With 280 tenants under one roof, there is always a renovation going on somewhere in Westfield Mall of the Netherlands in Leidschendam. Sydney Koster is responsible for the appearance of the mall on behalf of property owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. He talks about the role that a partner like Bulsink plays in carrying out construction work and about the cooperation he strives for in the relationship with tenants. “We work together to achieve results and I think that is the best thing there is.”
“A new tenant, a current tenant who wants a larger location, a different location, or a second store; it is an ongoing process,” says Senior Design Manager Sydney Koster. “If you calculate with an average of ten percent of 280 formulas, you are always in discussions about a design with twenty, thirty parties.”
“A design must fit the DNA of the retailer and match the look and feel of the different areas within our mall,” he emphasizes. “Guidelines are important for that. At the same time, I say: put those guidelines aside when you sit down with a tenant. It’s about listening to each other first.”
Hero status
“Our goal is to give every tenant hero status. If you want to be the hero of the street, you have to be willing to think about your own concept. That is a cool challenge for many retailers because we can do a lot that is not possible in the shopping street. In a Dutch shopping street, you are not allowed to just paint the front. You are limited in what is allowed in terms of signage. As a result, designers are normally mainly concerned with the interior of the store. We start with the outside and work our way in from there. We hardly use any glass in the façade, there is no front door. And sometimes we cross the demarcation line, with pop-outs and pop-ins.”
“For example, Xenos has a rotating X that partly enters the mall. Samsung’s flagship store has a ‘digital dream’ in the façade; a creatively designed screen that people really stop to look at. Rituals has a four-metre tree that goes through the façade into the mall. You can’t create those kinds of experiences in a normal shopping street. Brands don’t have to hold back creatively. They can be completely themselves. What I like most is to work with those brands to see how we can take that a step further.”
Sustainable glasses
“In addition, as designers we also look through a sustainable lens. Which components are in a delivered unit that we can keep for a next tenant? Tenants are also happy with that, because why would you spend money on new things if you can also reuse? It is a nice challenge to deal with that well and at the same time make the DNA of the brand recognizable.”
Bulsink as construction partner: ‘always prepared to think along’
During the implementation phase, Westfield Mall of the Netherlands regularly works with construction company Bulsink, says Sydney: “Sometimes brands already have a relationship with a specific builder, but we are also often asked if we can recommend someone. Then we look at construction companies that have worked here properly before. What I like about Bulsink is that they are always willing to think along. When the design is on the table, the question is immediately: how can we make this? It is a party that is open to what is on the drawing. That empathizes with a brand, from the perspective of manufacturability and feasibility.”
“In principle, every retailer is free to approach a builder themselves, as long as everything is done within the regulations. We have strict requirements in the field of transport, BREEAM, fire safety. We have sustainability requirements. And of course you are not allowed to cause any nuisance, because you are dealing with a running mall that attracts between 15 and 16 million visitors per year. It is therefore also important to keep talking to each other during the construction process. For that, we have a team of tenant coordinators, who guide tenants during construction. We as property owners, the retailers in our mall, partners such as Bulsink: we work together on results and I think that is the best thing there is.”
Expand your formula at home or abroad? Implement a new brand concept in a shopping centre or shopping street? Bulsink is the contractor for construction projects in retail. Check bulsink.com/retail for inspiration and information.
