Group Members:

 Yuki SHIMOKAWARA (1155138599)

 TSE Lau Mei Elise (1155152148)
 LEUNG Chun Hei, Winsor (1006653 724)
 Kazuya DOHI (1155147274)
 Jieqiong MA, Eileen (1155154186)
 Shaarang BEGANI (1155155892)
 Table of Contents
1. Background and Summary............................................................................................................3
2. Mega Trends and Technology Building Blocks.............................................................................4
3. Opportunities that Lay Ahead......................................................................................................6
4. Risk of NOT Transforming.............................................................................................................7
5. Economic and Social Benefits.......................................................................................................8
6. Key Option and SWOT Analysis....................................................................................................9
6.1 SWOT Analysis..............................................................................................................................10
7. Way Forward...............................................................................................................................11
7.1 Implementation Plan..............................................................................................................11
7.2 Key Competencies Required...................................................................................................12
7.3 Key Recommendations...........................................................................................................13
8. References...................................................................................................................................13
 1. Background and Summary

All Stars Properties Management is the brand name of a leading Chinese family which runs
chains of shopping malls in the South East and East Asian markets mostly consisting of high-
end brands. A study by the group shows that with the advent of innovation and digitalization,
the offline sales are slowly taking a downside. People prefer applications which are easy and
convenient. And to top it all, the novel Coronavirus has highly affected the revenue. In order
to sustain and once again revitalize itself, ASPM needs an offensive strategy of
digitalization. As the CEO of ASPM I present to you a series of topics which will make the
board believe that it is indeed imperative for ASPM to innovate for a better future. The report
below talks about the following topics:

1) The current mega trends of the industry and the building blocks affecting the
industry
2) The opportunities that lay ahead and how to tap them
3) Costs of not transforming
4) Economic and Social Benefits of going digital
5) Key Options Available in transforming the company
6) The way forward

Well, it is quite clear that it is going to be difficult to completely change the strategy of the
group, but to sustain and become the market leaders a step overlooking the future is
extremely important.
 2. Mega Trends and Technology Building Blocks

Our life is supported by digitization in most of the areas. Digitization has made our life easier
and replaced the unnecessary labour, thus creating a lot of new business ideas related to
Artificial Intelligence and population of Internet users. According to a leading digital study
the countries with the leading average eCommerce revenue per shoppers are: USA
($1,804), UK ($1,629), Sweden ($1,446), France ($1,228), Germany ($1,064), Japan ($968),
Spain ($849), China ($626), Russia ($396), and Brazil ($350).

Source:
Online Shopping Statistics You Need to Know in 2021by Coral Ouellette on December 11, 2020

Therefore, more and more shopping malls are starting to create their own online platform so
that the customers can have a better shopping experience. At the same time, it can reduce the
cost for the entrepreneurs. All Star Properties Management needs to come up with an
application to face competition and boost sales during the pandemic.  With the advent of
digitalization which can actually help you visualize how your drawing room would look like
at the tap of a button, companies that choose to stay offline are going to suffer a huge blow.

The Gen Z, love to make use of social media to share their daily lives. Shopping has now
evolved from offline stores to online ones which in turn saves time and money leading to the
rise of E-commerce platforms. Such mobile applications will create the big data trend saving
your shopping data in their databases and automatically showing your shopping preference
whenever you use them. As of 2018, the digital buyers’ penetration rate worldwide is 47.3%.
If we’re looking at statistics by gender, the difference between the percentage of male and
female shoppers isn’t a breath stopper — 72% are women, while 68% are men.

Source: Online Shopping Statistics You Need to Know in 2021 by Coral Ouellette on December 11, 2020

New generations have already started to adapt to the digital life since they were born,
therefore they have a strong mindset and desire towards a smart city concept regarding health
care, eating, transportation and even shopping to increase their life mobility and efficiency.
And this will initiate the 4th industrial revolution based on the use of cyber-physical systems,
compared to the 1st industrial revolution based on the introduction of mechanical production
equipment driven by the water and steam power. Therefore, it initiates the emergence of new
industries such as product customization, new sales and distribution channels, Market to
market communication and even cloud computing. These all will make our life even more
convenient and finally we must rely heavily on the Internet.

3.Opportunities that Lay Ahead

Despite the shrinking customer footprint, several opportunities have still emerged under the
current COVID-19 pandemic owing to the increasing use of technology by customers. ASPM
must very seriously weigh its opportunities to get back into the game after months of
lockdown and absolutely no sales. The opportunities that lie ahead are:
 
(a)   Digital channels are more acceptable to customers
 
The increasing trend of shopping through mobile platforms has already been observed in
recent years, which has to a certain extent affected the revenue of physical stores.  Under
the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are forced to stay at home and thus most shopping
activities have shifted to online platforms.  If we venture into digital shopping at a mall
scale, we may be able to easily gain substantial market share and benefit our tenants.
 

