Circulation Dynamics to Improve Commercial Activity in a Mega Mall

Abstract

Background The overall process to develop a mega mall is accomplished through extremely complex procedures from programming/ schematic plans to management issues and, above all, the most critical consideration in designing a successful mega mall heavily relies upon an elaborated tenant mix plan. 1 Nevertheless, in Korea, this most important tenant mix plan has a tendency to be decided not by a retail expert but by a developer, who is also the land owner in most cases, and by the major merchandisers, whose interests are mainly focused on their own company' s profit instead of the overall active facility consumptions. An absurd and irrational tenant mix plan can impact the whole circulation dynamics and may have a direct negative impact on sales turnover and the coefficient of utilization and its 'superiority and suitability' between tenants can 1 Bae, B.K (2010) The New Era of U.E.C(Urban Entertainment Center), Fashionbiz, January, 181-187 appear 3 to 6 months later. 2 Thus, if the first initial plan fails, then it can take at least three months to even several years to fix the initial flaws and the most serious problems due to business shut outs, leading to the no utilization of commercial space, which will eventually reduce overall profit. 3 Meanwhile, the first multipurpose facility in Korea is the Korea World Trade Center: COEX (COnvention & EXhibition) that was built in 1979. It was totally a new architectural concept at the time, and later in 2000, an underground mega mall was built. Due to its enormous success, its design strategy and spatial composition became a prototype to many similar mega malls in Korea. Furthermore, according to the future plans, COEX Mall connected with subway line 2, which is the Samsung Station, will be connected with the new subway line 9, ASEM Station, and also has a partial remodeling plan scheduled to be completed by 2014. On account of this, the intention of this study is to identify any initial design 2 Anita, K., et. al. (2008) Retail Development, 4th Edition, ULI Development handbook series. Washington D.C., ULI-the Urban Land Institute 3 The mega mall 'Garden Five' , which opened in 2009 in Korea, failed in commercial lots sale and lost enormous amount of money as in 2013 and it is still struggling under deficit operation. The Shops at the Garden Five was supposed to create hundreds of new jobs but among 8360 commercial lots, 1300 lots are still on sale and 4,000 lots are currently out of business. In fact, it was never fully occupied, and it seems that this facility ended up in trouble anyway because of poor site selection and misguided leasing efforts. Currently, this unfortunate example is undergoing a major, yet questionable renewal plan.