I. Asset Management: Optimum Utilisation of Recourses.

Asset or mall management aims to ensure optimum utilisation of resources, which include
staff, available space, and relevant processes and technology. It encompasses three aspects:

Infrastructure management: It refers to the management of facilities provided to tenants,

as well as risk management measures including essential safety measures, environmental
audits and imparting emergency and evacuation training. Under infrastructure management
following facilities are offered:

(i) Air conditioning,

(ii) Provision of adequate power supply,

(iii) Safety issues related of signage,

(iv) Issues related to signage, water supply, sanitation, etc

(v) Water supplying and sanitation

All the above mentioned facilities provided to the tenants within the mall, form an integral
part of mall management as these are considered the basic amenities that nay tenant would
look for in a mall.

Ambiance management: Management of the mall’s overall appearance and ‘feel’, which is
considered as necessary today. It also helps to differentiate one mall from another.Under
ambience management, following provisions/facilities are made:

(i) Management of parks

(ii) Management of fountains,

(iii) Taking care of staircases

(iv) Overall look of lifts and escalators

(v) Music and overall look of the mall.

Traffic management: Crowd management, both inside the mall premises and in the parking
zone, and it ensures malls function in an optimum manner. This includes

(i) Managing foot traffic

(ii) Parking management

(iii) Better pedestrian flow

(iv) Event management in and outside the malls

LEASE MANAGEMENT OF THE OCCUPANT IN THE MALL ON AN ONGOING BASIS

The lease document binds the landlord (the lessor) and the tenant (the lessee) to a long-term
relationship, each dependant on the other to some degree for economic gain and in certain
circumstances for economic survival. The lease is similar to a collective agreement in that
both documents set out the rules of conduct, obligations, duties, benefits, and burdens of each
party.

When analyzing a lease (or offer to lease, sometimes called an agreement to lease) there is a
plethora of possible scenarios, which could occur over the life of the lease agreement,
including its renewal.

Together with these obligations, one must also consider the financial investment each party
incurs in this venture, together with the expectation of economic success. Lease is also
defined as a contract between holder of property rights (“lessor”), and consumer/user of prop-
erty rights (“lessee”, or tenant), covering specified period of time.

Landlord:
Who is a landlord? Do they really own the property or are they a lessee under a ground lease,
a partnership or limited partnership, or a shell company? If we are relying upon the landlord’s
covenant, then the landlord should be an entity of substance – what is the quality of the cov-
enants? Do a land title search to ensure that the landlord does, in fact, have the right to lease.

Tenant:
Who is the tenant? Is it a partnership? If so, then the landlord should ensure that all of the
partners sign personally. Is the tenant a company? If so, then ensure that the document is
signed by the company. Is there a guarantor? If so, then ensure the guarantor signs the lease
and that the terms of the lease are sufficient to bind the guarantor. Again, what is the quality
of the covenants?

Guarantor:
Do you have an indemnification or a guarantee? What is the nature of the indemnification? Is
it for the whole term of the lease or a portion of the lease? Is it for an unlimited amount of
money or is the indemnification capped? What happens when the tenant goes into
bankruptcy? Does the indemnifier have to sign a lease for the remaining term?

Date of the Agreement:

What is the date of the agreement? When does the lease take effect?
Is it a Lease or a License?
There are a number of interests in land that are analogous to a lease and share many features
of a lease, but do not create a lease. A lease creates an interest in land. It is an interest less
than fee simple. A license is a grant of a right to something which otherwise would not be
lawful.

For example, the right of a vendor to sell hot dogs at a football game – such license is not
exclusive. Hotels, boarding houses and parking lots are some of the examples of interests that
are licenses and not leases

Premises:
At the outset, the parties should have a clear understanding of the description of the demised
premises and the appurtenances thereto (i.e., parking). If the lease is for an entire building,
then it is easier to ascertain the demised premises. If the lease deals with a portion of the
building, then the lease should contain the plan of the demised premises which should be
attached to the lease.

If the tenant has the right to use common area, then the common area should also be set out
clearly in the lease so that there is no misunderstanding. The dimensions of the demised
premises may have an impact upon the economics of the lease.

The parties must determine who has the burden to pay for taxes, utilities, repairs and
maintenance, insurance and general operating expenses. In a shopping center anchor tenants
may not pay the same amount of operating expenses as a commercial retail unit (CRU).

In addition, the parties should know, for certain, the exact size of the demised premises. No
tenant likes to think that they have 1,200 square feet and find out later that, in fact, the
premises have been re-measured and they are now paying for 1,400 square feet or more.

Term:
The term of the lease should be clearly set out. Generally, the term is a period during which
the tenant has exclusive right to possession of the premises and the corresponding obligation
to pay rent.

It is of a primary concern to all parties that the provisions governing the commencement and
termination of the term are clear and unambiguous. The term of the lease or the remaining
portion thereof is a critical factor to the tenant where the tenant wishes to sell their business
to a third party.
Commencement Date:
In many leases, the commencement date of the term of the lease coincides with the date of the
lease agreement, and consequently, there is no room for ambiguity.

However, in many commercial leases, the commencement date of the term depends upon the
occurrence of another event, usually related to the completion of improvements, which the
landlord has agreed to build. In addition, the commencement date may be tied to a period in
which there is free “basic rent”.

Rent:
Usually rent is divided into two sections (possibly three – percentage rent). The first section
is basic rent. It usually refers to the amount of rent per square foot on an annual basis,
payable monthly over the term of the lease.

