Transforming the Retail Experience

The future retail experience and how it informed the thinking for the retail component of The Exchange TRX

- Rubini Kamalakaran

“It can’t be a mall or we are not being true to our vision,” says Mitch Wilson, Head of Retail at Lendlease, referring to the retail component of The Exchange TRX. Defining it instead as a platform that provides a series of diverse experiences, where the community can come together, socialise and enjoy in their own unique way, indicates a departure from the retail experience that we are used to. “We’re about curating experiences for the community through partnerships with retail partners, event organisers and societies that will allow us to provide a unique offering,” explains Wilson. For residents, it will fulfil daily needs and special moments with a myriad of choice encounters that are found nowhere else.

A concept that resulted from extensive research and a development cycle that spanned six to 10 years, it was inspired by Lendlease’s values and vision of creating a positive legacy focused on strong engagement with the community and creating places where communities thrive. It’s about working with their retail partners and having a conversation with them about what is the truly Malaysian connection that they are going to provide. “We’re focused on creating what the community is looking for. By creating a thriving space where people want to visit for its unique experiences and hang out, the rest will come naturally. I think the days of promoting shopping centres as the biggest, brightest and shiniest—they are long gone and they are just not relevant to the consumers today.”