Case Study : ROPPONGI HILLS – CITY WITHIN A CITY
Subject : Strategic Management
Student Name : Balakrishnan Muthukaruppan
Student Number :

INTRODUCTION

The case features the Mori Buildings successful development of Roppongi Hills, an integrated urban development and property management of a planned township under the leadership of Minoru Mori, President and CEO, and its future challenges.

SYNOPSIS AND COMPANY BACKGROUND

Mori Building was founded in 1959 by Taikichiro Mori. He was later succeeded by his son Minoru Mori whom was considered to be Japan’s most powerful building tycoon. Under his leadership the company envisioned and implemented many ambitious and complex urban development projects. One of the mega property development project were the Roppongi Hills , an integrated urban development of a well planned 12-hector mini city incorporating a blended concept of a place to work , life, entertainment, learning and culture at a cost of $2.25million( excluding land acquisition cost) completed in 2003. The other successful projects under the company were Ark Hills, an active multi property complex in 1986 and subsequently the Omotesando Hills famous for its shopping and residential street in 2006. The company also manages the maintenance and the administrative these complexes through various activities for its exploitations as an added revenues. Its other foreign projects include the construction of Shanghai World Finance Centre, in China considered as one of the tallest buildings in Asia. The company total group sales were ¥152.763 million with a net profit of
¥11.101 million for the financial year ended 2005. However the company’s latest financial result for financial year ended 2010, the sales revenue were ¥102.20 billion with a net profit of ¥ 7.7 billion.( source: http://www.mori.co.jp/en/company/press/release/2010/11/20101118153000002120.html )

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The case depicts Mori’s vision in transforming urban development’s through Mori Building seeking new challenges and revolutions in the property industry to seek new lifestyles for its customers. The Roppongi Hills complex were one of his successful project completed in 2003 .The 12-hector mini city consist almost of everything such as offices, residential units, restaurants , gyms, shops, cafes , theatres , hotels many more basic amenities incorporated in a brilliantly , land scarce environment of Tokyo city. Thus it promotes new concepts whereby the resident can cut travelling times by commuting from different places. Simultaneously it benefits by having high quality residences, work places, shopping, relaxations, studying, cultures, and art within the enclosed confinements and was termed an “artelligent city”. The company also managed to overcome successfully the financing for the project through its own initiatives and resourcefulness.

The Mori Tower, the main attraction of the complex consisting of office building with renowned tenants such Konami, Livedoor, Rakuten and Yahoo, Japan thus enhances Roppongi Hills status as a premium property. Other important contributors to the bustling economy of the complex includes the Grand Hyatt Hotel , a five star hotel, TV Asahi a premium station within the complex, movie theatres, residential buildings , Mori Arts centre , Academy Hills , Museum and the Art Gallery. The Town management was set up to manage the maintenance and the development of the complex as a value added benefit to the tenants and as an additional revenue earner for the company. The unit is also responsible to promote and enhance the image of Roppongi Hills through various activities.

Never the less the Roppongi Hills, also encountered many threats and challenges for its sustainability as a premium property market in the case. They are mainly from competitions from its closest rivals the Mitsui Fudosan’s Midtown complex. The competitor located across the streets of Roppongi Hills has the similar facilities and there seems to be some threat of them capturing some of its customers mainly the office tenants and the shoppers. Further the Museum on the top floor of Mori Towers was expensive and making losses close to $9 million each year. Additionally there are also the Roponggi Hills promotions to attract the outside traffics and its conflicts with the internal constituents in the usage of the amenities. In addition the death of a 6 year old boy caught in the Mori Tower revolving doors and the involvement of its tenant Livedoor in a controversial business does not augur well and thus portray some negative image for the Roppongi Hills. Thus this are the success factors and the challenges encountered by Mori Building in the development and the management of Roppongi Hills being the main source of the this case.

ANSWERS WITH REGARDS TO ASSIGNMENT QUESTION

As highlighted earlier in my executive summary, the museum is not providing returns of investment as expected by Mori and thus are posing threats economically and financially to Mori Buildings in managing the Roppongi hills.

