the customers’ attention.

Customers will be easily overwhelmed, and unable to focus their attention on any one element.

Keep it simple with ample breathing space.

Prohibit the poor presentation of the casual leasing outside Kmart which does not enhance the

centre’s image and looks like a garage sale. Regardless if it’s school holidays, 2.0 m high

displays suffocate this end of the shopping centre and it looks like a garage sale. If Kmart needs

to do this type of thing then a review of what they are doing on the interiors first is needed.

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2.10 Casual leasing income opportunities…

Recommendations

1.) On pelment voids in arrival areas these could be sponsored and have signage rights. They would

probably not attract a national tenant but maybe a retailer that you have in the centre. Ensure the

entire pelment has signage, not bits and pieces. An excellent example of this is at Sydney Airport

in the domestic lounge near the arrivals and departure wing. The company was given signage

rights and advertising space on the back of the boarding pass. Your offer could be the pelment

area and banner on web site.

2.) TV’s near the yellow car park entrance with one singe column wrap near the stairs.

3.) Reposition the internet kiosks and attract a better supplier that has more updated equipment.

4.) Scales in every entrance near the toilets

5.) Kiddy cruiser rides at the customer service desk

6.) Sponsorship marketing for the upgrade of the parents room

7.) A5 signage on all food court tables advertising the latest FMCG, new Coke drink or movie.

8.) Entry points - place large signage on vacant wall areas

9.) Gift cards to be better merchandised and placed in key site line on top of the customer service

counter

10.) Add additional services to the customer service counter, for example minding bags, coat check

etc.

11.) Introduce valet parking on the first row of the yellow car park and give access to wheel chairs on

this level.

12.) Fill centre voids with large banners however ensure that a consistent frame is used and is

centered within that void

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2.11 Aesthetically challenged area


This area had the “worst feeling” in the shopping centre. It appeared dated, cluttered, poor display

by the tenants and the poor rent district compared to the other areas in the shopping centre.

Key issues are: Kmart requires refurbishment and it is trying to create sales with 6 foot high

casual lease displays in the hope to prop up sales during school holidays. What is required is a

newly fitted store and the customers I spoke to all complained it was awful and the worst anchor

besides Bi – Lo. This needs to be addressed. Avoid displays over 1.4 metres tall. The current

displays would not comply with OHS rules.

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2.11 Aesthetically challenged area continued…

The entrance near the pharmacy may not be a busy entrance but needs to be reviewed with the

pharmacy. The appearance of the shopping centre appears to look shabby because the tenant is

sticking posters with tape to the exterior of the windows. Centre management should not allow

any tenant to do this.

Tenants that need some help in this area are Kodak store, jewellery kiosk and the cooking store

next to the kiosk.

The physical environment in this area requires higher light levels in a true white. This might be

helped if Kmart would provide a new illuminated sign. Adding additional lighting will help open up

this area.

The flooring is dark and absorbs a lot of light and closes in the space visually. To open up the

space a more modern tile in lighter colour would be recommended.

The ceiling near Kmart could be visually lifted by keeping the walls the cream colour and painting

the ceiling white. This will give instant visual lift and will not feel like a grotto.

Seating is required outside the pharmacy as well as relocating some of the coin operated kiddy

rides to this area. An ottoman that is long and narrow should sit outside the pharmacy.

Avoid having casual leasing and seating so close to one another. To the left of this photo the

casual leasing ends and only small gap has been left. This reduces the sales of Darrel Lea due to

access and exposure. Remove seating from this area when you allow Kmart to do casual leasing.

This space needs to be opened up.

The posters from “Eye” need to be angles towards the foot traffic. They are ineffective because

they are placed parallel to the main walkway.

Remove the rubbish bins as they are not required in this area. Place them down towards the

entrance & exits in this area.

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2.11 Aesthetically challenged area continued…


This retailer has a great location however the overall presentation just adds to the demise of this

area.