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD Policy Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19), accessed
30 November 2020, < https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/e-commerce-in-the-time-of-covid-19-3a2b78e8/>

(b)  Leverages between physical malls and digital platforms and cultivate a

better shopping experience
 
There could be a complementary effect for tenants who have physical presence in the
shopping mall as well as the new online channel.  Digital channels could widen the reach
of customers of different demographic, allow more customers to “see and touch” the
products before they buy, and become a driver to motivate customers to come to the mall,
which could benefit other tenants.  Discounts and promotions can be promoted through
online channel, and if customers shop through the mall’s digital channel or physically,
more discounts/rewards could be provided.  Tenants on the other hand may also be able to
save more labour costs as sales are partly conducted via digital channel.

 
(c)   Chances of obtaining and tracking customer data
 
 Developing a dual shopping mall channel, i.e. physical and digital, could also allow us to
harness a vast amounts of customer data generated online to create targeted, personalised
experiences, and seizing the opportunity to continue the conversation with potential
customers after they have visited our malls.  It would be an opportunity to track
customer’s behaviours to a larger extent, with less concerns from customers’ data privacy
point of view.  Such information would not only benefit the strategic planning of the
shopping mall; it can also be sold to tenants as an add-on service.  Such data could be
used for a more targeted marketing by the tenants (e.g. electronic promotions are sent to
specific groups of customers; build loyalty through discounts to customers who purchase
at the mall regularly etc.).

4. Risk of NOT Transforming

Living in digital revolution times represents the combination of new technologies. All sectors
of the economy are getting disrupted causing customer expectation and preferences to shift.
In other words, going digital is not really an option but a necessity during such unprecedented
times. The costs of not moving into the digital world can be explored as below:

1) Lose relevance – Without a digital presence, it’s easy to be lost in a sea of fast-
moving strategy. If All Stars Properties Management does not go digital or quicky
adapt to the ‘new normal’ its game over for them. In such times when people refrain
from moving out of their houses, a digital shopping mall on their fingertips would be
very trending
2) Inability to collect data analytics – Consumer data would allow ASPM to
understand preferences and in turn learn what works and what does not. Without such
insights ASPM would make detrimental strategy errors.
3) Cost Increment – A huge upside to digital is that it can be done at low cost and suit
all budgets. By getting digitised, ASPM will decrease various additional and fixed
costs which it is incurring now.

If ASPM does not respond to market changes brought about by innovation in general and the
pandemic in specific which is here to stay for sometime at least, because of a fixed mindset or
because they did not read the market right, they are in for a big trouble.
 5. Economic and Social Benefits

Transforming into digital for ASPM, the most valuable benefit both economically and
socially is the regional revitalization. The department store sales worldwide is declining
because of the replacement of the online store. Moreover, people 65 and older in 2020 is
18.2% in Hong Kong. By 2050, Hong Kong is predicted to reach at 34.5%, and China at
27.6%. Obviously, the total population is going to decline more than before. Overall, it will
be difficult for retailers to maintain tenants in the local area. In addition, it will lead to being
an inconvenient situation for local citizens. They will not be able to buy products or services
quickly and may not be able to see real products in the future because a lot of shops will be
replaced to the online mode.

In addition to this, it will enable the protection of the natural environment. Traditional retails
tend to have more inventory than customer needs. Obviously, they are going to dispose of
stock that cannot sell. However, by collecting and using data properly, they can optimize
their inventory. As a result, it protects our environment.

Finally, we encourage not only customer satisfaction but also employee empowerment.
Through the data, it will be beneficial to understand customer preference and engagement to
gain customer satisfaction. Moreover, it will be able to avoid complaints from the customer.
Employees can make a better working environment thanks to transforming into digital.

6. Key Option and SWOT Analysis

 OPTION PROS CONS
1 Establish their own EC platforms •Increase sales channel •Fierce competition

•Easy entry •No differentiation

2 Adopt fancy technologies and •Monetise tracking data •Lack of digital talents
provide tech-driven solutions for
tenants •Sound sexy •Huge investment

3 Transform shopping malls into a •Differentiate from EC platform •Influence of covid-19

touchpoint to maximise customer
experience. •Utilise real store •Little know-how

•Enhance loyalty and CX

•Opportunity for senior

business

I recommend option 3. The core competence of shopping malls lies in customer experience.
Platformers and digital companies are overwhelmingly stronger in tech-touch. But large
companies with strong high/low-touch competencies fail to utilise its strengths (i.e. shopping
malls and retailers) because they think that it must do digital, and try to compete only in tech-
touch. Therefore, Shopping malls should utilise their advantages in physical stores as a
high/low-touch point and promote Digital transformation (DX) with a focus on transforming
User experience (UX). It is important to connect tech touch and high/low-touch to create
synergies, that is, loops that connect touchpoints.

Customer success theory: https://openviewpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/User-base-segmentation.png

Online shopping is becoming popular, but the EC rate (the ratio of EC to total purchases) has
peaked at about 20% in China and 15% in the US. Jack Ma predicts that it will eventually
converge. There are two reasons why Alibaba has eroded from online to offline, 1) dealing
with the wall of 20% EC rate, and 2) the customer acquisition cost offline has become
cheaper than online.