First and foremost, i do not agree in locating a museum on the top floor. Thus as i believe from the logistics point of view it is very expensive in handling the items to exhibited from the ground. It’s common for museums to have seasonal exhibitions from time to time. Thus during these periods the exhibits need to be transported and lifted up to the top floor for arrangements .As per information the museum is located on the 53rd floor of the Mori Tower.(source: http://www.mori.art.museum/eng/info/access.html ). Hence in my opinion it would not be economically good for such an arrangement. The cost handling and lifting in these exhibits will be expensive. Additional labour and equipment will be required to be hired for the logistics job to get the items to the designated locations. Some the over dimension packages may also require special lifting equipments and therefore the management will have to allocate additional funds for the provision of such services. Thus having the museum in the ground floor would be more convenient for the nature of its business. This will reduce the unnecessary additional cost that the management is currently spending by having the museum on the top floor. The African Remix exhibition is one good example in the case of the high cost involved. The company spend $700,000 on the indirect cost for the handlings of the objects. Hence in my opinion the museums locations on the top floor are incurring the management high logistics cost and may contribute to higher expenditures, thus incurring losses.

In my opinion i believe that Mori is too optimistic on his love and passions for arts and heritage. Further he is instilling his interest and hobbies into his business aspects. Thus i believe it is the reason he is actually maintaining a museum on the top floor without analysing the proper commercial benefit. Hence in this capacity, i believe that he could have made a wrong assessment on this matter. His personal beliefs do not necessarily mean that all the visitors and the public would have similar interest in arts and heritage as he perceives. Basically the museum does not deals on products or services for a profit and thus the entrance fee of $12 can be considered very expensive, thus not viable in the business point of view considering the nature of businesses. Besides the museums are normally managed by curators and historians, thus naturally by virtue of their professions these are people are committed for the love of interest or hobby. Therefore they are not experts in managing the museum for commercial benefits. Thus in my opinion, Mori should re-analyse his motives for the existence and operations of the museum at its current location. It should either for his personal interest or commercial benefit. Hence by clearly analysing the objectives for commercial benefit, he should appoint the respective marketing managers for maintaining the museums competiveness by taking initiatives into making the museum popular .This can be done by strategic marketing to increase museum going experience for visitors by better exhibits, designs, and more accessible and comfortable facilities. Alternatively if it’s intended for personal interest and hobby, it should be made more accessible by getting committed curators and historians as an added benefits to common interest visitors.

In my organisation, we have a plantation of pineapples termed “The Sea Of Pineapples” within in a plot of 1,5 acres within the logistics complex( www.pktgroup.com ). Further it’s totally not relevant to our industry, never the less it’s the outcome of our CEO’s passion for the fruit and his personal interest in ecology. We do not have a direct commercial benefit but it adds value to our business environment in terms of commitment for reducing ecological impact, reducing carbon footprints and ultimately promoting an environment friendly practices. In fact it had become a popular visiting area for our customers, guest and other visitors. Further the project is expected to be self financed once the harvesting of the fruit commences .This I believe it gives us an intangible benefit in terms of publicity and recognitions as an organization with best practices in green concepts and helping to preserve ecological systems. Thus i believe that Mori should look into similar aspects and strategise accordingly to his objectives on the status of the museum. In conclusion, mixing the enterprise and arts is not a good idea particularly if we are concern with regards to its revenue.

Based on the case and further reference to the case, I observed that the shopping complex and restaurants are located in the 1st floor till the 6th floor (Source: http://www.mori.co.jp/en/office/japan/roppongihillsmt/siteplan.html ). Thus in my view expecting visitors from the shopping group is not viable unless they are from the common interest group. Thus the shopper will be very tired after shopping in the lower floors and this will not motivate them from visiting the 53rd floor where the museum is located. Thus the museum is not strategically located in a business perspective for the visitors to be easily accessible. Further as per demographics, the visitors to this type of shopping complexes are mostly youths. Furthermore the impacts of western cultures influence on them are increasing and therefore the youths frequent places which are trendy and happenings. Hence the shopping centres and the entertainment outlets are some their frequented places. Thus they are not very keen and interested in arts, heritage and culture due the changing lifestyles. Alternatively the older generations are more conservative and they are very strongly inclined to cultures and arts, however their visits to such shopping centres are less and do not much suit the conservative lifestyles. There for in this capacity the youngster do not frequent museums and at the same time older generations do not frequent the museums located in such trendy places too. The elders may prefer proper museums that are conveniently located and easily accessible to them. In conclusion the museums are not the choice of the youngster whom frequents the complex but at the same time it is not strategically located to the interest groups mostly the older generations whom may not like such like trendy places.