The retailer should avoid placing forms on top of the stands as it impedes site lines and does not

improve sales.

A recommendation would be to provide training to this retailer to improve his/her merchandising

presentation which would help lift the aesthetic value of this area.

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2.12 Ceiling


The ceiling is a wonderful display point for marketing and their graphics if the budget allows. This

could be used as a casual lease area however guidelines must be established first.

Create more foot traffic and establish wayfinding to an area through key signage and display

graphics. A balance must be struck in terms of size and space. Too little of a sign gets

overwhelmed by the empty space. An unbalanced sign creates irritation to the viewer. A sign that

is too large gets noticed but not read due to the size. The viewer tends to look at how large it is

rather than the message. Ensure the sign uses at least 1/3 of the space and is balanced in the

open space. Ensure that the same frame style is used through the entire mall.

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2.12 Ceiling continued…


The ceiling arches need a refresh in paint colour. This colour was popular several years

ago and is dating the centre.

A recommendation would be to paint it the same as the background colour so it doesn’t

get noticed or if you want to enhance the arches paint it with a charcoal gray or colours

that reflect the area to create wayfinding.

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2.13 Entertainment & Cinema Area

Arrival to this level – lacks excitement Communication point – place sign here

Where are the Cinemas? The large sign is lost because it has not been positioned correctly to face the

foot traffic.


This area lacks excitement and it is suppose to be part of an entertainment area. Warm colours

such as red, yellow, orange create excitement and advance visually. Greens are cool colours that

calm an environment. My recommendation would be to repaint this environment to update it, to

create excitement and fun.

The chairs are in good order however if you want people to eat more and be more stimulated

then red/yellow accented chairs would have been better in creating better sales for the retailers.

Avoid grouping chairs in 6’s. Place chair grouping in 2’s & 4’s for better occupancy and less

wasted space.

Casual leasing could place small signage on all tables for further income. Ensure they can

withstand cleaning and people touching the signage.

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2.13 Entertainment & Cinema Area continued…

Lack of sense of arrival into this area

Sign facing the wrong way – the shopper can’t see it because it is hidden from the main path


The type of shopper in this environment is called a “recreational orientated customer” they

need and want a high-arousal environment. This will create greater sales and ensures the

customer returns over the competition.

To create high arousal environment use upbeat music, visual displays, warm colours (red,

yellow and orange), fast music tempo, interactive casual lease displays like electronic

gadgets, new electronic product launches, and computer & gaming facilities.

The use of LCD screens would work very well in this area and create stimulation.

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2.14 Children’s facilities


The children’s area and facilities for children over the age of 4 years old is lacking at Castle

Towers.

Rouse Hill has done an excellent job is creating interactive children’s areas within their

environment. From the freestanding puzzle that the children turn on the main walk path to the

children play area.

The offer to “play” at Castle Towers is lacking and to enjoy the facility. The Piazza does not have

key features for the kids to use and the above “Fun o Zone” is rather dated and dull.

A recommendation would be to give an area that the families could “enjoy” Castle Towers. This

could be sponsored by a manufacture or providing more facilities like “Soft Play” that cater for

slightly older children.

Placing fun features through the mall would have minimal expense and create a bit of fun for the

children.

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2.15 Food Court


The food court lacks greenery compared to all other food courts.

Replace all signage as it is dated and needs a refresh.

Column signage with visual food graphics would enhance this area.

The main path is blocked to the cinema/entertainment area. While it goes around the outside

most shoppers would not easily continue on. A redesign of the food court seating layout

would be advantageous for the other tenants past the food court and create a bit of style to

the area. This is a seating plan that creates wasted seats during peak periods.

The paint colours need upgrading that encourages eating & stimulation

Replace the advertising on the middle console as many shoppers complained that it has

been the same for a very long time and its extremely annoying and too loud.

