Sands commitment to retail now bearing fruit

A man checks a mobile phone as he walks past an advertisement inside Shoppes at Cotai Central

Las Vegas Sands is portrayed as an operator particularly active in the non-gaming component of its Macau and Singapore resorts in a review published last week by the multimedia financial services company Motley Fool.
The article titled “Shopping at Las Vegas Sands: How This Company Is Winning More Than Just Gaming Revenue” recalls that, during the first quarter of 2014, gross revenue from tenants (brands renting shop space within Las Vegas Sands resorts) at Macau properties and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore amounted to USD108.4 million, representing a 27.7-percent increase year-on-year.
“The operating profit for the Asian retail segment looked even better with an increase of 34.6 percent for the same period (…),” it reads.
According to the review, Sands’ bet on the Cotai Strip “has proven stronger than those of competitors and this will remain so.” “The two casinos on the strip owned by Sands, which include the Sands Cotai Central casino resort, reported a 61-percent jump in revenue and a more than 250-percent surge in operating income for 2013.”
Furthermore, Motley Fool regards Parisian, the company’s new resort under development at Cotai Strip, as an asset that will allow Sands to continue dominating this area.
Las Vegas Sands executives have pointed out that the rise in the number of tourists and overnight stays in the company’s properties is likely to spur non-gaming revenue, such as retail, in coming years.
The Motley Fool report follows the recent expansion of Shoppes at Cotai Central area, accommodating a total of 34 new retail shops. Home decor brand Zara Home, major British retailer Marks & Spencer, and kids’ designer apparel stores are intended to strengthen the family-
oriented offering at Sands Cotai Central shopping mall.
With the opening of Phase III, 150,00 square feet of retail space has been added, bringing the total number of stores to 140. In a press release, the company stressed that this has increased the shopping center’s space in operation by 70 percent.
Senior vice president of Global Retail, Sands Retail, Mr David Sylvester, has said that the new shops were specifically chosen “to strengthen the family offering here in Macau.”
“Our team constantly studies and reviews our customers’ needs and tenancy mix to ensure [that] we are adapting to the progression of Chinese consumers and family visitors (…)” he added.
Figures provided by the gaming operator show that, in 2013, Shoppes at Cotai Central attracted more than 8.5 million visitors, generating over USD260 million in sales.
Designer clothing brands for children – such as Aquascutum Junior, Armani Junior, Moschino Junior, and Ralph Lauren Kids – are among the new shops, as well as fashion sportswear Nautica and Nike. In addition, travel accessories Samsonite Black Label, and other shops, will be new offerings in men’s and women’s fashion, lifestyle, cosmetics and dining.
For spring 2015, “the first-ever player-centric, live-action, role-
playing theme park in the world” will be opening. The company says “Planet J” is “a breakthrough immersive family-entertainment concept,” which comes to complement existing offerings, such as DreamWorks Experience at Cotai Strip Resorts, Qube 2 Kid’s Play Zone, as well as one of the biggest candy houses in town at Kid’s Cavern.
Mr David Sylvester stressed that Sands’ retail strategy lies in accommodating the needs of different consumer demographics, connecting them with the retail brands that most appeal to them.
Being physically interconnected, Shoppes at Four Seasons, Shoppes at Venetian, and Shoppes at Cotai Central “create a ‘one-stop’ shopping destination for local consumers and tourists, particularly those who may be pressed for time and are seeking for mass market, prime upscale and luxury items (…)” he added.
Meanwhile, with the rising number of Chinese tourists interested in acquiring luxury items in Macau’s shopping malls, the Shoppes at Four Seasons has also renovated and expanded its offerings.
The newly renovated Shoppes at Four Seasons, scheduled to open in late fall 2014, will comprise ten additional luxury brands, such as Bally, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, Fratelli Rossetti, Jimmy Choo, Kurt Geiger, Lana Marks, MCM, Marina Rinaldi, and Rene Caovilla.
The renovated space features seven duplex stores totaling 39,000 square feet. Sands Retail says that other brands moving into the duplex stores are still to be announced.
The property has been awarded with the RLI Shopping Center Renovation 2014 prize at the ninth annual Global Retail & Leisure (RLI) Awards. The RLI Shopping Center Renovation 2014 award category recognizes the shopping center that demonstrates innovation while renewing its space in terms of architecture and design.
“The tenant mix we have at each property is unique to the market, which will reinforce our positioning as one of the best integrated shopping centers in the world,” said David Sylvester. CP