Naturally the top floors are normally allocated as luxury penthouses apartments, Roof top bars, Restaurants in prime real estate’s properties. However Mori’s choice of locating the Museum on the top floor is not feasible commercially in such a premium property market in Tokyo. This floor spaces could have been better utilized to synergize with other facilities currently operational for better traffics and returns. The company in this case could have better opportunities to generate higher revenues. Notably they could convert them into luxury penthouse apartment and this would provide better image in terms of its premium tenants with better margins. The location of the Mori tower on the Roppongi Hills, in the heart of Tokyo would have been very strategic for roof Top Bars and restaurants. This would have enabled a balanced crowd’s traffic from the bottom to the top floors. It would have been lovely attractions for them to wine and dine whilst enjoying the panoramic views of the cities particularly at night. It would be spot for the tourist and the local peoples to rest and rejuvenate. Thus by doing so, they could have increased their sales and profit margins to avoid losses for managing the current museum.

I would like to relate 2 good examples of how the real estate property managements had capitalise the traffic flows by strategizing premium tenants at the top floors. The Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur is a very popular spot shopping complex in high an end trendy Bukit Bintang area encompassed with retail malls, office blocks and residential towers. The topmost floors are occupied by a variety of premium health and beauty parlours ranging from beauty salons SPA outfits like ADONIS Wellness @Seventh Heaven and Aster Spring Origin of Beauty. Hence in my opinion it is more appropriate and relevant business outlets that suits the environment. There are always bustling crowds both the tourist and the locals there can always move in for relaxations enjoying the SPA’s. Another good example of the top floor popularity is the La Fayette’s Hotel, Panoramic Bar at the 34th floor overlooking the Paris City in France. It is very popular spot to enjoy the panoramic view of the city particularly at night in a cosy and ambience environment. It is very popular among tourist and hotel guest due its very strategic location and high revenue for its operators. Thus i have actually quoted these examples as to how Mori could have planned the top floor more effectively for higher returns. Hence, i believe that the museum is not strategically located and its one for the reason for its losses. Thus it would better to replace with other business entities that can offer a better return of investment then maintaining the museum which is making a loss.

There are also some side effects of aggressively promoting the museum in this case. The museum is located on the top floor and the below floors are occupied with office tenants, academy and shopping complexes. Thus during exhibitions and promotions there would be heavy traffic of crowds thus it would cause a lot inconvenience to the office tenants and the shoppers. The lifts would be fully used due to the additional visitors hence would causing congestions in view of the sudden surge. The tenants and business visitors would also find problem in parking their vehicles at the complex during such occasions. In addition there would be heavy traffic thus it would be problem for the securities in managing the traffic jams. Further the securities may not be able to effectively manage the influx of visitors to the museum. In my opinion with regards to many terrorism threats, visitors to the museum can pose high risks. Thus the management will need to provide sophisticated security equipments and CCTVs to monitor the visitors for the safety of the tenants and other users.

Thus the property management will have to invest heavily on such equipments and would be additional cost. In sometimes during major art shows, urgent deliveries of documents and supplies to the complex can be disrupted in view of the jams.

In Malaysia we do anticipate problems when major exhibitions or Fairs are held at multipurpose complexes such as the Midvalley shopping complex. The complex is totally congested with people and heavy traffic jams thus causing a lot of inconvenience to the regular shoppers and hotel residents. Sometimes the main roads are also affected. Thus similarly i believe the arts museum location on the top floor of Mori Tower is a disadvantage to the organization and tend to cause a lot inconvenience to the office tenants and shop owners there during promotions. Therefore any attempt by the management to promote the museum will also carry negative conflicts with regular users and the office tenants which the Mori Buildings must be taken into considerations.

