Reader Profile: Dani Boisclair
Each week, we bring you a brief profile on one of our fantastic readers. Know someone we should be writing about? Let us know.
Name: Dani Boisclair
Title: Promotional Director
Property: Les Galeries du Cap
Location: Trois-Rivières, Canada
How long have you been at this property?
I have been with the Plaza Group since 2005.
How many years of experience do you have in the shopping center industry?
Four years.
What is your primary goal this year?
To exploit the advantages of shopping at a community-based mall and encouraging local merchants in this struggling economy. It’s simple and practical! No-fuss parking, easy highway access, a wide-variety of stores to serve all needs and knowing that the money spent here remains in the community.
What is your biggest challenge this year?
Strengthening our position in a very competitive market by offering destination stores as well as creating younger customer loyalty.
Do you plan to revamp your shopping center’s holiday décor this year?
Not this year, simply because we’ve been revamping it over the past two years. We usually do our outdoor decorations one year and then our indoor decorations the following year. We also had a new Santa’s Village built a couple of years ago.
What is your approach to décor planning? Do you always order new décor that’s been specially designed for your center, or do you rely on generic decorations or even possibly refurbished décor?
We do a bit of both. Some are generic decorations, like our outdoor decorations as well as the mall decorations. However, when it comes to Santa’s Village or the Easter Farm, these are custom made for our center.
Can you offer one tip to other mall marketing professionals?
Holiday shopping is something that can have a negative connotation with people being so busy at this time of year and seeing gift hunting as more of a chore. We like to create an ambiance that enables us to become more than just a shopping center with stores. We want people to come to the center and feel good about being here. We want to create a memorable experience, a place of gathering that goes beyond the products customers have come to purchase.
Thanks Dani!
