Suzhou Center Mall named “Best New Shopping Centre” at prestigious MAPIC Awards 2018
Singapore, 16 November 2018 – Suzhou Center Mall, the largest mall in Suzhou, China, and in CapitaLand’s portfolio, has been conferred “Best New Shopping Centre” at MAPIC Awards 2018 in Cannes, France - a prestigious global retail real estate industry event which honours the best in retail properties.
Celebrating excellence, innovation and creativity in the global retail real estate industry, the MAPIC Awards, into its 23rd run, received a total of 141 entries from 35 countries this year. The “Best New Shopping Centre” award category honours the most outstanding shopping centre opened in the past year that shows innovation through new technologies, customer loyalty programmes, marketing campaigns, retail mix and architectural features that all together aim to increase footfall, customer satisfaction, average spending and offer a unique experience in a new shopping destination.
Mr Wilson Tan, CEO of CapitaLand Retail, said: “We are immensely proud that Suzhou Center Mall has emerged the Best New Shopping Centre in a hotly contested category alongside outstanding peers at MAPIC Awards 2018. CapitaLand is committed to innovating the future of retail, continually surprising and delighting our tenants and shoppers with well-designed spaces and thoughtfully-curated offerings. The successful opening of Suzhou Center Mall in end 2017 represented a new apex in CapitaLand’s track record of creating destination malls that are commercially successful. We will continue to harness our partnerships and leverage technology to deliver retail spaces that fulfil the ever-changing needs and aspirations of consumers.”
CapitaLand was the most nominated developer at MAPIC Awards 2018 with three projects making to the shortlist of 48 finalists. The other two projects were Raffles City Chongqing, China and Funan, Singapore, which were finalists in the "Best Futura Shopping Centre" category. With three award nominations, this year also marked the highest number of nominations CapitaLand scored since taking part in the annual event.
Suzhou Center Mall is an architectural masterpiece with a distinctive multi-coloured glass roof located in the heart of Suzhou Industrial Park, adjacent to the renowned Jinji Lake and traditional Suzhou city centre. Housing 600 brands across 300,000 square metres (sq m), the iconic landmark is a one-stop retail and leisure powerhouse that houses a wide range of experiential retail offerings that elevates and transforms the shopping experience. Examples include pony riding, flight simulation, indoor skiing, counter strike gaming and ice skating. Including F&B, experiential retail offerings account for about 50% of the mall’s net lettable area.
Unfazed by online shopping, the mega mall opened on 11 November 2017 – coinciding with China’s annual online shopping bonanza. Supported by a marketing campaign that began as early as February 2017, the opening of the mall was an unprecedented success – attracting 400,000 shoppers on a single day, the largest mall opening crowd ever recorded in Suzhou. Two months after opening, the mall’s footfall matched Suzhou’s population of 10 million. This is equivalent to every resident in Suzhou visiting the mall once – a testament to Suzhou Center Mall’s draw as a destination mall. A year on, Suzhou Center Mall continued to dominate Suzhou’s retail scene as the market leader, registering a footfall of close to 50 million shoppers over a 12-month period.
From development to opening, Suzhou Center Mall has received numerous accolades in China and overseas. These include RLI International Shopping Centre at Global Retail & Leisure International (RLI) Awards 2018; Best Design Award at the China Chain Store and Franchise Association Golden Lily Awards 2018; Highly Commended Award for Retail Architecture in China at the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2016; and Best Chinese Futura Mega Project at the MIPIM Asia Awards 2015.
Opening video of Suzhou Center Mall
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More about Suzhou Center Mall
Located in the heart of the western central business district of Suzhou Industrial Park, right next to the renowned Jinji Lake and traditional Suzhou city centre, the landmark retail development spans 300,000 sq m in gross floor area excluding car park – more than three times the size of ION Orchard in Singapore.
Suzhou Center Mall targets all demographics under one roof with a vibrant brand and trade mix. Among its 600 or so brands, more than half are international labels and at least 200 are new to Suzhou – bringing the quality of Tier 1 city shopping experience to the doorsteps of Suzhou’s residents. The mall also houses some 30 flagship stores of well-loved brands such as Starbucks, ZARA, H&M and Uniqlo. Shoppers are spoilt for choice with about 200 dining options serving over 20 types of cuisines. These include renowned Suzhou restaurant Song He Lou – with its 250-year history and famed for being patronised by Qing dynasty emperor Qianlong. Families with young children are never bored with 16,000 sq m of facilities tailored for China’s ’little emperors’, including Fanpekka children’s theme park – its first in Suzhou.
