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Oxford Properties Group, who invests in and manages real estate assets on behalf of OMERS, one of Canada’s largest pension plans, has utilised the Mallcomm technology to provide ongoing support to their tenants  during the time the vast majority of retail was forced to close its door to the public. 

Originally, Oxford Properties decided to implement a digital solution to build and maintain strong tenant relationships at ten shopping centres across Canada, including Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Square One Shopping Centre in Toronto, as well as Galeries de la Capitale and Quartier Dix30 in Quebec. They have chosen Mallcomm as their communication and operations technology and together with the Mallcom team, the global investor launched their own branded version of the platform, known as OxComm, in February 2020.

The implementation was well underway just as the outbreak started closing down retail destinations across North America. Luckily for the real estate conglomerate, Mallcomm was able to aid the teams through the most critical stages by providing a way to maintain a proactive dialogue with the tenants  throughout, ensuring they have access to the most up-to-date information and could actively participate in the decision-making process when it came to the reopening plans. Additionally, the malls continued to be managed effectively with the help of two-way instant communication, digitising every task, streamlining and tracking operations with real-time reporting – all of which could be done remotely.

Robert Horst, VP, Retail, Oxford Properties, said: “Across our retail portfolio, the OxComm platform has become an essential tool for us to manage tenant communications with retailers during the COVID-19 emergency. While this situation changed daily, it has allowed us to accurately communicate operational changes to hundreds of store employees in a matter of minutes, even if they were not onsite. It has become the trusted source of up to date information for our tenants throughout this ever-changing and evolving period of our business.”

Randall McKillop, EVP of Americas, Mallcomm commented, “Tenants are one of the most important stakeholders in any real estate asset and Oxford Properties understands the importance of a well-founded relationship with their retailers. We were halfway through the rollout when the pandemic hit but the team at Oxford Properties was fantastic in allowing us to be reactive to the changing circumstances and with their full support, we have successfully completed the implementation.” 

As the COVID-19 situation developed, it became clear that digital solutions like Mallcomm are no longer an add-on, they are a critical life-line that can single-handedly make or break your crisis management efforts.