17 November 2020 – The co-owned malls of Liberty Two Degrees (L2D), a precinct focused, retail-centred REITwere awarded a considerable number of Footprint Marketing Awards by the South African Council of ShoppingCentres (SACSC). The awards recognise exceptional shopping centre marketing, innovation and creativeachievements, together with economic success and excellence within the South African property industry. Theannual Footprint Marketing Awards which attract hundreds of industry players were held via Zoom on November16.
Jonathan Sinden, Chief Operating Officer of L2D comments, “Our malls are positioned as an experience in and of themselves. We remain focused on continuously improving the quality of our malls and introducing innovative and unique experiences that attract tenants and shoppers to our spaces.
This is achieved through the strategic implementation of initiatives which are centered around our building blocks of; Smart Spaces, which aims to create smart environments that integrate technology to enhance the customer and retailer experience as a strategic growth area, Good Spaces that are positioned to transform the retail industry in an environmentally sustainable manner, Interactive Spaces that provide an interchange of ideas and experiences within the malls and Safe Spaces which underpin our building blocks with the aim to ensure the mall environments hold the highest standard of safety and security for tenants and shoppers. We are excited about these awards as they prove that we are making great progress against our strategic objectives”.
In total, L2D malls collected 5 Gold Footprint Marketing Awards for its iconic Sandton City, also taking home 8 Silver and 19 Bronze awards across 13 categories respectively for its portfolio. The management of L2D is passionate about operational excellence and staying abreast of trends to cater to the ever-changing needs of customers, making the L2D malls dominant in their precincts. Management look forward to another year of marketing innovation and forward thinking for the benefit of all shoppers and tenants.
Heloise Mgcina, Marketing Executive at L2D comments, “We are pleased to have delivered on that requirement and stand very proud of how our malls have performed at this year’s Footprint Marketing Awards which are held in high esteem. We pride ourselves in all our marketing initiatives, which are implemented through Excellerate Brand Management, and have contributed to the recognition of our malls as meaningful contributors to the communities in which they operate”.
“We congratulate Sam Ntuli Mall for its well-deserved Spectrum Award win, as well as The Foschini Group, for winning the RDDA Spectrum Award for their Sport scene store in Sandton City”, continues Mgcina.
The malls which are positioned as centres of excellence in their respective communities, are co-owned by L2D and Liberty Group Limited (Liberty) and in the case of Sandton City, the centre is also co-owned by Pareto Limited(Pareto).
L2D is focused on continuously improving the quality of its assets, introducing innovative and unique experiences that attract tenants, shoppers and visitors to its malls in order to create sustainable value for stakeholders. L2D aims to create spaces that provide a sense of community and go beyond the ordinary shopping experience.
L2D building blocks
L2D’s aim is to create spaces that enable personal, memorable human engagements and seamless interactionsbetween retailers and consumers, continually driving authentic encounters through community-driven engagementsand a strong focus on sustainable and ethical practices. This has been articulated through the L2D strategic buildingblocks, which help futureproof the assets and truly set them apart in the market and sharpen the focus of L2D’sefforts and business activities. The L2D building blocks are:
- Good Spaces: L2D’s shopping malls are ecosystems that provide trading and experiential environments forsome of the world’s most iconic brands as well as brands in high demand. L2D understands the importanceof partnering with its stakeholders to accelerate its positive impact on the natural environment. L2D remainsbold in driving its net zero commitments, which is evident at a number of its business operations and sites.L2D continues to reduce carbon emissions, water use and waste generation as it moves towards achievingits net zero sustainability target by 2030. Supportive initiatives have been implemented to achieve this goal.
- Smart Spaces: L2D aims to secure and sustain its leading position in the market by remaining at the forefrontof innovative design thinking. The creation of smart environments that integrate technology to enhance thecustomer and retailer experience is a key initiative in this strategic growth area. Through Smart Spaces, L2Daims to accelerate its roadmap to create the seamless interaction between digital and physical retail
- Interactive Spaces: Interactive Spaces is about providing an interchange of ideas and experiences withinthe L2D malls. The emphasis is on interaction, a fast pace, excitement, experience and stimulus, with avision to create vibrant and diverse spaces with experience at their heart. Interactive Spaces encouragescommon ownership, placemaking and enjoyment of the physical environments in which L2D operates.
- Safe Spaces: L2D’s building blocks are all underpinned by Safe Spaces. L2D aims to drive a clearly definedmall strategy that ensures the mall environments hold the highest standard of safety and security for tenantsand shoppers. L2D has been affirmed by SAFE Shopping Centres, a Global certification and advisorycompany, as the first responsible owner in Africa to achieve international certification following a Covid-19assessment, taking the extra steps to ensure duty of care for tenants and shoppers.
