published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Previous studies suggest that pedestrian flow in shopping centers is one of the key determinants of shopping centre rent. Much emphasis in shopping center management has focused on strategies to increase pedestrian flow. However, increase in pedestrian flow may be different impact on rental value in different shopping centres. Furthermore, pedestrian flow cannot be increased without costs and that such costs often increase at an increasing rate as pedestrian flow increases. The financial benefit (increase in rental value) due to increase in pedestrian flow is not the same for different shopping centres. Therefore, it may not always be beneficial to spend resources on increasing pedestrian flow. To determine an optimal strategy for managing pedestrian flow in a shopping center, it is necessary to understand the factors that affect the value of pedestrian flow to the owners of the shopping malls which is coined in this research as Pedestrian Flow Value (PFV) which is measured by net rental income per floor area per pedestrian flow. This study identifies the key determinants of PFV based on literature review, interviews and theoretical deduction. Based on rental and pedestrian flow survey data of 146 shopping malls along the stations of one of the most important mass transportation system in Hong Kong, i.e the Mass Transit Railway (MTR), we have estimated the marginal effects of these determinants on PFV. These determinants explain almost 90% of variations in PFV across shopping centres along the MTR line. We found that shopping malls owned by the same owners tend to achieve a lower PFV, which suggests that owners of multiple shopping malls may tend to adopt a uniform pedestrian flow management strategy that may not be optimal for each individual mall. / published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The economic status in mainland China has developed rapidly for the past decade which has impacted positively on people’s financial situation, changes also occur due to more frequent economic corporation between Hong Kong and mainland. For the objective Account for the different means of attracting mainland shoppers in Hong Kong Shopping center, different groups of mainland people they have different focus, for the gender category, female care about more on the Trade and tenant mix, Accessibility and visibility, Promotional activities, Customer experience and Rent fix, but male care about more on the Shopping centre’s environment and Management staff and service; for the Age category, there has not a rules for the preference of different age group; for the Education category, people has higher education level will concern more on the Trade and tenant mix, Promotional activities and Management staff & service; for the Income level, Trade and tenant mix, Shopping center environment and Management staff & service were concerned more by the people has higher income level , and people has lower income level is concern more on the Accessibility and visibility, according to the analysis of the different means of attracting mainland shoppers in Hong Kong Shopping center, the most important factor is even though for the mainland people ,for different kind of mainland people it should focus on different marketing strategies base on the above results. For the second objective the impacts of rising number of mainland customers on the management of shopping center, First is the impacts due to the Core Elements, the overall positive impacts due to the rising number of mainland customers on the management of shopping center is it will increase the number of visitors and the sales revenue, the negative impact for this factor is shopping center need spend more money and time on the transportation cost of the mainland customer by providing free shuttle or refund the transportation cost, Second is the impacts due to Controllable variables in the internal environments, the overall positive impacts is to increase the revenue of the shopping center in a short term at the same time make the shopping center has a good reputation in a long term, the negative impact for this factor is the shopping center need consume more money to hire a facility and design team, Third is the impact due to Uncontrollable variables in the external environments, the positive impact is it will make the quality of the shopping center better than before and shopping center may have chance to seize a change to attract more mainland customers, but the negative impact is they may lose their advantage soon and failure in the future and need to spend time and to find a better way to educate the mainland people in order to make the shopping center more orderly. So the overall impact due to the increase mainland customer is positive / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

“It must be kept in mind that architects do not design malls for architects; they design them for developers and retailers that are interested in creating malls and other shopping centres to attract consumers and keep them coming back.”