The national dialogue has increasingly been focused on improving equitable accessibility for all, especially with special measures that allow both minorities and women to benefit from unique prospects provided for them. Major U.S. malls have jumped on this bandwagon, and are pleased to introduce programs geared specifically toward helping these minority/female business owners gain access to retail space in their shopping centers.
The Westfield Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, N.J., owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), introduced an initiative earlier this year aimed at increasing market exposure for underrepresented retail tenants via special terms, such as reduced costs and shorter leases. Working toward this goal, the mall is partnering with the New Jersey Small Business Development Center at Ramapo College, which is located about 15 miles away from the shopping center, and which provides added support to these business owners such as marketing advice and business plan counseling.
Thanks to this initiative, two businesses are already up and running with kiosk spaces in the mall: Chic Sugars, a cake tenant; and Tonnie’s Minis, a cupcake customization tenant.
“Westfield Garden State Plaza’s small business collaborative with the Small Business Development Center allows smaller businesses the opportunity to be seen on the same platform as large corporations that dominate the retail space,” said Erika Oldham, the proprietor of Chic Sugars. “The customer response has been great. It’s really reinforced that we have some established brand recognition here in the area and that people are really eager to try our variety of offerings.”
Tonnie Rozier, the proprietor of Tonnie’s Minis, agreed that the initiative has allowed him a much wider audience for his cupcakes.
“Anyone with a little ambition must take advantage of this amazing opportunity to share their product and brand with the millions of people that enter Westfield Garden State Plaza mall,” Rozier said. “For many, including myself, it’s a dream come true.”
Additional minority-owned tenants are currently being reviewed for retail space in the Westfield Garden State Plaza, and will soon have their own kiosk or traditional mall units. URW has expressed interest in expanding this initiative concept into even more of its U.S. malls in the future.
