Page 30 - Sphere No.18 (Feb 2007)

28 SPHERE
DID YOU KNOW?
The largest HWPG
mall is Wonderful Worlds
of Whampoa which houses more
than 300 shops in an
area of 1,400,000
square feet.
But it is not just in Hong Kong where the
need for innovation is growing stronger
by the month. In Mainland China,
where the bulk of Hutchison’s new
commercial complexes are being
developed, a similar story is unfold-
ing as the emerging middle class de-
velops an insatiable appetite for con-
sumer products.
Hutchison plans to double the
number of malls it operates in the
Mainland over the next decade. It
is now running Oriental Plaza in
Beijing, Westgate Mall in Shanghai
and Metropolitan Plaza in Chongqing, to
name a few, and plans to increase its presence
in these commercial centres as well as branch out into
cities such as Shenzhen and Tianjin. The Metropolitan Plaza in
Guangzhou, one of the company’s major projects, is scheduled
to open in 2007.
One of the toughest challenges is to gain a thorough under-
standing of the local market. “Good positioning is extremely im-
portant and that involves finding the best locations for our shop-
ping malls,” said Mr Tsui. “As a Hong Kong developer, we really
have to do our homework in terms of market research to find the
best sites if we want to be successful. We face intense competition
from mainland property developers and overseas players.”
According to Jason Tam, General Manager of China Market-
ing, although the variety of entertainment still lags that in Hong
Kong, impressive steps are being taken to raise the bar, especially
in Shanghai where promotion events such as a dinosaur exhibi-
tion and an international fencing competition were staged at the
Westgate Mall as part of the annual promotion programmes.
“We approach the promotional activities slightly differently in
the Mainland as we try to come up with initiatives that will win us
IT’S SHOWTIME!
OVER THE YEARS, Hutchison Whampoa Proper-
ty has pioneered some of the most memorable
events in shopping malls in Hong Kong and
Mainland China. Here are some of the highlights.
■ Aquaworld: The Flying Lotahs fromAustralia thrilled
audiences with a series of 17-metre high dives into just
2.5 metres of water atWhampoa.
■ The Crazy Dunkers Show: The Crazy Dunkers
from France showed off their amazing basketball skills at
Whampoa.
■ Get in touch with the Ocean: To celebrate its
ninth anniversary, the Chongqing Metropolitan Plaza
launched a month-long calendar of events linked to
the ocean. Interactive activities included turtle feeding
and fishing.
■ Let’s beWild: Shanghai’s first human pyramid com-
petition at theWestgate Mall.The winning team thrilled
the crowd by making a human tower that was seven
metres high.