A total of 14 IFTM students recently attended a guest lecture focused on retail operations at Sands Shoppes Macao. The talk also discussed a group project requiring undergraduates to come up with a proposal for a 'pop-up shop at the shopping mall of The Londoner Macao integrated resort.
Sands Shoppes Macao is an interconnected group of malls comprising the retail areas of several resorts on Cotai – namely The Venetian Macao, The Plaza Macao, The Londoner Macao and The Parisian Macao – plus the shops at the Sands Macao complex on the citys peninsula. Sands Shoppes Macao is run by integrated resort operator Sands China Ltd and encompasses Macaos largest luxury duty-free shopping operation, with more than 850 retailers.
Sands Chinas Associate Director - Mall Management, Ms. Viola Leong, was the invited speaker for the guest lecture. The event took place at the Forward Building on IFTMs Taipa Campus on 9 March.
The talk was for Year 2 students in the Chinese-language stream of the Tourism Retail and Marketing Management Bachelors Degree Programme, namely those taking the course on Principles of Retailing. Lecturer Ms. Belina Lei hosted the event.
The talk provided students with an opportunity to learn more about mall management, from shop leasing to mall operations and retail marketing. The lecture offered attendees practical insights regarding concepts featured in the syllabus of the Principles of Retailing course.
The event rounded up a group assignment requiring the IFTM students to prepare a proposal for a 'pop-up shop at the shopping mall at The Londoner Macao, Sands Chinas freshly-branded and refurbished property on Cotai. For the project, students were required to perform a market analysis in order to find a suitable brand for such an endeavour.
The project aimed for students to become familiar with various retailing management topics, such as target market selection, the assembling of the product mix, pricing strategies, and retail operations.
For the assignment, the class was divided into 3 groups. Each group chose a brand and drafted a plan for setting up a 'pop-up shop – i.e., a temporary store – at The Londoner Macao.
Plans had to include a description of the specific products/services to be sold at the 'pop-up store. Students also had to provide sourcing details and a breakdown of operational costs. Other requirements included ensuring that the products or services to be sold appealed to shoppers from the Mainland. The participants were also told that the products or services chosen should not create a risk of a negative impact on Sands Chinas corporate image, nor overlap existing retail offerings at Sands Shoppes Macao.
The brands chosen by the students for the pop-up shops were: a collaboration between Chinese toymaker Pop Mart and Japanese collectable toy figure brand Be@rbrick; Floris London, an English fragrance and toiletry brand; and London-based fashion label Shrimps.
During the guest lecture, the students presented their group proposals to Ms. Leong. She provided feedback on each of the proposals, offering valuable advice.
The talk ended with a question-and-answer segment.
The Principles of Retailing course introduces students to essential retailing concepts such as determination of target market, shop location analysis, store layout and organisation, staffing, planning, merchandising and pricing techniques, customer service policies, sales skills and store operations. Such knowledge is highly valuable for entrepreneurs starting a retail business or for professionals engaged in retail operations management.