Category: Awards

The awards take place in São Paulo at the end of June

The company Almeida Junior is a finalist for the Abrasce 2023 Award with four cases in
three of the nine categories available by the organization of the award in the shopping mall
segment. The group was selected with cases on employee training focusing on customer
interaction, on facing the challenge of the post-pandemic for its employees and with two
fashion events, one that covers an innovation hub in the area and another focused on the
inclusion of blind people in events like this. The award ceremony will take place in São
Paulo, on June 27th.

The four cases chosen as finalists by the judging committee for the award are part of
the categories ‘People Management’, ‘Events and Promotions’, and ‘Newton Rique of
Sustainability’ – ESG’. Organized by the Brazilian Association of Shopping Centers (Abrasce),
the purpose of the award is to recognize the innovative projects developed by Brazilian
shopping malls in the areas of social, environmental and economic transformation.
In the ‘People Management’ category, the case selected was ‘O pós-pandemia e o
desafio que valorizou a Employee Experience no Grupo Almeida Junior [The post-pandemic
and the challenge that enhanced the Employee Experience at the Almeida Junior Group]’.
The main objective of the project was to bring the family network of its employees closer to
the work environment in the resumption of in person work in June 2021. In order to
strengthen the company-employee-family bond in 2022, the group started to implement
new actions of proximity and engagement with families. Commemorative dates were
contemplated with the realization of special actions between workers and their families, in
addition to awards between employees and children.

In the ‘Events and Promotions’ category, two cases were classified as finalists. The
employee training project ‘AJ Encanta: antecipando o futuro da relação com o cliente
[anticipating the future of customer relations]’, took place in 2022 and reached 600 network
employees. AJ Encanta was conceived with the purpose of engaging the company’s
employees so that their services generate customer enchantment. A series of practical and
theoretical training stages were applied, in addition to manuals and pocket guides with
everyday situations to guide employees in customer service.

Another project highlighted in the category was ‘Garten Shopping vira hub de
Inovação na moda, com evento Startup Weekend Fashion Tech [Garten Shopping becomes a
fashion innovation hub, with a Startup Weekend Fashion Tech event]’, which brought
together fashion and technology, aiming at fostering an entrepreneurial culture and creating
new businesses in the fashion tech area in Joinville. The event’s differential was its venue, a
shopping mall, which enabled a direct connection between the developed solutions, fashion
and retail market shopkeepers and the consumer. The event featured the creation of 14
innovative projects in a period of just 54 hours and the participation of around 150 people.

In the ‘Newton Rique of Sustainability – ESG’ category, the case ‘A inclusão na
passarela do Norte Fashion Way: um desfile de moda para os cegos “verem” [Inclusion on
the catwalk of the Norte Fashion Way: a fashion show for the blind to “see”]’ was chosen as
a finalist. Between August and September 2022, the Norte Fashion Way event took place at
Norte Shopping of Blumenau, with the participation of more than 20 brands from the malls.
The shopping mall pioneered the use of the See Colors system at the event, a program
developed exclusively for blind people to identify colors through a tactile code printed on
the labels and on the items themselves. In addition to the See Color labels, the event had
the participation of visually impaired models, who walked down the catwalk using the audio
description technique for the audience present. Furthermore, a special lounge was set up to
explain the See Color technology to the public.

For Almeida Junior’s Director of Marketing and Relationships, Rafael Fiedler, being
among the finalists for an award like Abrasce’s is very significant. “We entered four cases
and the four were classified as finalists, which proves the value of the experiences
generated. One of the main values of our company is to innovate and do things differently,
we always seek to improve work environments and customer service, in addition to
innovating with projects and events. Being recognized in these fields encourages us to
continue promoting change in our shopping malls”, he points out.

On the night of Thursday, 25, in Florianópolis took place the ceremony of awarding the trophies

 

Neumarkt Shopping, from Blumenau, and Nações Shopping, won the 27^th edition of the Top of Mind award as the brands most remembered by consumers in the shopping malls segment in their respective regions. The award and delivery of the trophy was this Thursday, 25, at the Federation of Industries of the state of Santa Catarina (FIESC), in Florianópolis. This initiative is promoted by NSC in partnership with Instituto Mapa.

For the 23^rd consecutive year, Neumarkt Shopping, in Blumenau, was recognized by Top of Mind as the mall most remembered by consumers in Vale de Itajaí. Neumarkt’s award was received by Almeida Junior’s marketing and relationship director, Monique Campos. The superintendent of Neumarkt Shopping, Marco Aurélio Garzin, points out that, in addition to understanding and adapting to consumer and market changes, Neumarkt is committed to always innovate and surprise customers. “Over these almost 30 years, the shopping mall always seeks to renew its mix, bringing to the residents of Blumenau and region great national and international brands, many of them unprecedented in the region, in addition to betting on differentiated actions to delight its audience”, he asserts.

