CapitaLand, Alibaba raise bar on omni-channel retail model

Singapore

SOUTH-EAST Asia's real estate giant and Singapore's very own CapitaLand appears ready to crank things up to grab a slice of the action in the booming e-commerce retail space. And what better way to meld "bricks with clicks" than to join hands with two leading e-commerce players - Alibaba and Lazada - to position itself as an "omni-channel" retail landlord?

In China, CapitaLand inked an agreement to manage Alibaba Shanghai Center - the e-commerce giant's new headquarters in Shanghai, which will comprise four office towers and a retail podium - to "reinvent modern retail".

Under this tie-up, CapitaLand will oversee the pre-opening and management of the shopping podium and one of the four office towers in Alibaba Shanghai Center, which has a total gross floor area, excluding carpark, of about 80,000 square metres.

At home, the industry stalwart is partnering with Lazada to launch an exclusive online mall on Lazada Singapore to connect retailers to shoppers offline and online.

Shoppers will also have the unique option to collect their purchases in CapitaLand malls and by doing so, earn some membership points under the CapitaStar rewards programme.

"The key to unlocking the next stage of growth lies in blending physical and digital channels to create a seamless O&O (offline and online) experience that is sought after by consumers," said CapitaLand president and group chief executive Lim Ming Yan. "We will continue to leverage digital tools and partner disrupters to strengthen our customer engagement.

"Neither an offline-only nor online-only business model will work; it is in the combination of O&O where long-term success can be found," he added.

For starters, in Singapore, CapitaLand will roll out two unmanned click-and-collect lounges at Plaza Singapura and Bugis+ for shoppers to collect and return parcels.

Apart from collection lockers, the lounges will have fitting rooms and a product-testing bench to sweeten the shopping experience.

The online mall is expected to be launched by end-2017 with both CapitaLand and Lazada saying they will allocate resources to promote the platform to shoppers with the intention of rapidly scaling up in the next two years.

"As the owner and manager of Singapore's largest network of shopping malls, we have embarked on creating a digital channel that supports our mall tenants in tapping the growth potential of e-commerce," said CapitaLand Mall Asia chief executive Jason Leow, adding that the collaboration will draw shoppers to its malls and in the long run, cut last-mile delivery costs for retailers.

Lazada Group, South-east Asia's largest e-commerce platform, which counts Alibaba as its largest shareholder, entered Singapore three years ago and according to Lazada Singapore's chief executive Alexis Lanternier, is one of the group's fastest-growing markets in the region.

With this latest pact, shoppers have the option to click-and-collect and also benefit from free delivery and have 14 days to return their products.

READ MORE: Asia Pacific retailers look to implement click-and-collect system: study