For Example, if you are paying on 1,000 square feet (rentable – not usable), at a basic rent of
Rs. 10.00 per square foot, your basic rent payable on a monthly basis would be Rs. 833.33
(1,000 X Rs. 10.00 = Rs. 10,000.00 divided by 12 = Rs. 833.33).

Payment of Rent:
The payment of rent is generally on a monthly basis, payable in advance on the first day of
each month (as opposed to a mortgage payment which is a payment after the use of the
money for a period of one month).

Sometimes the landlord will require a series of post-dated cheques from the tenant. It is not
unusual for the lease to contain a waiver by the tenant against any off-set, abatement, or
deductions. This means that the tenant waives and renounces any and all existing and future
claims or off-sets or compensation against the rent and will pay the rent (basic and additional)
regardless of any claim the tenant may have against the landlord.

Occupancy and Permitted Use:

Leases generally contain a term indicating the use of the premises. If the use is narrowly
defined, i.e., dental offices only, then the tenant cannot use the premises for any other
purpose. The landlord’s consent can in certain circumstances be unreasonably withheld. This
becomes a problem if the tenant wishes to sublease or assign the premises to a third party
who wishes to use the premises for something other than a dental office.

It is also important to define the use of the premises, as it will reflect on what the appropriate
rent should be, should the tenant exercise an option to renew.
Tenant Covenants:
1. Pay Rent:
Already explained

2. Waste and Nuisance:

The landlord wishes to ensure that the building is not subject to waste or injury to the
building and accordingly, the tenant will have to covenant not to cause waste or any form of
nuisance.

3. Insurance Risks:
The landlord does not wish to incur additional insurance costs and therefore the tenant will be
bound to act in a manner such that he will not increase the costs of insurance.

4. Cleanliness:
Self-explanatory.

5. Compliance with Laws:

The landlord wishes to ensure that the tenant does not breach any of the municipal, provincial
or statutory laws, including fire, safety laws, bylaws and regulations. These laws may also
include environmental laws.

6. Installations:
The landlord wishes to ensure that there is no installation of equipment or alterations to the
premises which would breach any law or cause interference with the enjoyment of the
building by other tenants.

7. Rules and Regulations:

The landlord will generally set out a set of rules and regulations, which they may change
from time to time.

8. Over-holding:
Where the tenants stays in the leased premises after the expiration of the lease without any
further written agreement, without objection by the landlord, the rent usually equates to 150%
of the monthly annual base rent.

9. Signs:
The landlord will ensure that the signs meet with the building requirements.
10. Inspection and Access:
This section allows the landlord, at any time and from time to time, to enter the premises with
its authorized agents, employees and contractors, for various purposes including but not
limited to window cleaning, maintenance, janitorial service, repairs or alterations or
improvements to the demised premises.

11. Showing Leased Premises:

This permits the landlord or its agents or employees to show the leased premises to
prospective tenants during normal business hours, during the last few months of the term of
the lease.

Landlord’s Covenants:
1. Quiet Enjoyment:
This is generally the major covenant given by a landlord to a tenant, allowing the tenant to
enjoy the premises without disturbance, or interruption of possession from the landlord. It
doesn’t mean, “no noise”.

2. Interior Climate Control and Lighting:

Self-explanatory.

3. Elevators:
If you are not on the main floor, then you wish to ensure that the elevators are operational at
all times, or, if the elevator breaks down, that the landlord will promptly have the elevator
repaired or replaced so as to facilitate access for your patients.

4. Entrances, Lobbies and Other Common Areas:

As a tenant you wish to ensure that your customers and patients have access to your demised
premises during normal business hours.

5. Washrooms:
Self-explanatory.

6. Janitorial Service:
Self-explanatory.

7. Repair, Damage and Destruction:

(a) Landlord’s Repairs:
Ensure that the landlord has the duty to keep the premises in a good and reasonable state of
repair, consistent with the general standards of a building of a similar nature, age and
character and that the landlord will repair defects promptly.
The lease should be very specific, from a tenant’s point of view, to indicate that the tenant is
not liable for any structural repairs or replacement. You may also wish to define what
structural repairs mean, including replacement of roof.

(b) Tenant’s Repairs:

The landlord wishes to ensure that the tenant keeps the demised premises in a like, good and
reasonable state of repair.

8. Abatement and Termination:

Where there is a substantial damage to the premises, such that the tenant can no longer enjoy
full use of the demised premises or a substantial portion of the demised premises, you, as a
tenant, wish to ensure that the rent will abate for a period of time with the requirement that
the landlord make up its mind as quickly as possible whether or not it will repair or terminate
the lease pursuant to the termination provisions contained in the lease.

9. Taxes:
The tenant will not only have to pay its taxes for its business, but also the real property taxes
in some cases. As a tenant you should ensure that you obtain prompt notice of any increase in
the tax assessment, with the right, at your cost, to oppose any such increase.

Assignment and Subletting:

Assignment and subletting are different. A sublet is a situation where the tenant allows a third
party (a subtenant) exclusive use of the premises for a portion of the remaining term of the
lease. An assignment contemplates the assignment of the whole of the remaining term of the
lease.

Generally speaking, any such assignment will require the written consent of the landlord. The
landlord may have the right to unreasonably withhold such consent or may have to act
reasonably, depending upon the wording of the lease.

In most situations where the tenant assigns or sublets, they will still be liable to the landlord
should the assignee fail to live up to the covenants of the lease. This remains a contingent
liability to the tenant and should be addressed in the lease, including whether or not the tenant
is liable to the landlord on an assignment during a renewal term.

