Belinda de Clercq has finally got her foot in the door of the region’s largest shopping centre and never one to do things by halves, she’s landed the top job.
It’s been just four years since Belinda, the new Richmond Mall manager, emigrated to Nelson from South Africa and she says she’s had her eye on working at the Richmond Mall ever since.
“I’ve wanted to be out here in the mall ever since I arrived. I love the mall, I love the region, and I love the vibrant people here in the centre of town. When I saw this opportunity [to be manager] I just went for it,” she says.
Taking over the role from David Hill, who is now the centre manager for Palm Beach Plaza in Tauranga, Belinda’s experience comes in the form of 25-odd years in retail management, including a role as an operations manager for a large department store in SA and the running of Farmers in Nelson.
Belinda says she hopes to jump right into the job, and learn the ropes as she goes. “I’m going to find my feet first and learn to understand the role as it is very different. My main goal is to have no empty spaces in the mall, and already we’ve got new tenants in the pipeline.
“Jean Jones is coming in October, we’ve got other potential retailers lined up that I can’t quite confirm yet and we’ve leased some of the top floor offices.”
While she’ll be busy enough settling into her job, Belinda says she is excited to get into the lead up to Christmas, busy school holiday promotions and the mall’s birthday celebrations which will be held in October.
While her retail management work history landed her the role, Belinda says she is looking forward to the unfamiliar parts of the job the most.
“One of the most exciting parts for me is to be exposed to the marketing side of things and liaising with the tenants.”
