– The results respond to a strategy focused on the forging of strategic partnerships with high-value international brands, a sustained pace of openings and new categories, and the consolidation of the omnichannel proposition.
– During the period, 600 new stores were opened regionally, a number equivalent to three urban centers.
– Tenants’ trust is reflected in a 95% occupancy rate and the strengthening of the GLA destined for essential daily commerce like supermarkets, home improvement, services and financial boulevard, which contribute daily traffic and the habituality of visits.
Santiago, 28 February 2023 – It was a year of recovery, renewal and consolidation of Mallplaza’s urban centers and omnichannel proposition, and the company’s latest financial statement gives account of sustained recovery and positive performance, with significant annual growth in sales (20% over 2021, 29% over 2019), revenues (39% vs 2021, 24% vs 2019), EBIDTA (36% vs 2021, 19% vs 2029) and flows (3% in compared to 4Q2021), with occupancy at 95%.
“These results respond to the strategy that the company has defined to promote winning propositions that allow us to have the first omnichannel urban centers in the region, achieving our visitors’ loyalty and preference and implementing the best solutions so our Sellers and tenants can grow and develop. For this, we enhanced and reorganized the commercial mix and we drove the transformation of spaces to strengthen them as hubs in the middle of the city that are capable of delivering multiple reasons to visit with new brands, services and categories,” Plaza S.A. CEO Fernando de Peña said.
This has been driven by processes to renew and enhance the commercial proposition, which translates into the arrival of new categories such as sports centers, coworking networks and public services, in addition to the opening of 600 new stores regionally, a number equivalent to three urban centers. and where the following brands stand out: Bath and Body Work, Bold, Casaideas, Cuesta Blanca, Family Shop, Isadora, Lego, Miniso, Motorola, Natura, Puma, Studio F and The Line in Chile; Maternelle, NorthStar, Norton, Starbucks, Topitop and Tec Store in Peru; and Farmatodo and Lobisa in Colombia. The strategic partnerships with IKEA, H&M and Decathlon to open new stores in the different urban centers that the company operates are added to this. In the case of IKEA, the December 2022 opening of its second – and largest – store in Mallplaza Oeste in Chile and its upcoming arrival in Colombia with stores in Mallplaza NQS (2023) and Mallplaza Cali (2024) stand out.
From digital to physical flows
Mallplaza accelerated its omnichannel strategy in 2022, closing deals with strategic actors and strengthening its consolidation along with South America’s biggest retail ecosystem, creating a strategic position in the omnichannel value chain.
Thus, the different omnichannel services Mallplaza offers showed positive performances. This is the case with Click & Collect, which already is operating in all three countries with 19 pickup points and delivered over 186,000 orders in 2022. For its part, Pit Stop serves over 600 restaurants and stores, managing to process over 1.3 million orders that represent more than USD 17 million in sales. In addition to this are new agreements with last-mile apps and brands that move the online world’s logistics, such as Blue Express and Starken. Furthermore, incorporating the digital wallet Fpay into the new Free-Flow parking experience, available in 7 urban centers, has allowed over 200,000 users to pay using this platform. The service has also boosted the NPS, an indicator that measures customer satisfaction, by over 24 points.
Growth and projects under development
In terms of growth in GLA, Mallplaza resumed the construction of Mallplaza Cali in Colombia during 2022 and continued to progress with the renovation and improvement of the of Mallplaza Vespucio and Mallplaza NQS value propositions. “In the case of Mallplaza Vespucio, we have made progress toward an omnichannel urban center with a renewed and unprecedented entertainment proposition that is making it a favorite destination in the city. Thus, this urban center showed the second-largest visitor flow growth rate in 2022 and at the same time was the one to attract the biggest flow in the period,” De Peña explains.
This transformation of the iconic urban center in La Florida has incorporated over 19,000 m2 of new retail propositions, with brands like Bath and Body, Decathlon, Lego, Miniso, The Line and Works, among others, standing out, in addition to an entertainment proposition that is unique in the market, with a successful Movistar Game Club that has attracted many customers to the shopping center and the opening of the first Cinemark IMAX 3D theaters in Santiago. In addition, progress has been made with the construction of El Mercado, the incorporation of coworking, the Clinica Dávila proposition with over 30,000 m2 of GLA and the first multifamily residential project, which the company hopes to develop in 2023. Meanwhile, in Bogota Mallplaza NQS strengthened its fashion district with the addition of H&M and several other relevant brands in that market. It materialized the opening of the Decathlon store and the Éxito supermarket’s transformation into Éxito Wow. In dining, it added Mercado Gastronómico with a total of 23 new propositions (15 already open as of 4Q22). These changes have allowed this new urban center to be consolidated as one of the main ones in the Colombian capital, tripling the number of visitors since it became part of Mallplaza’s portfolio.
Impact on EBITDA
Mallplaza closed the year with strong operational results, showing annual growth in sales, revenue and EBITDA, which grew 36%. However, this indicator was 3% lower in 4Q2022 than in the same period in 2021, totaling CLP 70.271 billion and achieving a margin on revenues of 68%, backed by the focus on cost cutting and the team structuring during the year, but heavily offset by extraordinary expenses (once off) due to increased provision for write-offs due to the conservative projection of a more challenging macroeconomic environment in 2023, increased provision for a real estate project in Colombia and a higher marketing expenses compared to previous quarters (but maintaining its relative weight to revenue). This result is also impacted by a significant increase in the cost in property taxes that is affecting the industry. If we eliminate the effect of these extraordinary expenses, the EBITDA margin would have been 73%.