In most instances, the landlord will want to have the financial and other background of the
prospective new tenant or subtenant and will charge the tenant for such review prior to giving
its consent.
Change in Control of Tenant:
If the tenant is a corporation, then the tenant could avoid the assignment or subletting clause
by simply transferring the shares in the company to the new third party. In order to avoid this
avenue of escape, the landlord usually has a clause in the lease that says that if there is a
change in control of the tenant company, then that is deemed to be an assignment.

Liens and Encumbrances on Fixtures and Improvements:

The landlord prefers to not have its property encumbered by a builder’s liens. The landlord
likes to have a clear title, subject only to any mortgage it has granted to a financial institution.

As a tenant, if you wish to give security to your financial institution, then it must dovetail to
the terms of the lease.

Removal of Fixtures and Improvements:

All leasehold improvements upon the premises generally become the landlord’s property at
the end of the lease, without compensation. It is important to distinguish between
improvements, fixtures and chattels. In certain instances, the landlord may require the tenant
to remove certain improvements, fixtures and chattels at the tenant’s expense (i.e., a bank
vault).

Relocation of Premises:
It is not unusual to see a clause in the lease allowing the landlord to move the tenant to a
different floor in the building, particularly without compensation.

Insurance and Liability:

1. Landlord’s Insurance:
The landlord will insure the building as a prudent owner. The cost of the insurance will be
borne by the tenant or if the tenant leases a portion of the building, then the tenant will pay its
proportionate share of the insurance.

The type of insurance will, in all probability, include:

a. Property insurance, including fire and extended perils, all risk, boiler and pressure vessel,
plate glass and earthquake insurance;

b. Insurance against environmental risk;

c. Business interruption insurance;

d. Rent abatement insurance;

e. Income insurance.

In addition, the landlord’s lease generally contains a clause allowing the landlord’s insurance
company the right of subrogation. What does this mean? It means that in spite of the fact that
the tenant may have caused “a fire” (or some other sort of hazard) where insurance proceeds
have to be paid by the insurers to the insured (the landlord), the landlord’s insurers can still
sue the tenant. It is not uncommon for the tenant to ensure that the lease contains a waiver of
that right of subrogation.

2. Tenant’s Insurance:
The tenant should take out all of the appropriate insurance as a prudent tenant, including
commercial general liability of an amount not less than “x” million per occurrence, loss of
income insurance and any other insurance that a tenant’s reputable insurance agent deems
prudent.

Insurance should also be kept to a level, which does not trigger coinsurance. Co-insurance
occurs where some insured may decide to insure for an amount that is less than the full value
of the property.

In order to deter insured from under insuring, insurers stipulate that minimum percentage of
the overall value must be insured, usually in the amount of 80% or 90%. The value is not
determined when the policy is issued, but at the time of the loss.

3. Severability of Interest and Cross Liability Clause:

As a general rule, if there are two insureds (for example, a landlord and a tenant) named in a
policy, one insured cannot recover under the policy for any damage to its property caused by
the other insured and a default by one named insured will generally void the policy as against
both insureds.

In order to avoid these problems, the insureds should require that a severability of interest and
cross liability clause be added to the policy. This clause enables the insured to receive the
benefits contained in the policy, notwithstanding the fact that the damage was caused by the
other insureds policy.

Further, a default by one named insured under the policy which would otherwise void the
policy in its entirety, applies only to the party making the default and does not affect the
coverage of the other named insured.

Subordination, Attornment, Registration and Certificates.

1. Mortgage:
The rights of the landlord under the lease may be mortgaged or assigned to a purchaser or
purchasers as the case may be. The landlord generally requires the tenant to attorn to and
become a tenant of such purchasers or mortgagees under the term of the lease and therefore is
required to sign certain documents.

2. Subordination and Attornment:

The subordination clause requires the tenant to subordinate its interest to that of the
mortgagee. If this is required, then the tenant should obtain a non-disturbance agreement
signed by the landlord and the mortgagee basically stating that if the landlord is in default
under its covenants in the mortgage, and the mortgagee intends to take action against the
landlord, then it will give notice to the tenant and provided that the tenant has complied with
all of its requirements under the lease, not to disturb or affect the tenancy – basically leaving
the tenant alone.

3. Registration:
It is generally prudent, particularly where the lease is of three years or more, to register the
lease in the Land Title Office. However, most landlords do not want these leases to be
registered for obvious reasons. Sometimes a compromise can be worked out.

4. Certificates:
From time to time, the landlord may require the tenant to give an estoppel certificate to a
subsequent purchaser of the building or to the mortgagee, indicating that there are no defaults
by the landlord.

If in fact you sign an estoppel certificate saying that the landlord is not in default under the
lease, knowing that the landlord is in default under the lease, then you may be precluded from
prosecuting your right under the lease for that default.

Tenant’s Defaults – Remedies of Landlord:

You should review carefully the remedies provided to the landlord on the non-payment of
rent, payment of interest, and time to remedy a default.

The Whole Lease:

As it was said earlier in this paper, a verbal agreement is not worth the paper it is written on.
Consequently, any side deals, arrangements or representations made between the parties
should be reduced to writing. Generally, the lease says that there are no covenants,
representations or warranties, express or implied, save and except that which is set out in the
lease.
Demolition:
Depending upon the age of the building, it is not unusual to have a demolition clause in the
lease. Accordingly, if the demolition clause kicks in under a specific time (i.e., one year),
then it would be prudent not to put a lot of money into tenant fixtures and tenant
improvements.