(Richards, 1990) Concept of shopping centre (SC) originally emerged in nineteenth-century and the concept changes over time due to the ever-changing needs and perception from the customers. Shopping centre originated from an isolated and scattered of shops and developed into nowadays large commercial retail properties. They do not only provide leisure and entertainment for the public, but also a place of where provide business opportunity for investment and profit-making for the retailers and developers. However, any single property will be decayed and deteriorated over time. In order to upkeep the standard of the shopping centres, rehabilitation or renovation work has to be carried out in order to upgrade the appearance, facilities and equipment of shopping centres so as to maintain their attractiveness and competitive and keep customers coming back. The research topic concentrates on the renovation projects carried out by The Link Real Estate Investment Trust (The Link REIT) inside public housing estates commercial properties after the privatization in 25 November 2005. After the privatization, renovation work of shopping centres becomes one of the main tasks of The Link REIT. Despite series of political pressure and criticism towards the management of The Link regarding their renovation work and rental policies, The Link REIT continues to expand their renovation projects to various public housing estates shopping centre. It provides a useful and interesting case to study the purpose of renovation on shopping centre. The privatization is a divestment exercise of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA), over 180 retails and car park properties were sold to The Link. After seven years of operation, 25 shopping centres are completed with different scope of renovation work, while others are in various planning stages. Base on the shopping centre hierarchy definite by The Link REIT, 3 details case studies will be carried out. The studies compare the data and changes before and after the renovation work, analysis will be made to compare the operating result during HKHA era so as to examine whether The Link could achieve the purpose of their renovation projects. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Shopping centers are a kind of special commercial property that containing a variety of retail units with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit. They play an important role of the customers’ lifestyle. They are not just only a center for shopping but also a community center for social and recreational activities can take place. They are the complex buildings including the dining, entertainment, clothing, supermarket, clinics and daily necessities. Moreover, most of the shopping centers in Hong Kong are the main pathway to homes since they occupy the first few levels of a high-rise building with interconnected by walkways or footbridges. Buildings cannot have an infinite economic life. Refurbishment of the aged buildings can enhance their market value because it can restore and improve the building conditions physically and economically. After carrying out the asset enhancement works, the shopping centers can be improved. The physical structures, trade mix and customer services can be enhanced. It can also give beneficial returns to unitholders. The shoppers are served by more choice of shops, greater convenience and a better shopping environment. The aim of this paper is to discuss the effectiveness of enlivening the shopping center by asset enhancement projects in Hong Kong. The empirical background of shopping center and asset enhancement will be introduced first. The reasons for carrying out asset enhancement works and elements should be included in asset enhancement works are also discussed. One of the properties of the Link Real Estate Investment Trust (The Link REIT) named Choi Ming Shopping Center situated near the Tiu Keng Leng MTR Station is selected to be a case study. A survey is conducted to obtain the satisfaction level of the asset enhancement works of Choi Ming Shopping Center from the visitors. Moreover, in-depth interviews with selected ten shoppers, two tenants and two managers are also conducted to obtain the feedback of the asset enhancement works of the shopping center. The effectiveness of the shopping center by the asset enhancement projects is measured by the satisfaction levels of the visitors, shoppers, tenants and managers, including tenant mix, facilities, customer services, marketing promotions and carpark services of the shopping center. The revenue generated from the shopping center is also discussed. The survey questions included to collect the consumption pattern, satisfaction levels towards the shopping center in terms of trade and tenant mix, facilities, customers services, marketing promotions and carpark services and the demographic characteristics of the respondents. The major findings are most of the respondents satisfied with the asset enhancement works of the shopping center and meet their needs. The overall appearance, services and image of the property can be improved. In addition, in-depth interviews with six open-ended questions are designed to collect the feedback of the selected shoppers, tenants and managers of asset enhancement works of the shopping center. It included the physical structure, tenant mix, marketing promotion and customer services. The major findings are most of the interviewee satisfied with the asset enhancement works. The shopping environments can be rejuvenated by the implementation of the business strategies. Also, there are some drawbacks for asset enhancement works of the property. The increase of rent and fewer small local tenants would be found in the shopping center due to increase the cost of running businesses. Continuous asset enhancement projects should be carried out to generate higher patronage and investment returns to bring benefits to the shoppers, tenants and unitholders. