Robert Horst (00:00):
It's important to be invested in your community as your community continues to spend time in your center.
Monica Chadha (00:20):
Hi, I am Monica. I'm here at Yorkdale Shopping Center in Toronto, Canada. I'm joined by Robert Horst, vice President of Retail. Robert, I've been frequenting in this mall since childhood, and it has certainly evolved over the decades. And you're not done?. -
Robert Horst (00:35):
No.
Monica Chadha (00:36):
You've recently announced a massive transformation to really elevate the luxury experience here at Yorkdale
Robert Horst (00:43):
Absolutely.
Monica Chadha (00:44):
Tell me about this transformation.
Robert Horst (00:45):
Yeah, it's great. Actually. Yorkdale has been a leader in fashion since 1964. It was one of the first shopping centers ever built in Canada, and even then it was a luxury center that architects and developers from around the world came to see. And today, we're continuing on with that evolution and a reinvestment in our luxury space in terms of brands that want to come and open shops in Yorkdale because of our track record of performance in a luxury space. So we continue to be a leader in luxury and will continue to reinvest in luxury as we become a global destination for brands around the world.
Monica Chadha (01:22):
Now, what makes Yorkdale Shopping Center a destination?
Robert Horst (01:26):
Sure. Yorkdale Mall has always been a destination since 1964 when we opened our doors. We've been Canada's fashion center and people have always flocked to this center for the best in fashion in Canada. And today we're changing that to become more of a global destination where people from all over the world are coming to visit Yorkdale Shopping Center. You need to continue to elevate your experience, and we need to elevate the environment in which we operate to serve our customers and reflect our customers. That's why if our customers are global, we're seeing more global brands and more global experiences arrive here at our doorstep at Yorkdale.
Monica Chadha (02:03):
What are some of those unique differentiators of Yorkdale and Oxford Properties, retail assets in general that do attract these global brands here?
Robert Horst (02:14):
Number one, we have a great relationship and partnership with our retailers. From the moment we're talking about opening a store here, we're in front of them. We're sharing data, we're talking about information that they can leverage to best execute on their store openings here. And often many brands that arrive at Yorkdale, they come here with knowledge in mind about how to serve our customer, and we become one of their top performing stores globally, and there's many examples of that.
Monica Chadha (02:41):
So what changes are happening in retail that's affecting your retail assets?
Robert Horst (02:46):
Yeah, that's a great question. I think what you need to know is that retail has always been evolving. I think one of the biggest changes we're seeing now is many shopping centers are looking at mixed use as an opportunity. And what do we mean by mixed use? It means you'll continue to see malls evolve that go well beyond shopping. And Oxford has great examples across the country and the world and why we're doing this.
Monica Chadha (03:07):
Do you view yourselves as having a partnership with your tenants, retailers and service providers?
Robert Horst (03:14):
Often in the mall business, we talk about our customers, but we have two customers. We have the customers that are walking through the door every day, and we want to make that an exceptional experience. And our customers are tenants who are here to conduct business. When they do well, we do well. So we take great strides in marketing and leasing and data sharing, and even design and construction to ensure that they can perform at their best when they open. So that's part of Oxford's core philosophy and how we treat our tenants.
Monica Chadha (03:40):
What kind of value does your brand promote?
Robert Horst (03:42):
Yorkdale and Oxford have always been about building exceptional spaces. Not only do we impact the communities in which we operate, we reflect those communities. So we really focus on being an inclusive, safe, and exceptional shopping experience for everyone who walks through our doors.
Monica Chadha (04:01):
So tell us about Oxford property's sustainability strategy for their retail assets.
Robert Horst (04:08):
Oxford's been a leader in sustainability for many, many years actually in the Canadian real estate business. And we are developing net zero targets, and we continue to focus on ways that we can reduce energy, reduce waste, reduce water. One of the ways we're doing that right here at Yorkdale is we have several hundred thousand square feet of solar panels on our roof generating energy for us every day. We've invested in water reduction strategies and we're pushing towards zero plastic or zero single use plastic for all of our restaurants and food operators in our center today.
Monica Chadha (04:42):
How do you define innovation at Oxford Properties relative to your retail assets?
Robert Horst (04:47):
Yeah, I think it's really about delivering what's next for our customers and thinking about experiences that are unexpected, number one, and number two, I think it's really important to anticipate their needs and some of the ways that we're doing that. For example, we've got our touch directories out here, so customers can easily navigate the shopping center. It might be the ways that we're delivering on our gift card program in terms of automated gift card machines where we can have customers transact right online or through e-gift, which is something that people might not expect, really is about anticipating needs of customers before they're even asking for it.
Monica Chadha (05:24):
Can a retail property management company create a community?
Robert Horst (05:30):
Absolutely. Not only is that part of our business is essential to our business, we need to be a place that is inclusive and reflective of the communities in which we operate. We are here to serve our customers. The mall has always been about much more than shopping. People come to the mall to shop, yes, but they come to Dine. They come on a date. You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard people say their first date was at the mall. They come to exercise in the morning. As we know, the mall walkers arrive every day at sunrise. It's important to be invested in your community as your community continues to spend time in your center.
Monica Chadha (06:05):
Robert, thank you so much for giving us a sneak peek into Yorkdale Shopping Center. I cannot wait to experience the new reveal.
Robert Horst (06:13):
It's absolutely our pleasure. We're thrilled to have you here and to be talking about one of our flagship assets that we're so proud of at Yorkdale
Monica Chadha (06:20):
Yorkdale Mall is truly a destination. They've managed to create brand equity that's caught the visibility of international shoppers as well as global luxury brands. I'm Monica. I will see you next time.