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2.15 Food Court

Needs a graphic refresh

This area requires more access and stimulation to continue down this path. Place casual

leasing, seating or signage to keep leading the customer in this direction. It feels like it just

“stops” here in term of atmosphere.

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2.16 Circulation

A well-planned shopping centre retail environment will pull customers from retailer to retailer. Proper

circulation techniques must be at the foundation of your shopping centre planning, to increase the time

and the money customers spend in your shopping centre every time they visit.

Recommendations

Equal value – Give all the casual lease space in your centre equal value. Create dominant

displays, encourage customers to shop areas of the centre that might otherwise receive limited

traffic. (review the foot counters for these areas)

Shop with ease of goal – Using the complementary retail adjacencies will make it easier for the

customers. Use the mannequins but ensure they positioned only in the fashion areas. This

introduces an area and helps the shopper connect with the experience. If awareness needs to be

created about a retailer or precinct this should be done by advertising and visuals so shoppers

recall the brand. For example the Morrissey brand they would want to see the brand name, font,

advertising and the location of where this retailer could be located, not a mannequin. The

mannequin would have less impact versus a 30 x 40 poster or sign with the latest advertising.

Show your permanent retailers – Expose your customers to retailers they may not have even

realised Castle Towers offers. Show your retailers by the means of free standing displays,

product announcements or casual leasing on the main walk way and LCD screens in the lift.

Limit the height & width– restrict the height of all casual lease, tenants and displays so the

other retailers can be seen and accessed. The large fashion displays on pipe display racks

should have limitations on height & width. The slatwall displays as seen on previous pages create

barriers and reduce traffic flow. Assist the retailer when you can by trading out however a

“balance” needs to be created. Currently the centre looks like a flea market.

Guide your customers – Lead customers through your entire shopping centre through tempting

displays and wide aisles.

Draw to scale every display, casual lease, tables & chairs, free standing tenant, rubbish bin,

sign, pause zone and see what is REALLY happening within the centre and how that is

influencing sales, the retailers and the image of the Castle Towers . Keep areas clean and

simple for easy viewing which creates sales. Toowoomba Grand Central does an excellent job for

managing this.

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2.17 Signs & Navigation

“Navigability” means that the customer can successfully move within the space from his/her

present location to the desired destination, even if the location of the destination is unknown.

There are three criteria’s that determine the navigability of a space:

1.) Whether the customer can discover or infer his/her present location;

2.) Whether a route to the destination can be found; and

3.) How well the customer can accumulate wayfinding experience in the space.


All signs are aesthetically pleasing but some minor changes would enhance this sign system. The

system of lower, medium and upper levels should only be reserved for shopping centres that

have only two levels. The issue here is orientation is not established nor is “imageability” of the

space. The signs should always indicate level numbers so customers understand that there are

more than two levels and can easily understand when they look at the directory that the

destination for Coles is level 1. If a shopper enters from the roof top car park level 3 they are on

the highest level, if they are in the shopping centre and they are on level 2 they know they must

continue going up to find the car park. Or if a retailer gives directions and says the store is located

on level 2 this direction is concise. Multi level areas need to be numbered.

All entry points from the car park are established with the colour system which is excellent

however the colour system should be in logical order. If the shopper is looking for the red car park

where would he/she begin trying to return to the car park? It does not have a logical order that the

shopper can follow that tells the shopper that they are heading in the correct direction and then

what level? A recommendation would be to have green car park 1, yellow car park 2, and red car

park 3. Establish a number system that is logical and use the colour system to support it.

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2.17 Signage continued…

The first criterion, for successful recovery of location and orientation, asks the customer if

he/she can definitively answer the questions, ``where am I?'' and ``which way am I facing?'' A

response to these questions could be, ``I am on the north end, facing towards Big W.”