Designed by well-known architectural firm Benoy, Suzhou Center Mall is a city landmark crowned with a gently undulating roof that is the world’s largest free-form monocoque roof at over 36,000 sq m. Shaped like a pair of phoenix’s wings to symbolise Suzhou’s growth taking flight, the magnificent multi-coloured roof comprises 6,947 pieces of uniquely-shaped curved glass. Suzhou Center Mall boasts 60,000 sq m of lush greenery across its numerous outdoor terraces, rooftops and the landscaped cantilever bridges that extend from two ends of the mall to the lakefront. A 45-metre-wide and 25-metre-high water curtain adorns the mall’s façade facing Jinji Lake. In front of the western entrance is a 1,600 sq m semi-outdoor courtyard, the designated venue for large-scale public events. Two giant LED screens – each measuring 20 metres in height and 70 metres in width – artfully integrated with the design of the monocoque roof, offer stunning picture quality when turned on. During the day when the screens are off, the louvre design forms an artistic feature facing the Century Square outdoor plaza – a view which can be enjoyed from a distance or up close.
Shoppers tap Suzhou Center Mall’s online functionalities to access curated in-mall food and fashion trails, powered by complimentary Wi-Fi. Other online amenities include payment systems, facilities search and parking services. The CapitaStar membership system rewards shoppers with loyalty points which can be exchanged for perks in CapitaLand malls across China. The mall is also well-equipped with family-friendly facilities including nursing rooms, an infant sleeping zone, an indoor and an outdoor toddler play area. An exclusive VIP lounge offers private resting and recreational space as well as meeting rooms and business facilities.
No detail too small is overlooked at Suzhou Center Mall. Masterpieces by local and overseas artists dot the pedestrian pathways and interior spaces. The ambient music is carefully programmed and changes throughout the day. The aromatic scent wafting through the air is customised by world-class master perfumers in collaboration with the world’s only Nobel Prize winning fragrances firm Firmenich.
Suzhou Center Mall is a joint development by CapitaLand and Suzhou Hengtai Holding.
Designed by well-known architectural firm Benoy, Suzhou Center Mall is a city landmark crowned with a gently undulating roof that is the world’s largest free-form monocoque roof at over 36,000 sq m. Shaped like a pair of phoenix’s wings to symbolise Suzhou’s growth taking flight, the magnificent multi-coloured roof comprises 6,947 pieces of uniquely-shaped curved glass. Suzhou Center Mall boasts 60,000 sq m of lush greenery across its numerous outdoor terraces, rooftops and the landscaped cantilever bridges that extend from two ends of the mall to the lakefront. A 45-metre-wide and 25-metre-high water curtain adorns the mall’s façade facing Jinji Lake. In front of the western entrance is a 1,600 sq m semi-outdoor courtyard, the designated venue for large-scale public events. Two giant LED screens – each measuring 20 metres in height and 70 metres in width – artfully integrated with the design of the monocoque roof, offer stunning picture quality when turned on. During the day when the screens are off, the louvre design forms an artistic feature facing the Century Square outdoor plaza – a view which can be enjoyed from a distance or up close.
Designed by well-known architectural firm Benoy, Suzhou Center Mall is a city landmark crowned with a gently undulating roof that is the world’s largest free-form monocoque roof at over 36,000 sq m. Shaped like a pair of phoenix’s wings to symbolise Suzhou’s growth taking flight, the magnificent multi-coloured roof comprises 6,947 pieces of uniquely-shaped curved glass. Suzhou Center Mall boasts 60,000 sq m of lush greenery across its numerous outdoor terraces, rooftops and the landscaped cantilever bridges that extend from two ends of the mall to the lakefront. A 45-metre-wide and 25-metre-high water curtain adorns the mall’s façade facing Jinji Lake. In front of the western entrance is a 1,600 sq m semi-outdoor courtyard, the designated venue for large-scale public events. Two giant LED screens – each measuring 20 metres in height and 70 metres in width – artfully integrated with the design of the monocoque roof, offer stunning picture quality when turned on. During the day when the screens are off, the louvre design forms an artistic feature facing the Century Square outdoor plaza – a view which can be enjoyed from a distance or up close.
