In September 2024, Dostyk Plaza shopping and entertainment centre will be 10 years old. We decided to remember how everything started from the creation of the project to its realisation, says Alexey Khegay, partner of TSPM, the managing company of Dostyk Plaza.

TS Development Group was initially engaged in engineering consulting services, construction of office and residential property. The first retail property we built was the Sputnik Mall shopping and entertainment centre. It was followed by a larger shopping and entertainment centre project with a unique concept and advanced architectural solutions, which was later implemented in accordance with high international standards - Dostyk Plaza shopping and entertainment centre.

Dostyk Plaza is the largest project of TS Development group of companies from the financial point of view, with over $200 million invested in its construction. Based on its experience, the company has always strived to create landmark properties using advanced technologies and high-quality construction materials from Europe. For example, the company entrusted the development of the architectural concept of Dostyk Plaza to the famous British company Benoy, known for such projects as Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, Westfield shopping centre in London and many others.

As soon as the first sketches were received, the owner of the group of companies, Serik Tolbasy, and the whole team immediately fell in love with the design project of the British architects. The concept of the shopping centre was created with convenient circular navigation without dead-end zones. The project included spacious light atriums with daylight penetrating through horizontal stained glass windows, specially designed zoned lighting, light flooring, which was used for the first time in a shopping and entertainment centre of this size. Natural materials are used in the project, the railings are made of solid wood, glass railings in the atriums give a feeling of free space, lightness and beauty. The location of Dostyk Plaza in the centre of Almaty immediately implied the implementation of a unique project, and I think we succeeded. "Dostyk Plaza is exceptional!" - this is how the shopping centre was assessed by the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, during his visit in April 2015.

Over 10 years, Dostyk Plaza has managed to survive more than one crisis with dignity. In 2014, just before the opening of the Shopping and Entertainment Centre, the country experienced "Black Tuesday" - a one-stage devaluation of the national currency by 20%. In 2015, there was another financial crisis associated with inflation targeting and freely floating exchange rates. Together with the rest of the country and the world, we experienced the lockdown of the coronavirus, followed by the events of Kantar. In such challenging market conditions, the mall proved its stability by passing all the tests with honour and demonstrating rapid recovery and subsequent rapid growth in all indicators.

Dostyk Plaza is of great architectural and social value. The shopping and entertainment centre is a place of attraction for different generations of Almaty citizens and guests of the city, disposes to communication, pleasant shopping and quality leisure. Several thousand people work in Dostyk Plaza, and the monthly attendance of the shopping centre is about 1.5 million people. The restobar concept of the internal plaza, implemented in 2017, allowed to create a community-zone for holding events and activities of social and cultural orientation. Summer music and dance evenings with live bands and interesting performers have become a trademark of Dostyk Plaza and formed a new trend of city events. All of them are mostly chamber, atmospheric and oriented towards our favourite guests.

Since the opening, we have taken a sensible approach to forming the tenant pool, says Birlan Yeralin, Managing Director of TSPM. Even at the stage of creating the project concept, a full-scale marketing research was conducted, based on which the core of the shopping centre's target audience was identified and all marketing activities were focused on it.

Gradually, we formed our ideal tenant-mix, tried brands from various segments, particularly mass-market, and switched mainly to co-operation with brands in the "medium" and "medium+" categories. The first major negotiations were held with Indetex Group, because already then, in 2014, it was clear that this Spanish group of brands was the leader in the fashion-industry market. We became the first site in Almaty to open a Galmart supermarket, which began its work together with the Trade Entertainment Centre. We believed in it, and it believed in us and for 10 years we have been successfully co-operating and supporting each other.

It was in Dostyk Plaza that such brands as Zolotoye Yabloko, 12 Storeez, Reserved, CR7, Popeyes, Marciano by Guess, Next, BigChefs, Mado, Bestia, Aviva, Hawker Chan restaurants were opened for the first time in Kazakhstan. A fascinating story happened with the cinema project. Despite the fact that there were operators on the market who offered us cooperation, we wanted a cinema that was special, different from the others. So we decided to open our own cinema with a unique concept and a high level of service. Today, CINEMAX is one of the leaders in the cinema business in Kazakhstan.

An important factor for successful and long-term development, in our opinion, is transparency and commitment to high values and standards of work. We always declare transparency and systematically publish financial and economic information about all managed properties and companies in open sources and on our own websites. The year 2023 for Dostyk Plaza and the TSPM management company was marked by the achievement of record indicators. Business processes were improved, which made it possible to systematise the management of large facilities, identify development points in time and promptly make effective decisions.

Many of the planned targets of Dostyk Plaza were exceeded, 100% was achieved. The average weighted average rental rate was $580 per square metre. The priority goal of the Dostyk Plaza team is high customer satisfaction. In 2023, 14 million people visited the shopping centre and turnover was $272 million. 100% occupancy was achieved with a weighted average rental rate of $580 per square metre. Operating income (EBITDA) grew to $28 million with a 19% outperformance of the plan. The 2023 to 2022 dollar growth was 32% in EBITDA, 24% in rental income and Opex level (operating costs) decreased to 19%. The indicators were achieved by improving business processes, which made it possible to systematise the management of large facilities, identify development points in time and promptly make effective decisions.

In 2021, Dostyk Plaza was named "Best Large Shopping Centre" by the Central Asia Awards, an annual professional award assessing outstanding real estate projects in Central Asia. According to consumer surveys, Dostyk Plaza often tops the list of the most favourite shopping centres in Almaty, and is described as comfortable, beautiful and native. In turn, the team of Dostyk Plaza strives to make shopping of each of our visitors really special and pleasant. We have big plans and new stages of development ahead of us. Dostyk Plaza is 10 years old, everything is just beginning!