In a heartwarming gesture of appreciation, Soshanguve Crossing Mall treated its tenants to a special celebration, complete with flowers and a lunch meal. The initiative, led by the centre management and marketing team, aimed to recognize the vital role tenants play in the mall’s success.
Wynand Louw, the Centre Manager for Soshanguve Crossing, expressed the significance of the occasion, highlighting the mall’s upcoming milestone anniversary. “We started operating in May 2014, and this year marks our 10th anniversary on the 22nd of May,” Louw said. “We thought it was a perfect time to show some love and appreciation to the people who keep this mall running our tenants.”
Louw explained that the management team decided to make the store managers the focus of this year’s celebration, recognising their contributions to the mall’s operations. “Our tenants are the anchors of this mall. They’re the ones who make sure rent is paid and who drive the mall’s success,” he said. “So, this year, we made our store managers the focus, by giving them a rose and a small treat in the form of pizzas.”
In keeping with a community-focused approach, the team sourced the meals from within the mall itself, purchasing pizzas from Romans and Debonairs for the store managers and McDonald’s meals for the staff at those two brands. “We always try to keep things in-house, supporting our businesses,” Louw added.
Reflecting on the day’s success, Louw expressed gratitude to the marketing team for organizing the event and noted that initial feedback from store managers had been positive. “It is the first time we’ve done something like this,” he said. “The feedback I have received so far is that people were pleasantly surprised. In the future, we should consider extending this appreciation to the store managers’ staff as well. After all, a manager is nothing without their team.”
Louw emphasised the importance of recognizing tenants, especially after the challenges they have faced in recent years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, load-shedding, and water shortages. “We have all been through tough times COVID, load-shedding, water issues and yet many of our store managers have stayed with us through it all,” he said. “Take someone like Dora from Dodo’s, who has been with us since the beginning. It’s important to let them know we haven’t forgotten about them.”
In closing, Louw stressed the importance of unity within the Soshanguve Crossing community. “We may all be in different boats, but we’re in the same storm,” he said. “Today was about reminding our tenants that we are still one big family. We may have our differences in business, but the strength of our community is what keeps us going.”
“This marked a meaningful moment of connection between Soshanguve Crossing and its tenants a thoughtful reminder that appreciation goes a long way in fostering loyalty and unity in challenging times.”
Martha Khoza, the marketing manager, emphasised that the goal of the day was to ensure tenants felt appreciated.
“Our tenants received this very well. They truly appreciated the love and the gesture we extended to them. It was fascinating to see such a positive response from them,” Khoza said.
“We didn’t expect such a small gesture to have such a significant impact, but it turned out well. As long as they’re happy, we’re happy,” she added.