Furthermore the presence of another museum which is the Suntory Arts Museum in the Midtown complex is also another threat. Hence I believe that the Mori Arts Museum do not enjoy a monopoly advantage in this case. The Suntory museum can also be a strong competitor as they are also located in close vicinity which is Roppongi Triangle. Thus in this capacity, the customers has their choice to select their preference for their visits as they are closely located. Additionally the Suntory museum is more strategically located at the 3-4Floor compared with Mori Arts Museum which on the 53rd Floor. (Source: http://www.tokyo-midtown.com/en/design_art/suntory.html) In my opinion it would be convenient for the visitors and logistically cheaper for Suntory over Mori Museum in terms of operations.

Lastly the alarming problem in the case is that the museum is making losses. Based on the case, the Art Museum is making losses close to $9million each year. Thus in business aspect it is not very good for Mori buildings financial statements. Though Mori is quite adaptable to the loss of operating the museum for the sake of the project, there are concerns among his circles. In business running a loss is not considered as healthy and therefore he must take the necessary actions to rectify the loss. Alternatively they should look into alternative options in either taking countermeasure with the existence of the museum or closing it down to replace with some other viable and profitable endeavours. If the losses are not rectified earlier it can affect the profitability of other business units in the future. Hence it may not be fair to other units as their hard work will be eroded as they are not in control of the other unit’s losses in this case the museum. The stakeholders will suffer ultimately and the shareholders must take drastic action to overcome the issue of the Museum’s operating loss.

In conclusion the above are some of the problems that the museum is encountering currently. The choice of a Museum on the top floor of mega multipurpose complex is very abnormal and curious. Perhaps there are other reasons in addition to Mori’s interest for arts and cultures. In my opinion i believe that his choice could have been intended to promote the brand image of the complex and to push up the value of the land by incorporating the elements of culture. This basically could be due to the strong inclination by the Japanese deep towards arts and culture, an inheritance of their ancestors. Therefore Mori could be capitalizing on these strengths to attract the traffic to the complex. Never the less he has a serious problem with the museum and therefore the Mori Buildings shareholders will have to make a wise decision on the fate of their museum at its present locations.

In my opinion, I do not agree in maintaining the Mori Art Museum at the top .Thus I believe that it had to be closed based on the rationales as explained below. Firstly below are the results of strategic analysis of the Museum in its current status, using the SWOT analysis as the yard stick to determine the viability of the business.

| | |
|Strengths |Weakness |
|its location in the commercial Roppongi Triangle |making losses close $9million a year |
|The highest Museum |logistically expensive and costly |
|focusing modern arts |not a strategic location for a museum on the 53rd floor |
| |expensive entrance fees |
| |inconvenience to other residents and tenants |
| | |
|Opportunity |Threats |
|regular exhibitions |increasing youths influence to western cultures |
|strong urban culture and bustling economic activities |shrinking older generation whom inclined strongly to arts and culture |
|Roppongi Triangle as hub for arts and culture. |The presence of Suntory museum in Midtown thus maybe competitive |
| |the decline in visitors to the museum |
| |the location is more popular for commercial activities rather than |
| |leisure activities |

Thus based on my above analysis, it is favourable to stop operating the museum. The financial statements are the indicator for the starting point for problems in organizations. Poor financial reporting can lead to many financial constraints if not corrected and rectified at the early stage. In this case the museum is making a loss of close to $9million yearly. Thus this could drain cash from other profitable business units to subsidize for the sustainability of the museum. Hence when such units operate at loss, the owners must take out of pocket fund to subsidize them. Thus in my opinion, the managements should close down the operations of the museum to avoid further losses. This will save the organization from incurring further financial losses and concentrate on its core competency being the development and management of properties.

Further based on the analysis, the museum lacks competitive advantages. The logistics cost is very high for the operations of the museum. Hence they have to face huge expenditures in moving the objects from the grounds. Thus it is not convenient for the museum to be located on the top floors with respect to the inconveniences. Further it would be inconvenient for the tenants, shoppers and residents every time when there are events being organised by the museums. In addition i believe that the entrance fee of $12 is very expensive and may discourage visitors from visiting them.

