Ikano Centers continues its growth plans for its hangout offerings in Malaysia and Thailand | Taiwan News

Its malls are pioneering future-proofing strategies driven by an omnichannel approach and strategic commercial developments

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – December 17, 2021 – Ikano Centers, part of Ikano Retail, is accelerating its omnichannel approach to retail in a year marked by Covid-19 closings for its mall business. As shoppers increasingly return to physical visits, improving IKEA anchored travel destinations remains a major priority to adapt to changing consumer expectations.

MyGround in the MyTOWN Shopping Center, Decathlon in the MyTOWN Shopping Center, Soulmates in the Toppen Shopping Center, development of the shopping center car park with the RoofTopp lifestyle and McDonalds in the Ikano Center Batu Kawan (Photo credit – Penang Holiao)

With five hangouts in its portfolio – IPC, MyTOWN, Toppen, and Batu Kawan in Malaysia, and Megabangna in Thailand – Ikano Centers has maintained a healthy occupancy rate of 92% in its shopping malls over the past 18 months. During that time, the group rolled out enhancements to improve security, improve customer experiences, test digital partnerships, and create innovative shopping platforms where customers can connect, engage, and learn.

“We are optimistic about our recovery as we see more visitors returning to our centers,” said Adrian Mirea, mall and mixed-used director of Ikano Centers. “In order to strengthen the shopping experience in our centers, we continue to invest sustainably in the physical development of our assets as well as in digital platforms to improve the shopping experience for shoppers in our centers. All of this and at the same time ensuring that our centers continue to be safe meeting places “for the many.”

Ikano Centers introduced digital innovations aimed at assisting its tenants during the closure while offering its visitors multiple ways to get in touch with their favorite centers. Initiatives include personal shopper services via GoGet, livestreams supported by social commerce, campaigns from GrabFood and Foodpanda, and optimizing its shopping center apps to offer shoppers convenience through ordering and pick-up services.

As a community-oriented shopping destination, each meeting point grows in a sustainable way, with each development plan geared towards the needs of the surrounding community:

IPC Shopping Center: Damansara’s most popular Kiez shopping center strengthens its family-friendly offer

In the heart of Mutiara Damansara, IPC is completing the modernization of its facilities to increase the comfort, accessibility and family-friendly services for its visitors. With a new escalator to improve the flow of traffic throughout the center, it also improves its family amenities including its family rooms and playgrounds. Level 2’s “Funland” will be more fun and exciting play sets for kids, with a new “Playland” at Level G. Families can also enjoy a safe and great day out with new restaurants.

MyTOWN Shopping Center: Introducing a new, new meeting place for socializing and lifestyle in the heart of Kuala Lumpur

MyTOWN is set to launch in December 2021 and is excited to introduce MyGround, a lively new meeting place for visitors to the city center to connect and create shared experiences. More than 145,000 m² of the former department store location will be converted into unique retail space, creating selected units with a flexible model for F&B tenants with integrated facilities for low start-up costs and easier entry into the mall. In addition to the introduction of BookXcess, SSFHOME + and Panda Eyes at the beginning of the year, the sports retailer Decathlon, Puma and an Adidas store will strengthen the sports and athleisure range with a new concept. In order to do justice to professionals at its location, Infinity8, South Malaysia’s largest co-working space, will open its first location in Klang Valley in 2022.

Toppen Shopping Center: Social enterprise advocate with Soulmates, a flexible room booking platform to support small businesses and entrepreneurs

To help small johoric businesses recover from the effects of Covid-19, Toppen launched Soulmates, a platform that offers fully prepared, flexible spaces that can be booked by the hour or by the day. Soulmates was developed as a one-stop solution and is ideal for beauty and wellness, fitness and other skill-based service providers to deliver their services to their customers in a comfortable and professional environment. The platform is to be introduced in other centers in the Ikano Centers portfolio in the near future.

The new parking garage is also scheduled to go into operation in the fourth quarter of 2022. The nine-story building will not only offer convenience with more parking spaces, but will also introduce new retail extensions in addition to the RoofTopp lifestyle. Toppen will also welcome the first Lulu Hypermarket store in southern Malaysia in 2022, offering an exciting range of groceries relevant to residents of the catchment area.

Ikano Centers Batu Kawan: Introducing the next phase of its Northern Malaysia meeting point with the opening of an F&B drive-thru concept

In line with the expansion of new retail experiences into the growing Aspen Vision City community, Ikano Centers recently opened the second phase of its mall with the opening of a new McDonald’s Drive Thru. In the coming months, KFC, Tealive, and Coffee Bean will be new additions to create many convenient dining options on a gross rental area of ​​200,744 square feet

Megabangna Shopping Center: Welcoming New Partners Central Pattana (CPN) Plc.

Hailed as one of the largest shopping centers in Southeast Asia, the Bangkok-based shopping center is now a proud partner of Central Pattana (CPN) Plc, which recently acquired 56 percent of Siam Future Development Plc (SF), the joint venture partner of Ikano Centers in Bangkok last ten years. Together with IKEA, the new partnership will continue to focus on making Megabangna a safe and great day for the many people. One of the new tenants is Topgolf, which will bring together exciting entertainment offers for visitors to East Bangkok in the second quarter of 2022.

The focus of all commercial developments and digital innovations is part of the Ikano Center philosophy of putting the customer first. “We refer to our centers as ‘meeting places’ because today customers are more likely to come for the experiences we offer than for traditional transactions. After the pandemic, buyers are now more aware, savvy, and have many options to get what they need. “, Said Arnoud Bakker, commercial director of Ikano Center. “That is why we attach great importance to creating a dynamic tenant mix that is tailored to needs. In addition, we are constantly looking for new partnerships with tenants, platforms and service providers who create unforgettable experiences for our visitors. ”

About Ikano centers

Ikano Centers is part of Ikano Retail and we create retail locations together with our IKEA branches. We are developing land and investing in residential, office and other types of real estate to create vibrant places for people to live, work and play. Our IKEA-anchored malls create meeting places that are the heart and hub of the community. We are destinations in themselves that offer an all-round experience for every generation. To date, Ikano Centers operates five meeting points under different brand names that are spread across Malaysia and Thailand. To learn more, visit Ikano centers.

About Ikano Retail

We are one of 12 IKEA franchisees who enable the many people in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Mexico to have a better everyday life – with plans to open up more markets in the coming years. Our IKEA stores offer well-designed Swedish home furnishings at affordable prices. Our IKEA-anchored Ikano centers are meeting places at the heart of our communities. By investing in other types of property, we create places where people shop, work, live and play. We are the only franchisee owned by the family of Ingvar Kamprad, who founded IKEA in 1943.

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