In effect, notwithstanding the term of the lease, the landlord has the right, upon giving you
appropriate notice, to terminate the lease on the basis that the building will be demolished. A
demolition clause will affect the value of your practice.

Expropriation:
The expropriation clause should be so designed as to allow both the landlord and the tenant to
effectively press their claims forward so that both will benefit from any expropriation.

Option to Renew:
This is one of the most neglected clauses contained in a lease. If you wish to exercise an
option to renew, please understand that it must be done within the time limits specified in the
lease, preferably acknowledged by the landlord, and if the rent cannot be agreed to, then you
are still bound by leasing the premises during the option period with the issue of the amount
of rent to be determined generally by arbitration.

Parking:
For many tenants, parking is an important issue. For example, if you are in a strip shopping
mall where parking is limited, you may wish to have certain stalls marked exclusive for your
use. You may also wish to consider the need for parking stalls of the other tenants in the strip
shopping mall or building. For example, you may not want to be next door to a real estate
office where over 20 agents come and go from the premises on a daily basis.

Personal Covenants:
If the lease contains a Right of First Refusal or an Option to Purchase then make sure the
document is registered in the Land Title Office. Also ensure that these personal covenants
(which do not run with the land) carry over during a renewal period.

ACQUISITION, FINANCING AND MANAGEMENT OF ASSETS:

and management of assets with some overall goal in mind. Thus, the decision
function of management can be broken down into three major areas :
the investment, financing, and asset management decisions.
Investment Decision
The investment decision is the most important of the Malls three major decisions. It begins
with a determination of the total amount of assets needed to be held by the mall. Picture the
malls balance sheet in your mind for a moment. Imagine liabilities and owners’ equity being
listed on the right side of the malls balance sheet and its assets on the left. The financial
manager needs to determine the dollar amount that appears above the double lines on the left-
hand side of the balance sheet—that is, the size of the mall. Even when this number is known,
the composition of the assets must still be decided. For example, how much of the mall’s total
assets should be devoted to cash or to inventory?
Financing Decision
The second major decision of the mall is the financing decision. Here the financial manager
is concerned with the makeup of the right-hand side of the balance sheet. If you look at the
mix of financing for malls across industries, you will see marked differences. Some malls
have relatively large amounts of debt, while others are almost debt free. Does the type of
financing employed make a difference? If so, why? And, in some sense, can a certain mix of
financing be thought of as best?

Once the mix of financing has been decided, the financial manager must still determine how
best to physically acquire the needed funds. The mechanics of getting a short-term loan,
entering into a long-term lease arrangement, or negotiating a sale of bonds or stock must be
understood.
Asset Management Decision
The third important decision of the mall is the asset management decision. Once assets have
been acquired and appropriate financing provided, these assets must still be managed
efficiently. The financial manager is charged with varying degrees of operating responsibility
over existing assets. These responsibilities require that the financial manager be more
concerned with the management of current assets than with that of fixed assets.

THE GOAL OF THE MALL

Efficient financial management requires the existence of some objective or goal because
judgment as to whether or not a financial decision is efficient must be made in light of some
standard. Although various objectives are possible, we assume that the goal of the mall is to
maximize the wealth of the mall’s present owners.

Shares of common stock give evidence of ownership in a corporation. Shareholder wealth is

represented by the market price per share of the mall’s common stock, which, in turn, is a
reflection of the mall’s investment, financing, and asset management decisions. The idea is
that the success of a business decision should be judged by the effect that it ultimately
has on share price
SAFETY ISSUES AND IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

Malls have more dense footfalls than hotels, banquets, open markets, hence are the most
venerable place for terrorist targets, a proper DMP can help you save people, pain &
property.

Disasters are unpredictable. A robust & well laid Disaster Management Plan (DMP) is the
only solution to the problem, a process & plan, which defines a set of protocols to be
followed when a disaster strikes. Disaster management process involves right from the
structural designing of a building to keeping the necessary equipments in order and training
the people to handle a crisis situation and it is part of larger area called business continuity
plan (BCP). The only way to face a disaster is to be well trained to keep panic at bay. DMP in
the Shopping centers / Malls has never been any more relevant, than now. It would be safe to
presume that a vast majority of organizations are not prepared to handle such situations. Time
and again we have seen that whenever there are any disasters like, terrorist attacks, fire,
floods, earthquakes, tsunamis etc, the various machineries have invariably failed.

Even, as we were recovering from the hostile disaster of but famous German Bakery in
Pune,or before that at the Taj Mahal hotel, in Mumbai, few years ago or the fire that occurred
in Carlton Towers in Bangalore. These incidents bring out our woeful inadequacy in handling
a disaster. Most deaths here happened because of panic & not fire. The sad part is that
disasters like fire are the easiest to avoid, but it is the missing knowledge or training which is
more dangerous. And even in case of the occurrence, precious lives and property can be
saved by proper pre-planning, training and management.

As we all know, disasters could be natural or man made or hostile. Natural disasters cannot
be prevented, they are inevitable and we have to face them, if they happen. The only thing we
could do is ensure that we are ready to face the disaster, by training our employees and
designing the Mall structures in such a way that it is easy for people to get in and out of it in
case of a disaster. The most important part of the Mall developer during inception & planning
is to create a robust DMP, which is not a cut copy paste job. The Mall developer has to
engage competent people who have the required expertise & practical experience to make a
robust DMP. The DMP, will change from one mall to another for various reasons including
layout, exits, floors, heights, city, location, etc.
.