The reasons for the declining in visitors to the museum could have been also due to the increase in Japanese youths being influenced by the Western and hip hop culture therefore they are not interested in arts cultures as the elder generations. Furthermore the elder generations are not keen in visiting trendy commercial areas and may prefer museum in other quieter and easily accessible locations to their convenience. The presence of the Suntory museum in Midtown may also be a factor that could have divides the visitors in its close proximity, hence facing competitions. Therefore these are some of the factors that could have affected the profitability and the sustainability of the museum.

Similarly in my organization, we had the engineering division under our organization to provide supportive services such as the packaging and cabin fabrications for the logistics divisions. Though the division were initially self financing and profitable, it was making a loss later and required to be subsidized by other profitable divisions. Thus in order for us to stop loss, our management had to make a drastic decision of closing down the division and outsourcing the activities to external contractors. Hence by doing so we managed to stop further loss of the non performing business unit.

Another recent good example is the timely strategic decisions by Malaysian Airlines recently to cut-loss making International routes as a recovery plan to avoid the Malaysian National airlines from going bankrupt( source : http://www.thesundaily.my/news/232471) . This series of action and initiative by the airline is expected to save them RM1.178 billion and RM1.508 billion in total. In additional they are also planning to form alliance with airlines to further synergize their growth and sustainability. Thus when enterprises are making financial loss the shareholders will have to respond to its early warning systems to quickly rectify the problem from getting worse and destroying the business. Thus by doing they will be able mitigate the risk with good risk management strategies at early stage.

The management can strategize for various actions for the replacement of the museum and turning the business in to a profitable unit. In my opinion, they can turn the top floor into Penthouse and premium residential units. This type of investment can reap in long term capital growth for Mori Buildings as the location of Mori Towers is very strategic on the Roppongi Hills. They will pose as an elite high class luxury apartments for high profile tenants whom could bid for very high rentals. Thus this would provide a stable income compared with current museum managements. Furthermore it’s the Mori’s core competency activity and therefore they would be able manage it profitably. I am proposing this further based on my research whereby Japan is ranked as the 4th most expensive property markets in the world at an average price of USD 17,998 per sq. m. (Source: http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/press-relations/Most-expensive-real-estate-markets-in-2009). Hence Mori could actually capitalize on their strength as the prime property locations in Roppongi triangles to capture the high profile customers.

In Malaysia we also have this kind luxurious penthouse located in the KLCC and Golden Triangle which are considered prime real estates in the heart of Kuala Lumpur city. The area is densely populated and the properties are in the close proximity to diverse range amenities five star hotels, shopping centres, night clubs, cinemas and many more. One of the most the most popular is the Triplex Penthouse at the KL Suria Stonor located on the 22-24 floors. The exclusive penthouses are fully renovated in a cutting edge style, high tech controls and ultimate in high definition distribution offering a luxurious family living and entertaining to the residents. Furthermore the units have a panoramic view overlooking the city and are very beautiful during the night times. Thus I believe this kind of investment would generate better stream income to the development and managements companies by investing the top floors strategically to their advantage. The management companies in this case do not need to spend very high on advertisement and promotion cost as their customers are within a selected groups unlike the case of the museum where such cost are high.

Alternatively they can lease or operate an exclusive premium cosy restaurants and bar due to its roof top locations. This kind of restaurant and bars are more suitable for the Roppongi Hills environment and can add value as an exclusive premium outlet in the vicinity for the residents, tenants, and tourist and business travellers staying nearby. Furthermore it can be a hive of activities particularly at night where they can chill out in an ambient environment. The roof top bars can be a popular spot due its close proximity of the commercial enterprises, in addition to its beauty and scenic view overlooking the Tokyo city from the top of Roppongi Hills. Thus I think such a business will be more viable compared with operating a museum in a commercial hub. Furthermore this nature of business will not cause much conflict to the existing tenants and shoppers. They will in fact be some of their potential customers for dining and entertainments at the restaurants. In my opinion, restaurant businesses are more lucrative compared with the museums because food and drinks are essential items. Further we are bound get repeated business support from the customers if they satisfied with the food and service whereas in museum it may not the same.

In Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, we have similar concept of vibrant rooftop restaurant and bar. It’s called the “Luna “and it’s located on the 34th floor in the Pan Pacific Regency Hotel Suites. The roof top bar surrounded by towering skyscrapers offers a very splendid panoramic view. It’s equipped with a pool side with great music that is very happening. Thus the vibrant versatility of events on promotes a very exclusive environment and atmosphere. It ultimately generates very good stream of revenue for the shareholders.

Lastly, the management can consider setting up food courts at the top floor. The management can provide the facilities and counters for the vendors to sell various types of cuisines. They should control the vendors in order for them to sell a diverse range foods and thus avoiding competition among them. At the same time the management can operate the drink stalls on their own while outsourcing the food to the vendors. This is because almost every customer will consume drinks while dining and furthermore it would be easy managing drink counters compared with foods as it requires some expertise. This will also provide an opportunity for the complex employees and office workers to take their meals at the tower rather than going out for elsewhere for their meals. They should also consider International Food Courts in view of the multinationals in the vicinities. It would provide an opportunity for the shoppers to go up to the food court for some drinks and foods after their shopping.

Notably the food emporium at the Pavilion Shopping is one good example of how the real estate management synergize the complex environment the best of their advantage. The food court termed “Food Republic” serves a variety of local and International cuisines. Thus it is popular spot for the shoppers and tourist to dine in the Bukit Golden Triangle. It serves the best hawker and restaurant foods under a single platform at affordable prices in addition to good customer services. The concept actually revolutionised the food courts and its concepts are imitated in many Asian countries. It actually generates a steady stream of customer movement and thus would economically benefit the managements.

In conclusion, the above are some of my choices in replacements for the museum. In my opinion, the museum budgets are coming under pressures and mostly require corporate sponsorship and support for survivals. Furthermore museums are mostly abandoning traditional approaches from preservation of historical art crafts to exhibitions and other displays. Basically the Mori Arts Museum is into this nature of business. However i believe that the business is no more viable based on some of my reasons as highlighted earlier. Additionally i do not believe that such a nature of business could be successfully managed just for the sake of an individual interest. Notably based on the case, the museum had been existence solely due to the personal interest of Minoru Mori. Hence there seems to be no other commercial benefits in managing the museum. The area is a one of the most busy commercial hub in heart of Tokyo, thus in my opinion it would be advisable to close the museum in replacement for other business to capitalise and add value to the surrounding enterprises.

Basically Mori’s vision for the development of the Roppongi Hills was to create an integrated property development, where the urban communities allow people to work, live, shop, dine and play in proximity to eliminate commuting time. Therefore bringing endless diversity of art and culture with business and education in one place, it enabled an integration that cannot be matched by any others. The project brought an increased competition with these cities exerting a growing influence on the national economy. While fostering traditional cultures and identities, it also maintains a global perspective. Further they build a mutual relationship with stakeholders to collectively achieve their goals. He thus exploited a unique synergy in Roponngi Hills that express the full potential of Tokyo as a global city .Hence making it an attractive place to reside, work and visit. Thus in the process M. Mori had actually created “synergies” that brought about a successful commercial-residential complex incorporating multiple economical and cultural values.

The Grand Hyatt Tokyo Hotel is an idealistic location that that adds value beyond accommodation to not only to the Roppongi Hill vicinity but also an extension to the surroundings as well. The five star hotel is equipped with 387 rooms, swimming pools, recreational facilities and vast selection restaurants and bars serving a variety of cuisines. The commercially beneficial centres of attraction are the 13 meeting rooms, 2800 sq. meters of conference and meeting spaces with the state of art technology of very high international standards. Notably the hotel’s capacity to accommodate the guest during the Tokyo International Festival held in Roppongi Hills thus sacrificing the short term revenues that could have been earned from the Japanese wedding season that coincide during the same period. Hence its contribution towards the success of the event is vital thus commercially benefiting the organisers. Further they provide discounts to the employees and residents which is an advantage in retaining the business within the complex. Interestingly based on resources almost 70% of the guests are from overseas of business sectors. Thus the whole complex will benefit economically from the spill over of the guest when they wine, dine, shop and enjoy the amenities in the surroundings. Hence in this capacity the hotel contributes much more than a place offering comfort and services that creates an ideal base to enjoy the complexes endless varieties.

