Bella Terra Mall. Santiago.

[PICHARDO]

Bella Terra Mall
Santiago de los Caballeros.

Initial concept:






Works








Structure as final winning concept










Stores

[Robert]

The place is dead, at least it was last time I walked around a few months ago.

[jorgesarduysousa]

pretty dead

[PICHARDO]

Yup! DEAD! So dead that you can't find a store that's open for biz there... Right?

[PICHARDO]

You have a very acute problem of trying to measure what you think is biz in your country to that of the DR... Here there's no bulk foot clients, but targeted shoppers and services. Out of 100 people that visit a Mall or plaza in the DR, 75% go to buy something they'd aimed to firsthand and less than 40% would buy another article/service on the visit based on impulse buying.

In the US/UK/CA and other places I'm familiar with, over 60% of foot traffic is non-buyers and only 35% of those doing a purchase went there for that reason alone. In contrast 60% of sales are based on impulse buyers and 5% on extended services from the first sales.

This is the same "dead" as Bella Vista Mall? If it were to those that are calling it out, Bella Vista Mall would have been demolished already years ago... Strange thing is, that it continues to be on the market and is not going bankrupt like the U.S./U.K/CA malls anytime soon...

Here is a question for all of you here that "know" about biz in the DR: Tell me one plaza/mall that you "consider" to be alive based on your notion of not dead or doing good?

Just one example will suffice!

[Robert]

Take some photos of all the empty stores, no people in the mall etc.
How many stores are available as opposed to have tenants?

The only time I see it with people walking around is for the movies.

[Robert]

Take some photos of all the empty stores, no people in the mall etc.
How many stores are available as opposed to have tenants?

The only time I see it with people walking around is for the movies.

[PICHARDO]

Take some photos of all the empty stores, no people in the mall etc.
How many stores are available as opposed to have tenants?

The only time I see it with people walking around is for the movies.

Robert, this mall is relatively very new in town. This city is not Chicago or NYC!
As far as vacancies it all has to do with who's renting/buying and who got the financial backdrop to do so under the terms the mall operates. Just like any other new plaza in the DR, the operators/owners are requiring a minimal financial safety zone for their tenants. They learned the hard way that it's best to have a tenant that can support their biz long term, than one that pays the going rate and goes south in a few months.

I ask again, are there stores open or not? If so, how you think they operate based on you opinion of a dead mall?

Just like the "dead" Blue Mall, this one is undergoing the usual expat trashing about from their external understanding of what makes a biz dead or alive.

Just out of pure curiosity, which is that last DR Mall/Plaza that shut down for being "dead" here?

[PICHARDO]

Video shot last July at the "dead" Bella Terra Mall of Santiago...

I see "Dead" people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Robert]

Dead = A few people walking around, 80% of the stores available, store owners moaning no customers.

So how would you define the above?

I have been to Blue Mall maybe 25 times and have seen maybe 4-5 people actually buying something.
The only busy areas I see, are the food court, movies, sometimes the banks and Orange and Claro stores.