{"id":45902,"date":"2018-10-27T14:55:35","date_gmt":"2018-10-27T20:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=45902"},"modified":"2021-02-08T07:53:34","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T14:53:34","slug":"new-calgary-mall-wont-be-empty-much-longer-shop-owners-predict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2018\/10\/27\/new-calgary-mall-wont-be-empty-much-longer-shop-owners-predict\/","title":{"rendered":"New Calgary mall won’t be empty much longer, shop owners predict"},"content":{"rendered":"

C<\/span>algary’s New Horizon Mall<\/a> opening with only two per cent of its store spaces occupied isn\u2019t a concern for the business owners that have already opened their doors.<\/p>\n

\"<strong>Perfume
Perfume Boutique: <\/strong>Sabi Mattu in his store, Perfume Boutique, at New Horizon Mall in Calgary on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Mattu believes that in a few months, the traffic at his store is going to increase. (Photo by Anoshia Ahmed\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201c<\/span>It\u2019s slow, but in the next month or so, I say there will be more traffic for sure,\u201d said Sabi Mattu, owner of Perfume Boutique.<\/p>\n

Mattu said that in October alone, there should be about 40 new stores opening up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mall has 500 shops, it is a $200-million mall, is south of CrossIron Mills, and there are new communities developing nearby,\u201d said Mattu.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will be here, once the stores start opening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ranjit Kaur is leasing a unit for her phone accessory business, Kase Gallery, because the space is much cheaper than getting a kiosk at CrossIron.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pay $3,000 monthly, as compared to $12,000 for a kiosk at CrossIron,\u201d Kaur said.<\/p>\n

She said that the weekends are getting busier with consumers and the traffic keeps increasing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of potential for this mall, because it is based on local owners,\u201d Kaur said.<\/p>\n

Kaur said that the mall is a great opportunity for first-time business owners, like herself, to create a brand.<\/p>\n

The mall is also increasing its marketing, holding two events in the past month, trying to attract customers, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the Mid-Autumn Festival, there were over 3,000 people,\u201d Kaur said.<\/p>\n

She said she\u2019s happy that she is no longer working for anyone, and that all her earnings are hers to keep.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery business takes time. I have patience,\u201d Kaur said.<\/p>\n

She said that many people are calling it a \u201cghost mall,\u201d but that won\u2019t be the case in a few more months.<\/p>\n

Before opening her business, Kaur did research into how much other competitors were charging for phone accessories.<\/p>\n

\"<strong>Kase
Kase Gallery: <\/strong>Ranjit Kaur poses with some of the phone cases she sells in Calgary on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Kaur is the owner of Kase Gallery, where she sells phone accessories. Kaur believes patience is the key to being successful in her business. (Photo by Anoshia Ahmed\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI have to build a client base by giving people what they want for the prices they want them at. After that, people will continue to come,\u201d Kaur said.<\/p>\n

Mohammed Ruhul-Amin, the owner of Just Juniors, said he didn\u2019t expect traffic right away, when he opened up.<\/p>\n

He said that businesses like this take time.<\/p>\n

\u201cOperative cost isn\u2019t high. If you own, you only pay rent or mortgage, and a condominium fee,\u201d Ruhul-Amin said.<\/p>\n

He said the concept of the mall is really good.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mall will be good for consumers, because there will be a lot of unique stores. People want unique stuff,\u201d said Ruhul-Amin.<\/p>\n

He said that the mall is taking longer than expected to fill up, probably because of the economy.<\/p>\n

He also said that some people bought units as investments, hoping to rent them out, which is why so many spaces are unoccupied.<\/p>\n

Ruhul-Amin said that the mall will attract many tourists because it is going to be a mall full of local vendors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s slow right now, but CrossIron also had the same issue, and now finding parking is difficult,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ruhul-Amin also questioned the mall’s marketing strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not the time for marketing. It\u2019s the time to figure out how to get more stores open,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Instead, the marketing team should wait till there are at least 70-80 stores open, and then advertise, so the consumers don\u2019t waste their time coming to an empty mall.<\/p>\n

\"<strong>Just
Just Juniors: <\/strong>Mohammed Rahul-Amin poses in his store called Just Juniors at the New Horizon Mall in Calgary on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. Rahul-Amin’s focus is on selling children clothing and shoes. (Photo by Anoshia Ahmed\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Horizon Mall opening with only 2 per cent of stores occupied isn\u2019t a concern for the business owners that have already been established in the mall. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":504,"featured_media":45903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S2 New mall nearly empty","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,9,13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-45902","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-city","8":"category-entertainment","9":"category-life","10":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/504"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45902"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46393,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45902\/revisions\/46393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}