The Academy Hills on the 40th and 49th floor further boast a centre of knowledge with its multipurpose educational facilities in Mori Tower. Thus the members and other visitors enjoy a variety of lectures through selected course and seminars, hence providing a leading edge on the educational business in the area. Hence the academy indirectly promotes other commercial activities when the visitors and students frequent the nearby restaurants for meals and the shops for other personal utilities. Thus these will help to boost the other business entities economically from the business generated by the academy’s customers. I think this new innovative synergies are much duplicated in the dimension of the educational business around the world. Gone are the days of isolating educational centres from the cities. The new educational centres are mostly planned to integrate into a much variety of business for commercial benefits. Furthermore academy member’s accommodation in the surrounding complex areas promotes to the real estate value appreciations. Not only that but such concepts can similarly promote Roppongi as an educational hub commonly known as “student’s city”. The effects of such integration with other supporting business tend to produce economically vibrant surroundings to the Roppongi vicinities.

In Malaysia, we do have a “mini student’s city “in Subang Jaya in the district of Petaling Jaya. There are number of International educational institutes encompassed in the small area there. Hence there are many local foreign students studying in the colleges surrounding areas. Thus the areas are well connected with banks, shopping complexes, shops, classy restaurants and bars, thus the whole area are a hive of bustling economic activities thought out the days. The traffic during the day is very heavy and the restaurants are fully packed with students. At night there are many restaurants and pubs that operate long hours to cater for the student’s community mostly. The surrounding residents also take the opportunity to frequent this area due to other amenities available there. I think the biggest impact is the appreciation of the real estate’s value and its very high demands for the student residents. Furthermore due to its demand the surrounding restaurants and bars are much more expensive compared with other outlets in the nearby areas.

The location of TV Asahi in the Roppongi area is a perfect marriage of a diverse business range which mutually benefits both the organizations. TV Asahi is strategically positioned to take advantage of this dynamic environment by offering expensive assets in broadcastings, creativity and experience. Both the entities attract many people and TV Asahi Headquarters alone is said to attract 10,000 people every day. Thus TV Asahi organizes various promotional events for their programs and air programmes at the Atrium located on the ground floor and outside the arena. These actually provide free advertisements of the Roppongi Hills at the back drops. Thus i believe both the organizations are benefiting from the close proximities mutually. Furthermore the businesses in Roppongi will benefit when some of the visitors go to the neighbouring shops and facilities.

There were many anchor tenants such as the Goldman Sachs & Co, Konami, Livedoor, Rakuten, and Yahoo! Japan. The presence of high profile tenants actually helps the complex to promote the image and brandings of Roppongi Hill as a premium real estate property in Tokyo. The tenants and the employees while working there also contributes to the growth of the surrounding industries when they enjoy the various amenities. Due to its exceptionally high quality environment that the management practiced, the Mori Towers reached 100% occupancies as a result. This actually provided an opportunity for the Mori Building to raise the rentals and thus increasing revenues.

Similar high rise prime office buildings in Malaysia are the 88 storeys Petronas Twin Tower and the49 storey Menara Maxis are some of the premium office buildings located in the KLCC complex in Kuala Lumpur. The commercial buildings are situated in the heart of Kuala Lumpur surrounded by commercial centres, embassies, entertainment hubs and the most popular tourist attractions in the country. Hence the areas is very busy both day and night with various commercial activities being in the Bukit Bintang golden triangles. Thus this concept of commercial integrations and its synergies are quite similar to the Roppongi area in Tokyo.

The retail facilities add another significant value to the Roppongi Hills complex in attracting the visitors and surrounding residents. The retail facilities comprised of 229 outlets as of July 2006, with “only one” concept with diverse mix of stores. Another interesting part is the retails facilities suits the multinational concepts of livings that are made possible by the foreign nationalities. Some of the well known are brands are Sazaby league, Zara, Deisel,Four Seeds Corp and Louis Vuitton whom attract the hotel guest, residents ,tourist and office workers to these stores for shopping. While the stores benefit from the various ranges of customers through the sales turn over, Mori Building benefits in rental revenue up to 15% on an average.