Some of the biggest disasters that we may face are:

1) Fire outbreaks: A fire is the most common problem any Mall is prone to. The most
vulnerable areas of a mall that are prone to fire are food courts, where there is live fire for
cooking, server rooms which generate a lot of heat, electricity panels & distribution boards,
many other places where there are cables, wires, etc. Fortunately, it is also the most easiest to
prevent, But we often find that people are careless and developers make bad investments in
structures and materials to construct the Mall. Designing the building with adequate fire
alarms helps giving instant signals to move people to safety.
The design of the building should also have easily visible stairs and entry and exit points.
This helps in managing the crowd, which is in panic. Training employees prevent them from
panic, thereby reducing causalities and losses. The fire fighting equipments should be
frequently checked and claddings should be safe. The AC ducts should be fire proofed.
Adequate compartmentalization and water sprinklers in the mall helps in minimizing losses. I
often find that developers are not concerned about fire safety within the stores. It makes me
wonder how is it that they are oblivion to that if there is a fire in one store, there is a
possibility of it spreading to entire mall. Mall safety is the responsibility of both – the
developer and all the occupants of the Mall.

Use of correct cabling, load calculations, fire resistant materials, redundancy planning etc is
a must. Ultimately occupiers too need to be aware of responsible behavior, take part in
evacuation drills, keep fire exits/chutes clear, don’t dump garbage everywhere, etc. The fire
departments too are not equipped to douse and curtail fires in high rises. Access to the
location and inability to reach higher floors is a major area of concern. Very rare is the sight
at the entrance of a Mall which reads “Reserved for emergency”. It is mandatory for every
Mall to have designated place for fire brigade force & ambulances 24X7, without
compromise. Also it is a rare sight in malls to see “Assembly Points”, I am confident most
of you reading article have never seen one. So next time you are in a Mall, look around and
get to know of a place of where you will land in case of any such disasters.

2) Flooding: A developer should ensure proper drainage, especially in basement parking,

which is highly prone to flooding. Insulated electrical fitting will reduce tripping of
electricity, which can otherwise be extremely fatal. Not only that, flooding can also
completely damage the equipments, assets, merchandise, beyond repair which would result in
huge losses.

3) Earthquakes: There is no building that can be earthquake resistant in India. The flaw is in
the rules. But that said there can be many ways in which a Mall developer can reduce the
casualty and losses. To a large extent most part of internal structure can be safe.

4) Terrorism: Retail industry in India is still in a nascent stage. The excitement of going to a
Mall among Indians is still high. The hoards of people who visit a Mall over a weekend,
makes it extremely vulnerable to a terrorist activity. While prevention of terrorism is more of
a responsibility of the government, it helps for every individual to be alert and aware. The
Mall management should train the employees to ensure that they don’t panic in case of
terrorist seizure. The biggest concern is the casual approach Mall developers and retail
companies have towards the security issues. Governmental rules segregates certain properties
as hard and soft targets. Deterring terrorism is more an achievable task for Malls than
prevention.

Living in Mumbai and having seen the city survive fatal blows from the flooding on July 26
2005 and terror acts on November 26, 2008, I feel that there is so much more we could do to
ensure that our lives are a lot better and safer. While the preparedness for natural disasters
could reduce the loss and casualty, being prepared for hostile disasters could just be deterrent
for acts of terrorism. Everybody gets an uneasy feeling when they know that they are
constantly being watched and monitored.

I often find that most of the developers do not follow the rules laid down by the National
Building Code and the state by laws. This makes me wonder if any more new rules made by
the government will be accepted or not. In my opinion, the retail industry and all the
stakeholders need to have a change in the mindset. That said, compliance with the rules laid
down by governmental bodies is no guarantee, since these rules like all other rules and orders
come with their own set of drawbacks and problems.

Adding to the problem is the corruption among state government employees who audit the
buildings to issue licenses. There are various codes and laws defining the directive to build
earth quake resistant structures and also rules to prevent fire and fire fighting measures. They
also define the number of entry and exit points to ensure people have free movement inside
these huge buildings in case of emergency.

Precautions or Pre Plan: Help should be sought from experienced people in National
Disaster Management authority (NDMA), who help in drafting of a disaster management
plan after a detailed study. In other advanced countries, it is mandatory for such plan without
which the Fire/police department does not give clearance to make the Mall operational.
Besides this institute, there many management consultancy firms who do draft such a plan.
We, at Beyond Squarefeet, also help the Mall developers to have such a plan ready. And this
plan cannot be a standard one for every Mall. It is unique for every Mall. Having part of
many successful Malls & our own set of learning’s, we have successful in creating a robust
DMP for Shopping centers.

These are a few measures Mall developers and retail companies could take up to make Mall
a better planned one:

Planning: As mentioned earlier the structural planning of a Mall is so bad these days, which
I often find them inviting terrorist activities. It is not just about Malls, in my opinion all the
building which has high foot falls should have structures and copies of the structures handy
when the building is easily available. I know of Malls where emergency exits are locked and
the security guards on duty do not know where the keys are. It is ridiculous to see some of the
Malls painting the emergency exits stair cases black to reduce repaint costs. If there is a fire
during night and power is cut, how will people figure out where these stairs / emergency
doors are? Planning also involves the kind of equipments to be kept in the Mall. The instance
of fire breaks in the Malls in the recent past has been due to absence of grease straps in
kitchen areas of food courts.

