Over the past decade, Region Group has not only expanded its portfolio nearly twofold but also redefined the role of retail centres within their communities. By fostering deep community engagement, Region Group has positioned its centres as vital hubs of social interaction and support. This commitment is evident in its extensive community initiatives, including more than 800 engagement activities and substantial contributions to local causes. Through thoughtful and localised programs, Region Group exemplifies the belief that true commercial success is achieved by giving back to the community, while also aligning with the long-term vision of sustainable impact.
SCA (Shopping Centres Australasia) Property Group (SCP), was originally formed by Woolworths to manage some 56 convenience-based centres valued at $1.4 billion in growing neighbourhood and regional areas.
Woolworths transferred its ownership to SCP, which was then listed on the ASX as a separate-independent real estate investment trust in November 2012.
In those days, expert retail property management was rare in the convenience-based, neighbourhood and regional sectors; it was confined to the larger centres – Big Guns and Little Guns – and, generally speaking, ‘management’ of these smaller centres consisted mainly of rent collection and property maintenance. However, all that was about to change over the next decade as the larger players moved into the sector with the realisation that these centres could, with expert management, reap significant rewards. SCA led the pack and almost doubled the number of centres it held.
On its 10th anniversary, in 2022, SCA Property Group re-branded and the Region Group emerged. This move represented so much more than a simple name change; it was a statement that the group had matured; a declaration that there were now no boundaries in what they did; it also established a ‘brand identity’ that provided a cohesive look and feel across the 99 centres under its management.
But of greater importance, the re-branding reflects the company’s evolved purpose of ‘Supporting better communities through life’s essentials’. That is the cornerstone of the re-branding, because it states succinctly the Region Group’s philosophy, its values, its corporate morality and the fundamental principles by which it conducts its business.
‘Supporting better communities through life’s essentials’ is no slick line; it’s not just another feel-good quip nor a clever marketing slogan; quite simply, it’s how Region Group operates. As Lauren Vaux, General Manager, Brand and Corporate Communications, says: “It’s our purpose and it’s foundational as to how we deliver our Everyday Essentials commitments.” The strategies adopted reflect the reality of the statements.
Since re-branding, Region Group conducted an exercise with CommBank iQ to map its customer groups against national averages in Australia. Its largest customer groups fall into the aging demographic and families that live in rural areas. It’s a diverse portfolio with regard to tenant mix, geographical locations, and regions with diverse socio-economic and cultural communities.
In our industry, we are all aware of the link between our centres’ positioning as a ‘place’ for community and that of commercial success. The more our centres become true community focal points, places for social interaction and spaces in which people feel comfortable, relaxed and unthreatened, the better their performance. At Region Group, this philosophy is not just a part of an overall strategy, it’s also the basis on which they operate.
Almost all of Region Group’s centres are considered the heart of their local community. They are invariably a major entity in the social infrastructure of the neighbourhood or region in which they sit.
The partnership with Knight Frank, which undertakes the day-to-day management of the group’s centres, assures a totally local involvement, yet the constant interaction with Region Group’s senior executives reinforces the organisation’s community values.
In FY24, a staggering 844 community engagement initiatives were implemented across the Region Group portfolio, and some 798 hours of centre management time were donated to an ‘Essentially Local’ cause. More than $360,000 was gifted as a value of foregone rent, and more than $42,000 worth of items were distributed as a result of donation programs conducted within the group’s centres.
Community engagement is not just throwing money at something; it requires in-depth knowledge of social issues. The fact is, many community needs cannot be solved by money alone; personal and human input is required.
A prime example is ‘Little Hands Wise Hearts’, an initiative undertaken in Marketown, Newcastle whereby Anglican Care Scenic Lodge Merewether residents – aged between 84 and 95 – took part in a get-together with pre-school children from the Montessori Academy (a lessee in the centre) for an intergenerational program of storytelling, singing songs and playing games.
At first, the residents were somewhat reluctant; unsure about attending the initiative in the centre but once the program commenced, they were overwhelmed by the immediate connections they formed with the children and simply wanted to continue. The highly successful initiative ran for five-weeks and is likely to be repeated.
Michelle Higgins, Group General Manager – Property, cites Region Group’s Auburn Central in Sydney’s west as another example. Auburn Central sits in one of Australia’s most culturally diverse LGAs. Social cohesion can be sometimes stressful; there are disparities in wealth, income and cultural divides. The largest ancestry identified at Auburn is Chinese, representing 22% of the population; 14% of the population are Hindu and 21% are Muslim.
With the aim of encouraging social cohesion, using the shopping centre as a platform, they created a calendar of community engagement initiatives that celebrate diversity of culture, adopting the common thread of food. Asian Lunar New Year, the Hindu Diwali and Ramadan all feature food in their most important annual celebrations.
The resulting program, ‘Connect through Culture’ allows Auburn Central to engage with this diverse community, positioning the centre as a cultural hub delivering year-round events.
The Lunar New Year celebration featured a spectacular Lion Dance performance by a local group, captivating customers and retailers as the lion weaved through the centre, administering seven blessings for retailers. The event featured interactive sessions where children, guided by experts, crafted their own dumplings using fresh ingredients.
Auburn Central marked one of the most important Hindu celebrations with a highly successful and ‘sold out’ kids Rangoli workshop. Here, children learned the traditional art of Rangoli, the creation of brightly coloured patterns made of rice, flour, sand, flower petals and chalk, the artform usually used to decorate the entries of Hindu houses during Diwali and other significant holidays. Food retailers in the centre provided special offers, Hindu and non-Hindu families participated and the overwhelming response demonstrated the community’s keen interest in experiencing future diverse cultural events.
A number of Region Group’s centres are located in lower socio-economic communities where homelessness, disadvantage and domestic violence are on the rise.
Elizabeth Galle, Head of Portfolio Management, told SCN of a ‘Community Connecting’ campaign at Mount Gambier Marketplace, instigated to improve community wellbeing by engaging with partners to achieve shared goals. An extensive program of initiatives included Coffee with a Cop, Kids Club and various donation and fundraising drives successfully engaged locals, retailers and volunteers. Again, it established the centre as a thriving community hub.
Other initiatives, too many to mention (all 844 of them) feature similar campaigns. But the word ‘similar’ can be misleading. The similarity lies not in the type or physicality of the event, but rather in the fact that it addresses the specific needs of the community in which the centre sits. There’s no blanket set of events here, no roll out of a specific event, no one size to fit all; rather, each surrounding community’s needs and differences are explored, with somewhat unique and truly ‘local’ campaigns instigated in response to them.
What’s impressive when you talk to Region Group, is that this ‘community’ aspect is not confined to a single corporate discipline. It’s not just a marketing initiative but also a shared vision that is at the forefront of all disciplines in the Group.
Whether marketing, management, development, operational, even financial, at Region Group, ‘community’ is at the forefront and fundamental in the day-to-day running of the organisation.
G.J. (Dick) Dusseldorp, the founder of Lend Lease once said: “Commercial success can result by taking from the community, or by contributing to it. The former may provide quicker results, but the latter is long-term, and the returns are higher.” Region Group most definitely falls into the latter!
SCN’s profile on Region Group is featured in the latest Mini Guns edition – premium members can view the digital magazine here.
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