Neumarkt turns 29 in September. “Neumarkt has always distinguished itself due to the fact that it goes far beyond a shopping center, offering amenities to facilitate people’s daily lives and events that delight all ages. Now, following the manifesto “Live what there is to live”, we want to strengthen this connection with our customers even more, so that they can experience unique moments inside the shopping mall”, emphasizes the Marketing Manager of Neumarkt Shopping, Girlaine Caldas.

Nações Shopping won for the second consecutive year as the most remembered brand by consumers in the shopping malls segment in the south of Santa Catarina. “This is proof that the actions carried out by the malls are making a difference in the lives of our customers. Our mission is to bring the public the best in entertainment, stores and gastronomy. Nações is, without a doubt, the Giant of the South”, declares the superintendent of Nações Shopping, Marcos Paulo Souza.

Nações Shopping, opened six years ago, was recognized in the Top of Mind 2022 award for its strategy of qualifying the mix of exclusive stores, in addition to promoting unprecedented special moments and experiences with exclusive national events, involving the entire southern region of Santa Catarina. “Nações is responsible for marking the lives of our customers through special moments, with memorable experiences. We present the best in the retail market to our customers”, concludes the Marketing Manager of Nações Shopping, Fernanda Almeida.

 

About the award

The award, which is in its 27^th edition, recognizes the brands most remembered by the people of Santa Catarina. Promoted by NSC in partnership with Instituto Mapa, this year awarded in 39 categories companies from various origins.

The topic of this year’s communication campaign was “Brands that are in the head are shaped in the heart”. The winners received a trophy handcrafted in crystal. The award event was held in a hybrid format, in person only for guests and with digital transmission on the NSC Total portal.

The project covers the training of shopping mall employees and the opening of exclusive parking spot availability for persons with autism spectrum

 

With innovative actions on raising autism awareness, Almeida Junior was one of the winners in the 2022 Abrasce Awards from the Brazilian Association of Shopping Centers, in the People Management category, being awarded the bronze medal, with a record of registrations and 285 cases evaluated by experts. The winners were announced on this Wednesday’s (22) evening, in São Paulo, at the closing ceremony of the sector’s largest event.

Starting from the goal of enabling better inclusion and reception for people with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), Almeida Junior has developed a project covering a number of actions, such as training front line employees in the company’s six shopping malls to support ASD individuals, and the availability of exclusive parking spots for these people, a pioneering initiative in Santa Catarina.

All the results from this initiative were presented in the case “Almeida Junior group: SC pioneer in supporting and approaching individuals with autism”, now acknowledged by Abrasce. “We are touched by the fact that social environments must be accessible, inclusive and supportive for ASD individuals, and we embrace this cause by transforming something that has happened in one of our malls into a project of great importance, impact and awareness for the society. Always in accordance with our goal of positively changing people’s lives”, stresses Monique Campos, Marketing and Relations Head at Almeida Junior.

“This was another cause that the company embraced and knows how important it is. For the first time in the state, the first action was the development of a training and qualification program for supporting and approaching ASD individuals, replicated for all employees in the group’s six shopping malls”, highlights Beth Rachelle, People and Management Head at Almeida Junior.

The training was carried out in a partnership with AMA (Autism Parents and Friends Association), from Blumenau, and with the Santa Catarina Military Police (PMSC). Guidance on the autism spectrum, auditive and visual conflicts within a shopping center, correct methods of supporting and approaching ASD individuals, and also an explanation on laws and rights towards people with autism was given to the employees. The training became part of Almeida Junior’s schedule and is given every six months to employees.

Periodically, the Almeida Junior shopping centers also promote the Blue Session, an inclusive and exclusive cinema session for people with autism. Some things make all the difference: the room’s volume is decreased and 50% of the lights remain on and people are allowed to enter and exit the room at any time.

 

Project Origin

It started with an episode that took place in the premises of the Neumarkt Shopping in Blumenau, where the opportunity of transforming it into a positive initiative in the company came. In August 2021, an ASD child sat in a leased fire-truck-like toy car. The store clerk asked the family the child’s weight – who at the time weighed 30 kilograms – and then informed that he wouldn’t be able to ride the toy car due to weight requirements of 28 kilograms maximum. The father explained that the child was autistic and that it would be tough to remove him from the toy car right away, but the clerk didn’t know how to handle this situation, which was enough to trigger discontent in the family.  After this episode, and touched by not only the child’s situation but also by empathetically putting ourselves in the shoes of all individuals within the autism spectrum, the shopping mall promptly scheduled a planning meeting to develop actions towards this cause. The board understood that such actions should be carried out in all of Almeida Junior’s shopping centers.