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Shopping Centers play an important role in the lives of Hong Kong people. Due to the rapid economic growth, lifestyle and the shopping behaviours of the shoppers has also changed accordingly. There are various thousands of shopping centers in any types and scales in Hong Kong and thus they are facing violent competition among themselves. In such connection, attracting of new shoppers and retaining of the existing customers are important to increase the patronage and rental income of the shopping centers. Additionally, any property will be decayed and deteriorated as time passed. In other words, buildings cannot have an infinite economic life. Hence, assets enhancement works are carried out by the property developers and business owners to improve the physical condition and enhance the market value of the shopping centers. The attractiveness and competiveness of the shopping centers can therefore be maintained. Different types of assets enhancement are adopted by the property developers and business owners. Some types can significantly make the shopping centers more competitiveness, while others might not make a significant contribution on the increasing of the attractiveness of the shopping centers. This dissertation will concentrate on the discussion of the types of the asset enhancement implemented for the shopping centers and find out the type(s) of asset enhancement which make the shopping centers more competitive. Two of the properties of the Link Real Estate Investment Trust ( The Link REIT) named Choi Ming Center situated near the Tiu Keng Leng MTR Station and Hau Tak Shopping Center situated near the Hang Hau MTR Station are selected for case study. Both of these two shopping centers are completed the asset enhancement works and the types of asset enhancement will be explored in this dissertation for comparison. Survey are conducted with visitors of Choi Ming Center and Hau Tak Shopping Centers to obtain their satisfaction level towards the improvement of accessibility, visibility, facilities and equipments and re-planning of space and layout in the selected properties. Besides, the respondents were also asked to rank the importance of these types of asset enhancement for affecting their visit to the shopping center. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with visitors and tenants of these two shopping center to collect their view on the asset enhancement work of Choi Ming Shopping Center and Hau Tak Shopping Center. Lastly, recommendation has been made for the developers and owners to strategically plan for their future asset enhancement work and also the marketing strategies in order to response to the demands of their target group since the factors causing the success of shopping center is interdependent and neither one should be overlooked. Besides, continuous asset enhancement work should be carried out and the marketing strategies should be adjusted to generate higher patronage and investment returns in the ever changing environment. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Hong Kong is renowned for its name of shopping paradise in the past several decades. It not only has the attractive street markets, but also has the different styles, themes and levels of shopping malls. Indeed, the retail industry of Hong Kong serves both visitors and Hong Kong local people as well. From the figures of Hong Kong Retail Management Association, it recorded HK$494,456 million dollars overall retail sale in 2013 and 267,703 person were employed as the workforce under retail as at December 2013. In the past two decades, many large, trendy and featured shopping malls were built, and they were mostly developed and owned by the major developers as a long term investment for rental return. However, as Hong Kong is just a small city, thus this leads to keener competitions between the shopping malls in order to attract shoppers to increase the turnover of the shop tenants inside, thus the rental receivables to the developers in turn. In order to attract more shoppers, other than the asset enhancements, improvements and renovation projects carried out by the shopping malls within a short period of time to have a fresh feeling to the shoppers and improve the deficiencies of the malls, many new and innovative marketing activities were carried out by them as well, such as placing 100 number of full height Doraemom mascots (a famous Japanese cartoon character) outside the shopping mall, arranging a 20 meter height inflatable Holland designer rubber duck to be display on the sea outside the shopping mall, organizing overnight cheering up activities for the student at the eve of the announcement of public exam, providing overnight live broadcasting of World Cup, etc. Besides the above, many information technologies were incorporation in the shopping malls nowadays so as to provide a convenience, better feelings and involvement to the shoppers. Other than retail, telecommunications in Hong Kong is also the leading edge in the world. The mobile penetration rate is 238.6 percent by February 2014, that means every Hong Kong people has over two mobile phones; in which, around 72% is using 3G/4G, it means around two-third of mobile subscribers are using smartphones. For the marketing of the shopping malls, they also provide many information technology applications in order to attract the shoppers. For example, sophisticated webpage design, mobile apps, Facebook, Weibo, Twitter, Instagram, were made for their shopping mall. In this paper, we will evaluate of using such information technology applications in the retail marketing under the context of shopping malls in Hong Kong. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

M.Tech. Business Administration. Business School. / Although the civil war in Mozambique ended in the early 1990s, people living in the urban parts of Maputo City in Mozambique routinely travel to South Africa in order to do routine shopping. A study was conducted based on a random sample of 250 respondents in order to identify key factors that motivate residents of Maputo to do shopping in South African cities. Results obtained from factor analysis showed that people living in the urban parts of Maputo City in Mozambique were motivated by 8 factors to travel to South Africa for shopping. These 8 factors were: The provision of courtesy to customers ; Availability of vast information on latest products ; Relaxing shopping environment ; The provision of suitable packing materials for goods ; Competency of staff working in South African shopping malls ; Guaranteed confidentiality ; Good reputation of South African service providers ; The ability to return goods to suppliers within the warranty period.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management