The malls aim to be leisure destinations rather than
just shopping centres, which encourages families to travel
from further afield and spend an entire day enjoying
the facilities. Supermarkets, cinemas, trampoline parks
and children’s playgrounds have also been incorporated
to attract more people.
“Outlet malls are usually located in suburban areas of the
city, which means customers often need to travel for one or
two hours to get there. We want to make each of our malls
an iconic tourist attraction, so that people are willing to spend
extra hours driving to shop and enjoy our services,” Bryan says.
“Each of our malls has a theme that combines designer
outlet shopping with local cultural elements. Together with
our unparalleled guest services, excellent collection of stylish
cafes and restaurants, and around 200 fashion and lifestyle
boutiques, we aim to make each of our malls a premium
retail destination in each city.”
Acknowledging the importance of providing consumers
with an online–offline integrated experience, Bryan says
the business launched a new mobile app called Jumax last
December. “This gives customers a new shopping channel via
a mobile app, which operates on the WeChat platform used
by most Chinese mobile phone users. The app is integrated
with the marketing model specific to an outlet mall, to
effectively boost sales,” he explains.
Beijing Capital Grand also has a membership program that
allows the outlets to gather data and build loyal customer bases.
“It classifies members into different levels for management,
to tap into the merits of economies of scale,” Bryan says.
“In addition, a personalised customer communication service
system has been established to maintain frequent and in-depth
interaction with members, identify target consumer groups
and increase the repurchase rate.”
While customer relations are important to Beijing Capital
Grand, the company also highly values its partnerships with
suppliers. “We have forged strategic alliances with many
premium brands and increased joint operations,” Bryan says.
“Our aim is to develop an ecosystem that benefits consumers
and brand owners as well.”
Since joining Beijing Capital Grand in 2003, Bryan has
held various senior management positions. He spent nearly
two years as Vice President before being appointed CEO
in 2017, and says he’s determined to make the company
a rewarding place to work. “We listen to our employees
and provide feedback,” he says.
“We encourage job rotation so that our employees can
have a more diverse and comprehensive understanding of
our business and strategy, which in turn could be a driving
force for corporate growth. At Beijing Capital Grand, we
value and encourage innovation and participation, so that our
employees are motivated to learn new skills and sometimes
even voluntarily take on cross-departmental projects.”
As Bryan looks to the future, he believes his team is
well equipped to continue to grow the business. “Over
the next few years, rapid development will continue in the
outlet industry,” he predicts.
“As the squeeze on channels, resources and space in
first- and second-tier Chinese cities continues, there will be
opportunities for the innovation and upgrade of inventory
projects as well as joint operations. Meanwhile, new outlets
will gradually become concentrated in lower tier cities.”Jump to it
Last year, Jump360 trampoline theme parks
were opened in the Nanchang and Wuhan
outlets. Designed to appeal to a wide range of
ages, these massive parks feature trampolines,
extreme dodgeball, obstacle courses, ninja
and warrior courses, foam pits and volleyball.
“Jump360 offers a unique experience
that has drastically increased customer
traffic and brought great opportunities for
local consumer groups to relax and enjoy
parent–child interaction,” Bryan says.“We want to
make each of our
malls an iconic
tourist attraction.”
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