Introduction
Peace and development relations are straightforward, endeavors and ventures for progress to absorb a better life are mostly invented in a peaceful environment rather than an anarchical one. Mogadishu, capital city of Somalia, has characterized a situation of anarchy and violent conflicts for more than 20 years. Since 2010 the country’s stability was getting better comparing with previous violent situations, this relative stability provided diaspora and other citizens a hope and opportunity for business investment in different sectors such as health, media and communications, transportations, shopping malls and supermarkets which is part of a growing business sources in Mogadishu. The article is mainly opinion based and further study of the subject is needed in the future.
Supermarket
Supermarkets and shopping malls are the emerged opportunities to be invested, normally, people can buy their food stuff and other daily goods in traditional market, they used to shop or buy goods and services needed from small traditional stores beside the roads or, such stores or retailers present cheap goods for the customers as they are easily accessible and available for all people. Supermarket is a self-service store that is divided into sections and offers a wide variety of food, beverages, and household products. Typically, the store offers areas for fresh meat, dairy, food, baked goods and so on. Shelter space is also provided for canned and packaged goods and various non-food products such as cooking equipment, cleaning equipment, pharmaceutical products.
Supermarkets were introduced in the 1930s in the United States by independent merchants dealing in food produce, the main characteristic of supermarkets is the absence of salesmen (Self-service market). Customers must shop from the properly labeled racks, and the cashier will collect the money after weighing and checking the goods at the end of the market. In general, customers buy and bring them into trolleys.
In Mogadishu, a number of supermarkets are established for the last ten years to respond to household needs recently returned to home after years of living experience in abroad and adopted shopping culture in malls and supermarkets, it is impressive and acknowledged initiative to have a same market, placed needed goods and services with clean and comfortable environment. Somalia in general the electricity is too expensive compared with other neighbors. This might be quite a challenge to the owners of supermarkets because goods would necessarily need to be refrigerated. The benefits of supermarkets include large sales due to the wide range of products offered to the customer, low price and high profit and located easily accessible and comfortable places to the customers. Midnimo and Hayat supermarkets are the most popular shopping centers, both located at Zoobe conjunction. Other interesting business startups recently implemented in Mogadishu are shopping malls.
Shopping Malls
Shopping malls are interesting new business ventures in the private sector. The project met wide public acceptance and added value to business in the capital. It has been described as shopping malls in an article of brahim, M. F., & Ng, C. W. published in (2002) on “Determinants of entertaining shopping experiences”, that shopping malls as a group of businesses designed, developed, owned, marketed and managed as a unit. Mogadishu Mall situated in Hamar weyne is an effective mall which hosts more customers for shopping service. Many visit to check and enjoy the new environment for business life in Mogadishu. Mogadishu City Mall is another larger mall in Mogadishu which hosts a variety of business sectors including health care sector, media, textile and financial service.
There is an increasingly significant importance of malls as retail formats and today mall culture plays an important role in the lifestyle of consumers. Customers need not only commercial centers for shopping but also for leisure and social interaction with friends, colleagues and even family members and obtain under a single roof all facilities required. They select malls to shop with particular attributes of the mall as an attractive environment, variety of stores and service, accessibility and the price of goods. There are a small number of malls, no intensive competition is in place as the project is new in Mogadishu, it is emergingly increasing, currently more than three malls under construction and soon will be launched, and should be able to reach enough potential customers and attract them to again profit.
In general malls can be classified as following
Neighborhood Mall
This center is intended only for convenience shopping in the local area to meet daily needs of consumers. Usually, half of these malls have a famous supermarket anchored. Storehouses offering sundries, snacks and personal services support these anchors
Society center
Classically, a society center offers a broader range of clothing and other light goods than the malls in the area. Supermarkets and discount department stores are in this kind of mall surrounded by more anchor outlets. Society mall tenants sometimes include ‘off price’ malls selling items such as clothing, improved home / equipment, toys, electronic or sports goods. The center is usually built as a straight line, L form or U form.
Regional Mall
This type of mall provides general goods (mainly clothing) and services with full length, wisely and thoroughly varied solutions. The anchors of their outlet are its main attractions. Under this type of mall were previously traditional outlets, mass traders, discount department stores or fashion specialty stores. The stores connected by a common walkway and the parking surrounding the outside are usually surrounded by a typical regional mall and its inside orientation.
Super-regional Mall
This kind of mall, which is similar to regional malls, but because of its larger size, a super-regional center has more anchors, a deepening product selection and a larger population base. As with regional centers, the typical design of this type of mall is frequently an enclosed mall (air-conditioner mall).
Fashion / Specialty Mall
A Mall consists mainly of fashionable clothing stores, shopping malls, designer outlets and artisan stores with selected high quality and price products. These malls cannot be anchored, although the functions of anchors can sometimes be played by restaurants or entertainments. The physical design of the center is very sophisticated, with a rich decoration and a high level of landscape. Such malls typically occur in commercial areas in which customers’ levels of income are high.
Challenges of Malls and Supermarkets
Parking Service Management
The retail car park management is the first phone call for customers and the very first impression about a store in the present situation in which everyone has access to their vehicles. Whether you run a small food shop or several million large shopping centers, your parking experience will decide on the mood of your customers for their entire shopping experience. The provision of spacious open spaces for parking is not even effective. The shopping center should guarantee comfortable, secure car parking facilities, trouble free direction and clear paths for smooth parking are required. First class parking facilities not only improve the mood of your customers, but also increase the shop length.
Shortage of consumers and Unpopularity of malls
Malls in Mogadishu have recently been introduced as a retail innovation and a trend to retail transformation. Since 1990’s, there have been no shopping malls. However, in the last ten years important developments and building of malls took place in the capital. Unpopularity of malls in the society caused shortage of consumers and profits probably.
Conclusion
Every modern city has a shopping mall; it is a place for people to come together regularly and enjoy the service of the shopping mall. The investment of Shopping centers is increasing and perhaps traditional markets will be replaced by the malls and supermarkets. Efforts to improve life are invested mainly in a peaceful and not anarchic setting. Since the country’s stability was improved in 2010 as compared to previous violent situations, there has been a new prospect of investment especially the foundation of shopping malls and supermarkets in Mogadishu which are part of a growing business source. Parking service management, Shortage of customers and high rent stores of malls are major challenges of owners and investors of malls.
Dr.Abdulkadir Nor Jabril, Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, SIMAD University.