The second criterion is the ability to successfully perform wayfinding tasks. Successful

wayfinding occurs when the customer can make correct navigation decisions that take

him/her from the present location to a destination. Examples of such decisions are whether to

continue along the present route or to backtrack, what turn to take at an intersection of paths,

or whether to stop and acquire information to confirm they are on the present route.

The third criterion, for navigability is how well the customer can accumulate wayfinding

experience in the space. The “imageability” of a large-scale space is the ability of a customer

to form a coherent mental image or map of it. Research has shown that customers organised

the shopping centre floor plan with mental images using a set of common features: entrance

paths, retail shops facades, precincts, features (fountains or prominent architectural

features), edges (landscaping barriers), and nodes (intersection paths).

Personal Observations

Reviewing the shopping centre was difficult because I could not imagine the space and I am

unfamiliar with Castle Towers. The electronic directory did not give me an overview of the

entire property. Using upper, middle and lower system was confusing as retailers gave me

directions using levels numbers.

The shopping centre is very long and does not lead me to explore the Piazza/ entertainment

precinct due to the main path being interrupted by the food court. If the shopper is short

he/she would not be able to see the connecting path to the Piazza.

The Piazza signage assumes that a shopper understands what it is. A recommendation

would be to simply place “outdoor café & dining” under the Piazza signage. This leads people

to explore who have never visited your shopping centre and establishes an area. While most

of the community knows what the Piazza is (due to years of marketing), it does not clearly

establishes itself which reduces “exploration” to this area and one might add it reduces sales

for those tenants in those areas.

A recommendation would be to establish some areas that have a map of the entire centre,

create a path that continues to lead through the food court to access the cinema area.

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2.17 Signs continued…


Medicare has the most enquiries for people not being able to find them, according to the

customer service desk.

The reason for this is because the Medicare identification sign is too high and is in a dead

spot and not facing foot traffic.

Walking down this path the shopper can not see Medicare even though it is on the left.

Medicare could improve its “findability” by placing a large identification sign in this

window.

Centre Management could assist by placing a Medicare sign above on the pelment or on

the wayfinding sign.

This would help people finding Medicare and improve the visitation for the customer.

When viewing Medicare from this angle the entrance is clearly not seen. Place Medicare

signage in vinyl on the very top of the window in bold.

Medicare

Medicare

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2.18 Navigational Styles to Promote your Major Tenants & Precincts

Paths, including walkways and corridors, generally define the circulation system in a shopping

centre. Usually a path system is organised into one of many common models. If the customer

knows which one is used, they can anticipate and predict where the paths will lead. Clearly

defined paths help customers find their way more easily. In a shopping centre there are usually

two orders of pathways: main pathways that connect the major tenants and secondary

pathways that lead off primary paths to specialty tenants and secondary destinations points

i.e. post office

The reasons between the paths of two orders are to help people remember their journey through

the circulation system.

According to research by McKnight, Dillon and Richardson (1993) the three primary ways people

use to find their way around a shopping centres are:

“Landmark” navigator - In this type of navigation, use readily identifiable feature of the general

landscape and use it as a base i.e. Myer. They move out from the base (Myer) to explore, return

to the base (Myer) whenever they get lost or whenever they want to start over and explore a

different direction. So wall graphics in a food court, anchor tenants like Myer and key features

help this type of navigator.

“Route” navigator (statistically many women are like this) tend to learn many familiar routes and

then connect these, for examples entrances she uses often, or a familiar retailer, to navigate to

places for which a route has not yet been learned. Although the person using a familiar path

knows where to turn and how far to go, she may not pay attention to the specific features of the

landscape along the way. She will like logical links from a location, for example the car park to

Coles. So “best parking” is very important to her, as well as “reassurance signs” along the main

path. Street named exits act like connectors from one point to another. As well as knowing the

distance to the destination, for example 50 metres to Coles.

