Unibail Rodamco to launch new dining concept in 25 malls

Unibail-Rodamco, Europe’s largest listed commercial property company, has announced plans to roll a new dining concept out in 25 malls by 2015.

This will be made possible by either extending the mall's existing space, or by converting vacant areas to new restaurants. In general, the company expects to invest between €7 and €10 mln per mall to reorganise the space, representing a total investment of about €230 mln.

The programme is part of the Franco-Dutch property group's new strategy to put restaurants and gastronomy at the heart of its shopping experience which it has dubbed The Dining Experience.

Unibail-Rodamco said it is reinventing its shopping centre strategy to offer customers a 'unique and exceptional' experience. 'We started in 2007 with our programme to make our malls a place for experiences rather than just shopping. This new dining concept is a further enhancement of the offering to our customers,' said Ludovic Flandin, Unibail Rodamco’s Group Director of International Leasing.

Unibail Rodamco expects the concept to increase footfall in its shopping centres. Flandin said La Maquinista in Spain is a case in point. 'We opened a Dining Plaza in July 2012. Everything was leased out, there were 13 new restaurants. We increased traffic in the mall by 9% since opening this dedicated dining space,' he noted.

At a time when malls are increasingly facing the challenge of e-commerce, the decision to boost the dining offering also contributes in making a difference between shopping online and physically going to the store, he added. 'We are planning to introduce a large number of events in our malls revolving around gastronomy. This is something that online shopping cannot offer to its customers.'

According to Unibail Rodamco’s research, restaurants are visited by 25% of customers on average, while they represent just 3 to 5% of the mall’s gross lettable area. As such, plans are to increase three-fold the space dedicated to gastronomy, which in the future will represent between 10% and 15% of each centre’s space. Branded the Dining Plaza, this area will bring together around 80% of the gastronomy space offered in the mall, while the remaining 20% will be spread out throughout the scheme.

As part of the programme, Unibail Rodamco will also support local successful chains in their expansion abroad or in their first opening in a mall. Flandin: 'We are considering introducing Costa Coffee from the UK in our shopping centres in France.' To boost the gourmet offering, the company has recently added Nespresso to its list of tenants. The popular coffee shop opened its first store in Unibail Rodamco's Parly 2 mall in Paris and in the group’s mall in Amstelveen, near Amsterdam.