SHANGHAI — When it comes to China’s shopping malls and department stores, “retail” has become something of a dirty word. Keen to differentiate themselves from the go-to mall developers of the early part of the 21st century, with their hasty “build it and they will come” attitude to Chinese consumers, today’s developers tout the “experiential” nature of their shopping centers. More common are shopping centers boasting a larger array of food and beverage on offer (particularly important in China, where eating out is a way of life), entertainment options such as cinemas, skating rinks de rigueur and indoor playgrounds, and health-focused and community initiatives. “Going forward, what a lot more people are talking about is retail centers becoming more community centers, so having social services, having hospitals, clinics or education centers within malls as well, making it part of the community,” said James MacDonald, head of China research at Savills. “Obviously, that has implications in terms of the amount of revenue a mall can generate, but it’s much more stable anchor in terms of bringing the community into that retail mall.” The optimism permeating the industry today is a far cry from the doom and gloom surrounding the sector in 2016, when a report from
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