Periodic checks: Every employee should be trained to face emergencies once in six months
and during their orientation. Every security guard should go through this drill once in three
months. Every small fire equipment, smoke detectors and water sprinklers should be checked
once in a month. The other bigger equipments should be checked at least twice a year. Then
provision of equipments and other facilities like smoke detectors, sprinklers, fire alarms, heat
sensors, fire hydrants, dedicated overhead water tanks, fire exists, evacuation chutes etc is
needed.

Communication: In the event of a disaster all the equipments may come down or stop
working. In such a situation, the communication equipment especially the wireless
equipments will have to work at any cost to ensure coordination among the employees who
are helping the common man. The Malls should have enough signage’s ensuring that every
customer entering the Mall gets to know safe zones in a Mall and also of the exit and entry
points.
 To some extent the bigger Malls are taking preventive measure to ensure security. But still
there is a lot of scope for improvement. Today, when we go to watch a movie to any of the
neighbourhood Mall, and if there is a fire, I do not foresee any of us getting out of a less than
15 minutes which could cause a lot of havoc and in some cases 15 minutes is enough to bring
down a Mall.

Thumb rule:

A Mall should be designed in such a way that in case of a disaster, a customer should be able
to get out of it in 3 minutes. Worse still, many of the Malls are designed so badly, that people
are not aware of stairs that could bring them down. You ask a Mall developer, he is sure to
say, “I have installed glow signs giving directions to the stairs.” The first thing that gets
snapped in case of fire is electricity, so the glow signs don’t work. So what happens to
someone who does not know where the stairs are in case of emergency?

The design of the building should also have easily visible stairs and entry and exit points.
This helps in managing crowd which is in panic. Training employees prevent them from
panic, thereby reducing causalities and losses. The fire fighting equipments should be
frequently checked and claddings should be safe. The AC ducts should be fire proofed.
Adequate compartmentalization and water sprinklers in the Mall helps in minimizing losses. I
often find that developers are not concerned about fire safety within the stores. It makes me
wonder how is it that they are oblivion to the fact that, if there is a fire in one store, there is a
possibility of it spreading to entire Mall. Mall safety is the responsibility of both – developers
and retail companies.

Use of correct cabling, load calculations, fire resistant materials, redundancy planning etc is
a must. Ultimately occupiers too need to be aware of responsible behavior, take part in
evacuation drills, keep fire exits/chutes clear etc. The fire departments too are not equipped to
douse and curtail fires in high rises. Access to the location and inability to reach higher floors
is a major area of concern.

When it comes to mid-sized and smaller Malls, the situation is hopeless. Sometimes I find
that these Malls only do security checks at the main entrance forgetting the parking lot
entrance and if there is any other entrance through an anchor store. I have even noticed the
security personnel who whisk the customers at the entrance of a Mall just do it for the heck of
it. They do not check the ladies bags in detail and often children are left unchecked, leaving
these to vulnerable spots for someone planning a terrorist attack.

There are certain things that a Mall management should keep in mind while training its
employees. In fact this should be made part of orientation programme and every Mall should
do these drills once in a quarter to keep reinforcing the concepts.

1. a) Panic management: When we panic, we can’t think practically. Its human

tendency. Disaster is a situation which will pass. Panic is a problem and the only
solution is to face the disaster with a bold face. We need to act smart in situations of
disasters because during disaster, every minute saved could save lives of many
people. Every drill that an employee undergoes should be taught panic and emotional
management.
 1. b) Train them to lend a hand: Every Mall employee is part of services industry.
Being part of the services industry means customers are our responsibility. Therefore
during disasters, every employee should have the safety of customer as their first
priority. They should be trained to look for children or helpless people and lend a
helping hand to ensure that they get out of the building safely.
2. c) Keeping information flow right: If there is a fire in the building, call the fire
department first. In the meanwhile, continue with your fire fighting methods in the
building. Call the police immediately in case of a terrorist strike. Keep ambulance
services number easily available, this could help in case of injuries to customers.
3. d) Shut electrical systems: If there is flooding or fire, live electrical systems could
aggravate the problem. Shut them the minute you hear an alarm.
Many Malls in India do not have enough video cameras installed. They just have a
few to get licenses and certification. The ones they have in all probabilities will be of
a bad quality. When we all got the first few glimpses of AjmalKasab, the terrorist who
shook Mumbai on November 26, 2007, all of us wondered about the poor quality of
the camera installed. The images of the terrorist was extremely pixelated and vague.
In my opinion, every inch of a Mall should be monitored constantly by a camera.

e) Protocol definitions: A good disaster management plan should also define protocols in
the event of a disaster. Each person's role has to be identified in the disaster management
plan. It should also clearly mention the flow of authority and command and also ensure it
describes the awareness among the respective employees as to what their role is in times of
crisis. The person in authority must be able to evacuate people easily or move them to the
safe zone and get help from local authorities immediately. Every person who is employed in a
Mall has to understand every entry and exit point and availability of water.

Many a times, a Mall does not have enough employees to deal with disasters. There is a
requirement for more trained manpower to ensure there are no suspicious elements moving
around in a Mall. There seems to be a terrible shortage of X-ray machines to screen baggage.
Typically best of Malls in India would just have two X-ray machines or metal detectors
installed and during a weekend, there is a long queue which makes the visitors impatient.
Instead I would urge the Mall owners to have more entry and exit points and install a scanner
and a metal detector at every such point.