On the other hand, D2C (direct to consumer) brands that do not use powerful platformers is
increasing in each country. They offer products with their own philosophy and special values
that are not available on major EC platforms. Shopify has emerged in the US, and a company
called BASE in Japan has helped create EC sites for small private stores, providing digital
marketing and payment solutions. The biggest challenge for the D2C brands is that they do
not have a physical store, and it is not easy to improve their name recognition.

6.1 SWOT Analysis

S STRENGTHS W WEAKNESSES

1. High/Low-touch 1. Tech touch

2. Real store 2. Lack of digital talents
3. Customer service 3. Low flexibility
4. Operation know-how 4. Low efficiency
5. Limitation to variety of goods sold

O OPPORTUNITIES T THREATS

1. D2C brand emergence 1. Prolonged Covid-19

2. Diversification of consumer needs 2. Decreasing rent income
3. Privacy data protection 3. Decreasing customer traffic
4. Weakening human relation 4. Increasing online shopping
5. Efficiency first principle 5. Strong ecommerce competitors
6. Ageing population
7. Way Forward

For the shopping scene, it is necessary to carry out store transformation and online shopping
experience design. ASPM should look at the following suggestions:

Firstly, change business thinking and focus on user experience

In the new retail era, customers are not simply moved from online scenes to current scenes,
but through consumer behavior data, we can better understand consumers’ behavior habits,
and design and provide targeted consumer preferences. Experience service, only in this way
can expand user base, increase customer stickiness and traffic, enhance customer interaction
and experience, and increase sales conversion.

Secondly, supply chain management

Under the new retail model, the boundary between online and offline has become very
blurred, and consumers are always active in online and offline scenarios. Companies need to
change their concepts, focus on the location of consumers and the time of consumption, and
strive to interact with consumers in more scenarios to cover the entire consumption process
from demand to purchase to return, and increase traffic and conversion rate . However, the
traditional internal management of enterprises still divides operation management and
performance assessment according to business types. To achieve cross-channel integration,
internal management changes are required.

Thirdly, business model innovation

In the era of new retail, consumers have higher requirements for consumer experience. Not
only does it include purchasing the products you need in a convenient way anytime,
anywhere, but it also includes the requirements for speed, product types, and the experience
of all aspects of the consumption process. Therefore, compared with the past, retail
companies not only need to have a fixed channel of product supply, but even need to flexibly
challenge product supply according to their customer positioning. You can choose to
outsource or self-build.

7.1 Implementation Plan

 Recruitment of digital talent and promotion of in-house digital education
 Create a comprehensive shopping mall app that allows you to access tenant
information and EC sites
 Build Owned Media
 Deliver event announcements and product and tenant information proposals based on
customer behaviour data
 Use gamification to improve the user attachment of apps and visits to stores
  Partnership with Shopify and D2C brands to attract tenants
 Create an environment where families with kids can go
 → Hold workshops for kids and parents
 → Deepen relationships with people

 Attract clinics and pharmacies for infants and the elderly

 → Transform into a place to stay instead of shopping (corresponding to an ageing
society)

Pro fit & Lo yalty

Clinics and pharmacies Workshops for D2C brands

(Senior business) kids and parents Experience

Shopping mall app

Event announcements
Owned Media Gamification
Product/Tenant info

Data

7.2 Key Competencies Required

The skills that ASPM needs to focus on include:

 Consumer-centric business philosophy

 The ability of data management in the whole consumption process

 Omni-channel supply chain integrated management

 Organizational upgrading and adaptability within the enterprise

 Scale of Challenges Faced When Transforming
Into New Retail

25%
19%

11% 11% 11%

7% 6% 5% 5%
t on st on d y t p ty
en co se lic os ga l
m ati s titi ur po tc l ya
ge nov tic pe s o
rif ke ita r lo
an
a in gi
s m re ar a r p e
el lo co an t m ca om
n
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od m nd st
ai
sm hu xa cu
ch ta
ly es
upp us in
s b

Source: Deloitte Analysis

7.3 Key Recommendations

 Transform shopping malls into a place to meet something new and a touchpoint to
maximise customer experience.
 Build a strong and loyal relationship with local consumers
 Provide a real business platform for digital-native companies.
 Prepare to enter the senior business

8. References

 https://swirenews.swire.com/2019-01/Centre-Stage.html
 https://www.marketing-interactive.com/frasers-property-retail-pushes-out-new-
ecommerce-platform
 https://www.pwc.co.uk/services/consulting/accelerate-digital/retail-digital-
transformation.html
 https://www.leewayhertz.com/digital-transformation-in-retail/
 https://daxueconsulting.com/new-retail-in-china-daxue-consulting/
 https://www.protocol.com/b8ta-coronavirus-retail

 Deloitte analysis, JDA global CEO omni-channel business survey

 China Chain Store & Franchise Association survey of member companies of
Leadership Summit

 CCFA，Retail industry development survey