VHL 3550 Shopping Center Management
VHL 3550 Shopping Center Management
Shopping Center Management is a specialty course oriented towards students at bachelor and masters level within retail management, marketing and real estate broker's business.
The modern shopping center is today not only a place for shopping of goods and services, but increasingly also a place for social encounters and experiences. As a center manager you not only have to make strategic plans, but also have to function as a theater manager and advisor to urban managers and planners.
Shopping center management is about economic and cultural value creation in place based service systems: Shopping centers, department stores, retail parks, super centers and other types of retail destinations. Shopping centers play a major role within the retail industry. In 2016 there were 300 shopping centers in Norway with a sales area above 5000 sq.m., and total sales (excl. sales tax) of 133 billion kroner, and 10 400 tenants (mainly stores). Shopping center management as a management area is important because value creation in such formats is, and ought to be, something more than the sum of the value creation in the separate stores if these had operated independently by themselves.
Shopping center management is a unique management area which stands out as something quite different from store management, where the marketing strategy is mainly concerned with choice of location, assortment and profile, in order to satisfy a given market segment. For a shopping center, location is given, and the center will, due to its size, have to adjust to several consumer segments in its catchment area. At the same time, it has often little control over the tenants, which have to be motivated to secure increased value creation. The shopping center management also faces considerable and unique challenges with regard to information systems and decision support.
The course is to great extent based on the results from recent research within several disciplines and contributions from visiting lecturers from leading center organizations. The main elements of the course are:
- Historical development of shopping centre format. Defining characteristics.
- A framework for strategic management of shopping centre.
- Shopping center management in practice.
- Revitalization of existing centers.
These four elements form the basis for the following grouping of expected learning outcomes.
- Be able to follow the development of society with regard to social trends and changes in regional and national center structures.
- Know the basic ideas behind important center formats.
- Know the basis for critical reflection: What will be required of management in order to develop an attractive shopping place in the present day environment, and 10 years from now? What is missing to day and why?
- Be able to communicate effectively with the main shareholders of a center: Customers, tenants and owners, and use the marketing plan as a strategic tool for choice of development direction, new tenants, managerial control, internal marketing and cooperation.
- Be able to perform the tasks of shopping center management with regard to planning and implementation of market analyses and analyses of shopping behavior, choice of and follow-up on tenants, managerial control, internal marketing and cooperation.
- Be able to map and evaluate major changes in center strategy, as the result of long term changes in the center environment and working conditions, including in times of crisis. The student shall be able to employ special types of market analysis as a basis for marketing plan revision.
Have developed a conscious attitude with regard to the shopping centers role as an efficient economic and environmental entity, and a contributor to the development of the local community.
Present day shopping centers and other centers will have to adapt to basic changes within the retail geography, demography and shopping behavior. This refers to:
- The basis for shopping center development
- Development of the department store
- Development of the shopping senter format
- A framework for strategic management of shopping centers
- Market analysis
- Senter analysis
- Situational analysis
- Strategy implementation
- Marketing
- New directions for development and revitalization
- Revitalization based on new leasing formats
- Revitalization based on experience and life styles
- Revitalization with big box formats
- The shopping centre as a social meeting place
- Shopping center and retail business as a part of place and business development
- Town center Management and marketing
The course is normally taught over one term with 36 hours of lecturing, included guest lectures and visits to nearby centers. The implementation of the course can to a great extent be adapted to the participants own and local interests. In addition to guest lectures, the course is secured a practical orientation by the requirement of doing and presenting a project assignment related to a local center or place of shopping, eventually the participants own organization.
Det tilbys kontinuasjon i gammel eksamensform/eksamenskode VHL 35501 høsten 2018 og siste gang våren 2019.
Higher Education Entrance Qualification.
None particular
| Assessments |
|---|
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 30 Grouping: Group/Individual (1 - 3) Duration: 2 Month(s) Exam code: VHL 35502 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination every semester |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Invigilation Weight: 70 Grouping: Individual Support materials:
Duration: 3 Hour(s) Exam code: VHL 35503 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination every semester |
All exams must be passed to get a grade in this course.
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Teaching | 36 Hour(s) | |
Prepare for teaching | 24 Hour(s) | |
Group work / Assignments | 40 Hour(s) | Project and training assignments |
Student's own work with learning resources | 100 Hour(s) |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.