“Map” navigators (statistically more men are like this) who need maps and spatial

representation. They also need “you are here” indicators. These people form a mental map of the

space when they are moving and use it to direct themselves via spatial relationship. For example

they may say “Two years ago when I visited I remember the Piazza being in the northeast corner

of the mall – we’ll just head that way until we find it”. This allows the person to adjust the route

many times and map allows him to do this.

All three kinds of navigators can use actual printed maps, but they use them in different ways.

“Landmark navigators” may look for big intersections (Myer) and features like Fresh Food

Precinct that they recognise. “Route navigators” may search the retailer index to identify a part of

a route they know and go from there to trace the route they need. “Map navigators” may study the

map to ensure their mental orientation is accurate, then fold the map and steer happily in the right

direction.

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So the questions within Castle Towers about wayfinding is

“Where am I now?” (All signs should have what area they are on i.e. 1, 2, and 3),

“Where can go from here?” (Directional signs that give the directions to major anchor tenants),

“What can I do here?” (An overview of the centre in either static map (one per level) and

electronic directory),

“How do I get back to where I was?” (Key architectural features), and

“How do I get out of here?” (Exits that are clearly defined and have a point of reference.)

Recommendations

Ensure all entrances have printed maps and consideration of having more electronic directories

to give an overview of the centre.

Give more emphasis to transport exits to the buses and taxis.

Red car park exit is difficult to find if you are on the medium level, then procede to the lower level

because you walk past the exit because you are looking forward. The next sign then says “yellow

car park.” This was the most confusing exit over all exits.

Exits are not clearly announced. Place signage above or on each exit.

Observations and Recommendations

Upon exiting into the car park, focal points are not being used for communication.

Castle Towers branding could be used effectively in this position or corporate advertising.

Utilise the centre column for communication & centre branding

Tell the customer where they are exiting for effective wayfinding and present this above the exit

door.

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2.19 Other Area for consideration

One of the biggest challenges that Castle Towers faces is an aging mall with average to below

average food anchor tenants. The tenants like Bi-Lo and Coles is an average option compared to

the offers at Macquarie Shopping Centre and Rouse Hill. This is an area that needs to be

addressed and is one area that most shoppers that I spoke with said was poor. They would like to

see an Aldi and Woolworths within the centre.

Avoid placing signage on and around a column within the centre. The style and font of the

signage needs to be refreshed as it is pulling down the image of the centre. Then placing a foot

path signage next to it is over doing it.

The centre overall needs to balance the tenant trade out areas. Whilst it is good to support a

tenant to extra space it creates unbalanced sales. The tenant then starts to rely on the extra

space every year, it makes the centre look messy, customers can not find their way easy

because the visibility is impeded, other tenants are affected because they are not seen and

additional income that could have been created out of that space is lost. This is an area that

needs to be reviewed and managed more aggressively.

The exit and entrance signage in the car park was excellent and it was easy to exit the property.

Rouse Hill shoppers complain that exiting and entering the property is very difficult.

Signage in the future could emphasis transport locations i.e. bus & taxi

The opportunity that Castle Hill has over any other competitor is being up market, large variety

and a classy place to shop. This needs to come through in all aspects of design, leasing, tenancy

mix, physical concept, marketing and property management so the Castle Hill brand is aligned

and fulfilled in the eyes of the community and the shopper.

In the Piazza, the Medical Centre is in an odd location. Additional restaurants would be more

appropriate and having the Medical Centre on ground level in another location would be more

accessible for the shopper who is elderly or disabled.

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Section 3 Action

3.1 Action Steps from the Report

As the report offers many recommendations and ideas, listed below are inexpensive “quick fix solutions”

that can be implemented immediately with a minimal budget. “High impact solutions” are the best

solutions for the Castle Towers, but would need a substantially larger budget to implement, however

would give the most results for the Castle Towers and its retailers.