In a report submitted to the commissioner of BMC Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in

April 2008, it was reported that almost 19 Malls (includes retails stores as they do not know
the difference between Mall & a Retail Store), were identified to be flouting on all the fire
safety regulations.

Vulnerable Spots:

Kitchen areas: Kitchens in the food courts are most prone to fire. Small measures can save
many fire mishaps. Proper exhausts and protecting fuel from heat can go a long way in saving
the Mall.

 Garbage bins: One spark is enough to create big fire. Sometimes people do not clear
garbage frequently. It is usually the most unattended spot and ignored spot. Anybody
can easily throw a bag with some explosives and walk out without being noticed.
 Parking lots: Parking lots are not well lit, well maintained and well manned. To think
of it, one can easily leave some explosives in some dark corner of a parking lot on a
 week day and trigger it to set off over a weekend when there is a lot of crowd.
Sometimes women find it unsafe to walk into a parking lot alone because it is dark. In
fact if parking lot well lit, it can be good source of income for the developer.
 Basement areas: If the Mall has a basement shopping place it is also dangerous if
there is no proper exhaust system is not set up.
 Gas Banks: Even a small electric spark can set off a fire in the Mall.

Change the norms: we also find some norms mandated by government not good enough or
practical. For instance, according to the norm/ Fire fighting Act, any public establishment
cannot store more than 7500 liters of fuel. With constant power shut downs/cuts in our
country, a Mall with about 3,00,000 Sq. ft. will need about 1500 litres per hour for the Mall
to be completely operational.

“The fire departments too are not equipped to douse and curtail fires in high rises. Access to
the location and inability to reach higher floors is a major area of concern,” said a recent
study done by Facilities Management division of Knight Frank India, a leading property
consultancy firm.

Though malls have fire fighting equipments, they are rarely tested. So nobody knows for
sure in the event of a fire break down, whether these equipments would work or not. What
amazes us, is the fact that all of them have fire fighting equipments, but are hidden from the
view (they are called eye-sores). In case of a fire, this makes it difficult to the mall employees
will be able to locate them. Besides these equipments, there are very few malls in India that
has trained its employees to fight fire. In my personal opinion, every employee who works in
a mall should be trained on how to manage disasters. In most of the disasters, more than
managing the disaster, we often find ourselves managing panic of people.

There are many high end technologies available today which could prevent many forms of
disaster. There are smoke detectors which sends an instant alarm the minute there is a fire.
There are also well insulated AC ducts and high end fire and water proofing building
materials. I often find developers not spending that extra amount in safeguarding Malls. They
often resort to using cheap AC ducts and do not invest on fire alarms to cut costs. Recession
has worsened the situation. In my opinion disaster management is the most neglected feature
in Indian Malls.

But there are solutions. There are fire proofing materials available to make server rooms
safe, which are most prone to fire. There are also intelligent electronic monitoring systems,
which automatically turn the lights on and off. Some of the metal detectors that are available
in the market can detect even the smallest metal hidden. But all of these come at an extra
cost, which we often find Mall developers unwilling to invest on.

The way forward in the future is to make Disaster Management Plan (DMP) a part of every
retail management course so that, the talent pool comes out of these courses well trained. To
make it part of the syllabus, the college deans offering such courses can take help from
NIDM, management consultancy firms, Mall advisories, etc. I am sure that a good DMP in
any mall will not only increase its chances to fight any untoward incident, but will also help
to get better valuation from PE, FII, investors, etc, which work beneficial for the Mall
Developer in the long run.
Recently, there was an article in Hindustan Times, where it was clearly stated that out of 30
malls in Mumbai, 29 of them are inadequetly prepared for a fire. This is a huge concern not
only for the customers visitng the malls, but also to the Mall developers, as several 100’s
crores of reupees& their own reputation is at stake.

PLANNING TO ENSURE A POSITIVE CASH FLOW:

A simple, sound cash flow plan saves time, money and frustration.A cash flow
plan will help to anticipate how sales and expenses will affect cash flow for the next six
months or may be more and enabling to make any needed adjustments.

CASH COMING IN:

Cash flow planning requires up-to-date sales plans.

Step1: Cash (beginning balance) - This will be the only actual figure in the plan. All others
will be estimates based on sales and cost projections.

Step2: Cash Receipts from Sales - Using updated sales plan, estimate the total cash receipts
expected to take in during the month from normal operations. This includes sales of
merchandise and receipts from services offered as a regular part of the business.

Step3: Payments on Account - This will hold the amount of cash expect to take in from last
month’s credit sales.

Step4: Loans Received - This will generally only include short-term loans. (Most long-term
loans are for capital expenditures).

Step5: Other Sources of Cash - Think of all the ways taken in cash that don’t show up in sales
figures. These include finance charges added to past-due accounts, interest income, vendor
rebates, inventory restocking charges, and similar transactions.

Step6: Total Cash Available - This shows total cash available for the month.It takes time,
effort, and discipline to create and follow cash flow plan. But greater profits and peace of
mind will prove that efforts were well worth it.

PART TWO: CASH GOING OUT

Estimating cash outflow accurately is even more crucial than estimating cash inflow.
Retail business owners, optimists that we are, tend to overestimate inflow and underestimate
outflow. But cash flow planning is no place for the power of positive thinking. When
estimating expenses, better off being a little pessimistic.

