Number one mall keeps its crown

Galeria Echo on ul. Świętokrzyska in Kielce was originally opened in 2002, but the new, extended shopping centre opened its doors on August 18th 2011. It is now one of the largest retail facilities in the region with a total area of 179,000 sqm and a retail area of 70,000 sqm. It comprises 240 stores, a food court, an entertainment area and a car park for over 2,000 vehicles. “Galeria Echo is currently the largest retail project in Echo Investment’s portfolio. This is the most popular retail facility in the region, it has a stable turnover and an annual footfall of 9 mln customers,” says Wojciech Knawa, the managing director and head of the property management department at Echo Investment Property Management, in praise of the mall. And what does Galeria Echo owe its competitive advantage to, in his opinion? “The strongest point of Galeria Echo is undoubtedly the complementarity of the offer, which lives up to our slogan ‘Echo suits everyone’. Everyone can find their favourite brands in the centre. It also offers entertainment: a Helios multiplex cinema, an MK Bowling alley, a fitness club, a relaxation area, a play area for children, a food court, as well as the additional attractions we consistently provide our customers with, including the Oceanarium that is currently open or the recent Lego exhibition. As far as any weak points are concerned, we do everything we can to make sure they don’t arise,” emphasises Wojciech Knawa.

Tenants’ and customers’ favourite

Since its extension was completed, Galeria Echo has been winning awards and honourable mentions in industry and consumer competitions. One of its most important accolades was the  2011 MAPIC Award for the best extended shopping centre. A year later it received the recognition of the Polish Council of Shopping Centres, also for the changes carried out during its extension. In 2013 it scooped two more awards: the Best Shopping Centre of the Year, Poland according to tenants in the Eurobuild Awards 2013 competition and the Consumers’ Golden Laurel, which is awarded in a poll of customers. In 2014 representatives of the developer – Echo Investment – were on the podium once again at the Eurobuild Awards Gala in order to receive the statuette for the second year in a row for the award decided by shopping centre tenants. This comes as no surprise, particularly considering the fact that Galeria Echo was given the highest score (5) in 24 out of 32 questions included a survey sent to tenants of the mall by the Millward Brown research institute on behalf of Eurobuild. The location of the mall, its accessibility by car and public transport, its tenant mix (including anchor tenants), the leasing level, its footfall, the architecture and the marketing obtained the highest scores. Meanwhile, the rent rates, the shared costs and the marketing costs received slightly weaker scores which, however, were still above the average. Importantly for owners of the centre, all the tenants who participated in the survey answered that they would choose Galeria Echo again as the place to operate their businesses. We asked them why. “Galeria Echo is run in an exemplary way. I am very satisfied with the work of the managers, particularly the director, Grzegorz Czekaj. The footfall is high and at weekends it could be even higher if some more spaces could be provided for motorised customers,” comments Michalina Kaczmarska, the co-owner of the Adidas, Nike and Reebok outlets in Galeria Echo. Meanwhile, Małgorzata Kłosowska, the owner of a Big Star outlet, adds: “I believe that the award is well deserved. Galeria Echo operates very well, particularly in terms of the current management and marketing activities. However, I would put more emphasis on the work of the security service, because it is a weak point of the centre,” she observes.

They want more

The owner and the manager of the centre, Echo Investment, has no plans to stop winning awards in the future. In fact, the entire team aims to win garland after garland. And will do so as the mall is prepared for some significant changes – new tenants are moving in, which will result in internal reshuffling. The marketing department also thrives on creating a suitable family offer, by positioning the centre as an ideal place to take the kids. All the information about promotions, special offers, upcoming events, competitions and prize draws can be found on Facebook. Visitors to the centre are clearly actively interested in what is going on inside it. “I think that numbers speak for themselves. Every year we have stable footfall and turnover. Based on the positive feedback from customers, as expressed on Facebook or sent to us in customer satisfaction surveys, I can confidently boast that customers like Galeria Echo. There has been a loyalty programme in place in the centre for over ten months, which gives out prizes for shopping here. We invest a large amount in this in terms of our marketing budget over the year. I am satisfied that the programme has been appreciated by our customers and the number of loyalty card holders has continued to grow. I can only thank our customers for the trust they have placed in us, for the fact that they have been with us all these years and want to shop and spend time in Galeria Echo,” says Wojciech Knawa. However, the company is not planning to rest on its laurels. Apart from active marketing it will also concentrate on extending the offer of the mall. “In the next few months we will continue to focus on sales promotion activities, there will be no shortage of attractions and events laid on for our customers. We will also be making the offer of the mall more attractive – a Jula market is to be opened in the second quarter of the year. I believe that its opening will contribute to increasing the complementarity of our offer and the footfall in the centre,” adds Wojciech Knawa. ν