To assist the customer shopping experience, create more revenue from rental and improves the image of

the centre which adds value to the asset. The following is recommended:

Quick Fix

Place identification sign and car park name above the entrances

Paint the car park entrances with a bright colour

Install one speaker at each entrance

A sign “talking to the customer” saying, “you are now leaving...level 1 car park yellow”

Install further lighting into the car park

Refresh the exterior signage at key entrances

Redesign level 3 entrance with a bold statement (see page 10)

Place carpet near the cinema end of the mall

Place ottomans down key areas within the mall and remove the rugs

Add greenery by the seating areas

Open the area by the Medicare entrance – remove furniture and replace with space efficient

furniture, larger aisle widths and lower landscaping.

Ensure the furniture store has all their doors open for trade

Remove seating area in front of Kernels and place ottomans

Place 30 x 40 posters in FRONT of columns or freestanding with a 1.5 metre clearance on all

sides.

Place electronic opening doors on all bathrooms

Place 2 x A4 signage above hand dryers

Place scales near every bathroom entrance

Upgrade parents rooms (see page 20)

Remerchandise gift cards on customer service desk

Replace info desk and establish clear identification

Buy Kiddy Cruisers to hire out at the customer service desk

Remove the plants from around the information desk

Medicare to place signage at the front of their shop

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Attract another Café to the fashion level specialising in coffee

Paint the fashion area white

Suspend large fashion shots branded only for Castle Towers

Replace the display cases

Reposition the mannequins

Poster rails on the columns

Template for signage for casual lease retailers

New guidelines for casual leasing

Purchase leasing merchandise to display the product better (page 30)

Remove chairs from casual leasing

On the middle level, remove the kiddy ride, plants, rubbish bin and give more space to the tax

return casual lease and the mobile phone casual lease.

Place kiddy rides in different locations – e.g entrances

New internet kiosks

Remerchandise the kiosk near Kmart

Place kids feature areas through the mall and “Soft Play”.

Refresh signs with level numbers

High Impact

Create a managed car park system

Swap the travelators over

Replace the flooring in key areas (bold black and white graphics area first)

Upgrade the fashion area (see page 25)

Purchase 10 new mannequins

Buy “high end” chairs for the fashion area

Paint casual lease bases or purchase new ones

Introduce valet parking

Paint the dated ceiling arches

Entertainment area needs to be redesigned

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Section 4 Summary & Conclusion

4.1 Conclusion

In conclusion, these are simple environmental and atmosphere recommendations that need to

take customers beyond their expectations; in short, recommendations that need to show your

customers that something extraordinary is happening in the Castle Towers due to the

environment and atmosphere. And it’s only from the Castle Towers – the brand that customers

equate with variety, style, history, fun and much more. You will be fully prepared to show them

new ways to discover, dine, shop, share, enjoy and buy products and services from Castle

Towers retailers, thus bringing new rental revenue opportunities to the asset and to casual

leasing.

From the recommendations listed in this report an easier, interesting and exciting shopping will be

provided for the customer by instigating the above recommendations.

With ongoing upgrades, it is hoped that the end result will be the creation of an environment that

will encourage innovative, responsive and high quality shopping centre design, without having to

spend millions in the future trying to recapture the current market that has favoured the

competition due to a better and “shinier” shopping experience. Further more, create an

environment that can create additional income with ease.

Any questions or comments regarding this report

Please contact

Boom!

Debra Young (B.Com Marketing, Dip. Interior Desgin.&.Dip. Visual Merchandising)

PO Box 204

North Sydney 2101

Phone 0417 038 909

Email: [email protected] or www.boommerchandising.com

Disclaimer

In accordance with our normal practice, we emphasise that the findings of this report and the recommendations contained in it are

based on the sources indicated. However, as no independent verification is possible, neither the firm nor any employee of the firm

takes responsibility for any errors that may occur, however caused. As the study involves marketing, design and merchandising

recommendations which can be influenced by a number of unforeseen events or by the management decisions affecting the project,

no warranty can be given that the recommendations contained will achieve the desired outcome.

Documents

Castle Towers Report