Step7: Accounts Payable (Inventory) - If therehasn’t yet set up an open-to-buy plan, dig out
the purchase orders and figure out when shipments will be arriving. Accounts payable
projection for any month will equal the total inventory expected to receive, at cost, the
previous month.
Step8: Selling, Administrative and Occupancy Expenses - Selling expenses include salaries
for sales people, wages (including overtime) for other employees, advertising, and promotion.
Selling expenses rise and fall with sales volume.Administrative expenses generally run about
the same each month. Include support staff wages in this category, as well as the cost of
employee benefit programs. Occupancy expenses mainly include rent or mortgage and
utilities. These may fluctuate with sales, especially in shopping centres where percentage-of-
gross rents are common.
Step9: Equipment & Capital Expenses - Add up all present monthly rental and lease
payments on equipment, fixtures, leasehold improvements, vehicles, and the like. Then add
any other monthly instalmentsthat will be taking on this month for new capital expenses. Do
not include bank loan repayments here.

Step10: Tax Payments–By using past income statements to project pre-tax profits and
estimate income taxes for the month. Estimate sales, withholdings according to projected
sales and payroll expenses.

Step11: Loan Repayments - This includes all loan repayments either as short or long term.
Track interest payments separately.

Step12: Other Expenses - Interest payments, maintenance costs, professional association

dues, convention or buying trip expenses, pizza for the staff training meetingand all the other
little itemsfit under “other expenses.”

Step13: Total Cash Disbursements - Once satisfied then plan for every expense, total the
figures andcheck estimates against past records to make sure it’s reasonable.

Remember, in a retail business, profits and cash are not the same. Focusing only on "the
bottom line" is one trap you should avoid. Finally by tallying you will get whether it is a cash
Surplus (or Deficit).

PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING AND MANAGING RISK

Shopping centers require a security and risk management plan in order to ensure the safety of
shoppers, store employees, management staff, and physical assets within their premises.
Effective and efficient retail security management plans are those that are tailor-fitted to a
shopping centre’s specific security needs.

What Is Risk Assessment?

A risk assessment is a process that aims to identify the possible threats to your establishment
and its level of vulnerability to these threats.
Risk is determined by measuring the levels of threat and vulnerability individually. There
would be no risk when neither of the two is present. Therefore, one of the main goals of a
security management plan is to lessen the level of risk by reducing threats and decreasing the
shopping centre’s vulnerabilities.

Threats can be classified into two:

 Internal Threats – Threats that originate within the shopping centre. These could be at a
policy level like security standard violations, safety hazards, staff theft, or a structural
problem that endangers the public.
 External Threats – These are threats that emanate from forces outside the shopping
centre such as acts of terrorism and robbery.
Vulnerabilities are factors that make a shopping centre more susceptible to the harmful
effects of threats. They can be physical in nature (poor design and construction of buildings)
or social (lack of awareness of the security and safety protocols), among others.
Here are some of the aspects that a risk assessment aims to cover:

 Emergency Response – Do all shop owners and their respective staff know what to do in
a crisis situation? Are there informational signages that direct the shopping public on
what to do and where to go in case of an emergency?
 Physical Security – Are all shopping centre equipment (like elevators and escalators)
functioning properly? Are the cleaners doing their job in identifying and addressing
problem areas such as spills and slippery flooring? Are there structures that help prevent
injury and assist seniors and persons with disability?
 Material Security – Are the delivery areas secure and not left open? Is there a system for
checking delivered packages and alerting management if anything suspicious was found?
 Access control – Are there barriers in place to control the flow of people coming in the
shopping centre premises during peak periods? Are there traffic controllers to help direct
shoppers on where to park and pacify possible cases of road rage?
 Management Policies – What is the level of top management support and involvement
in the conduct of security planning? Are there plans and policies in place (access control,
emergency response, crisis management)? How are these policies enforced and
reviewed? Are there systems for reporting security-related incidents?
Why Is Conducting a Risk Assessment Important?
Risk and security management involve dealing with complex and unpredictable factors that
some of you may not be aware of. Data gathered from the risk assessment will be used to
inform the design of the security management plan and make recommendations on the best
security measures to take for specific scenarios. To be able to properly address a looming
threat, you and your security service provider should have working knowledge on what these
threats are, their likelihood of occurring, their possible consequences to the public, and how
the current management system is equipped to handle such incidents.

Conclusion
Ensuring the safety of the public coming to your shopping centre on a daily basis needs
meticulous planning and faithful implementation. A risk assessment which allows you to dive
deep into the current problem areas your establishment has and anticipate the possible
occurrence of threats is crucial in designing an effective and comprehensive security
management plan.

We at Prosek Security are your partners in providing the best customer experience to your
shoppers. We conduct an exhaustive risk assessment that allows us to provide security
services that are tailored to the needs of your customers. Contact us now for a free
consultation and see how your shopping centre security can be improved.

ACCOUNTING SYSTEM TO TRACK THE DEBT AND INVOICES:

1) the ageing of debts payment delay patterns.

2) bad debts
3) payment of all invoices and expenses developing standard financial templates so that
a detailed annual property is prepared at times.
CASH RECEIPTS AND COLLECTION OF INCOME:

Financial management of a mall as a business venture which involves monitoring and

controlling of various issues such as cash receipts and collection of income including:

1) Rentals: The collection of monthly rents and other rental income from different stalls
etc on time. This is very vital because as per the tenancy agreement the payment of
rents might be different for different leased out stores in a mall. Hence there should be
a unique tracking system of the payment dates to ensure no late payments.

2) Service Charges: These service charges includes mall promotions for the stores,
3) car park receipts
4) electricity receipts
5) Other Utility Income receipts