It’s the heartbeat of the newly established Cornubia precinct where friends meet for an early morning cycle, creatives are inspired to make new content and families gather to eat, be entertained and shop.
Their commitment to the community and genuine interest in offering well thought out retail, food and entertainment options packaged in a friendly, open-air environment is the secret to Cornubia Mall’s success. Despite the tough economic climate, they are boasting a 99 per cent occupancy rate and a steadily climbing growth rate – a strong position that the mall’s General Manager, Lara Gracie, says they are proud to have achieved.
“In order to be competitive in this market, we needed to have a point of differentiation. We have seen an increasing demand for value offerings and have focused our attention on attracting tenants in that market.” A good move, as the opening of their Puma outlet store and Adidas/Reebok outlet store coupled with the new Teds Home Store was received with open pockets last year. Value Co. another first for Durban is a large format general merchandise store that will be opening at the mall later this year.
“With the economy being the way it is, it doesn’t matter how affluent you are, everyone is looking for a value offering,” adds Lara. “We can see by the increased foot count and the fuller carpark that we are on the right track. Last year we saw a 17 per cent growth rate and January has shown us that we are continuing in that vein.”
One of the major drawcards to visiting the colourful mall is having access to free, undercover parking. “The basement parking is quite a hidden jewel. It is such a convenient space to park, not only because it is free, but also because of the easy access into the mall. You can park directly at the Woolworths lift which takes you straight into Woolies. It is such a novel feature.”
Another quirky idea is the vintage line offered by Style Lab – an exclusive stockist of Jenni Button, Hilton Weiner, Urban, Vertigo and Aca Joe. “We encourage our tenants to add their own feel to the mall, just like we love to see our shoppers use and enjoy the mall not just for shopping, but also as a community space and platform. We’ve had guys shoot their dance and music videos here, making use of our arty murals and creative spaces. We love that!”
Encouraging an active lifestyle and a healthy community, the mall’s Cycle Lab offers a Saturday morning 5:30am start Road Ride catering for beginners and intermediate riders. Beginner riders take on 40km and the intermediate riders 70km.
“We also see our early morning gym goers jogging or walking around the mall, especially on very hot or rainy days, as the 1,2-kilometre circumference is almost entirely undercover. It’s these unique features that we believe add value to our community and sets us apart from other malls.”
It’s their commitment to be in touch with the community’s needs and wants that has seen them thrive and has made their three-year journey a great experience, according to Iain Burns from Investec Property, the owners of the mall. “We see our relationship with Cornubia Mall as a partnership and we are very hands on and involved in the mall’s development and continuously strive to evolve and keep up with the trends,” says Iain. “We have seen a big shift towards convenience in the shopping sector, which Cornubia has really proven to cater to.”
Details: 031 001 0160 / Follow them on Facebook / Instagram: Cornubia Mall, visit the website: www.cornubiamall.co.za or contact Lara at [email protected]
Trading Hours: Mon – Fri : 09:00 – 18:00. Saturday : 09:00 – 17:00, Sunday &
Public Holidays 09:00 – 15:00