The top movie cinema the TOHO operates in the complex. The theatre is equipped with nine screens and a seating capacity of 2,000 people and a state of the art audio system. Further the move goers enjoy watching premier International Blockbuster movies and giving a competitive edge over other cinemas in terms of movies and its facilities. Thus it enables a quality nightlife entertainment to the surrounding peoples and thus making it hang out area. This creates an opportunity to contribute some spill over benefits to the neibouring businesses such as the restaurants and bars.

It had been Mori’s vision to create a city of rich culture incorporated with a vibrant business complex. Thus the Mori Arts Museum was a unique setting featuring many arts and holding exhibitions. Hence it helped to contribute to the growth of an audience for contemporary art and promote the arts industry. Furthermore with the existence of Suntory museum in the Roppongi Triangle enhance the area as centre for arts and culture. Thus it forms a venue for people seeking interest in culture and arts. Notably the art museum was placed on the top floor being the most prestigious location , thus in doing so More Building was keenly promoting the concept of “cultural heart” in its mini city by sacrificing a very high rental returns it could have fetched. Thus it actually attracts a different perspective of visitors to Roppongi Hills and hence creating some economics of benefits to the complex.

In my opinion, the Roppongi Hills and Midtowns project are two adjacent projects in the Akasaka, Roppongi district. Thus commonalities of the two projects emphasise on the development of Tokyo as the centre for arts and culture in Japan. Museums are basically found in both the projects Therefore it naturally attracts many visitors and ultimately it generates a hive of economical activity eventually benefiting the constituents of the units. Thus the business constituents in both the projects will tend to enjoy the spill over effects due to the synergy. Hence i believe that the positive contributions arising from the influx will be greater than the competitive effects itself.

The Mori Builders did not just stop by developing the Roppongi Hills. They chose to be different from other developers by actively managing the complex in continuous basis. Thus created an internal unit called the “Town Management” to consistent create a strong brand image for Roppongi Hills not only managing the properties but ultimately strengthening the surrounding communities by enhanced interactions. The town management actually helped to consolidate, coordinate and promote a unified image. They are actually a regulator among the constituents through various counter measures to reduce any negative effect and at the same time to market the complex as a whole through network effects. There were various initiatives carried out by the Town management which though were positive contributions to the mini city, it has too some negative effects as well.

➢ The Community Passport

It’s a loyalty program initiated by Town Management for subscribers to accumulate points which can be converted to discounts. Noteworthy of the program is the 10% discount offered to the complex office workers and retail employees in addition to early notification of 3 days in advance before opening to the general publics. Thus in this capacity the insiders have more advantages compared with the general public and therefore can shop cheaper and can choose the best stuffs in advance during sales. This shows the positive initiative of the town management in the welfare of the employees and their target is to capture the outside market then the internal. However in my opinion, this is not a fair business practice. The management seems to be practicing discriminations against the outside market particularly on benefits which are not equal among the customers.

On the other hand the management are also concern with regards to the over pricings by the tenants. The counter measures also acts to address the issue of overcharging the tenants which are not the prime targets. Hence it addresses the internal effect on the pricings and focus on the total visitors to the complex rather than the internal residents and tenants.

➢ Advertising and promotions.

The town management are responsible for attracting sponsors, promotions and advertising for Roppongi Hills as whole which are very unique concepts. Thus it sold and leased advertisement space within the complex which is main source of income for the management. By doing so they are actually trying provide joint value for the constituents through their established brand image. I believe in this case they are eventually monopolising the channel to their benefit for promotion of the complex collectively. This perhaps could be due to reason that they want to ensure the interest of the platform rather than an individual tenant accessing gain for an individual benefit. Never the less the tenants lose the freedom to capitalize the promotions on their strengths. This i think, the Mori Builders do not encourage it as they are more keen on the collective strengths for the overall benefits of the platform.

➢ The “Only One “Policy.

This policy was implemented by the town management to encourage a diverse range of mix stores by demanding that retailers produce stores that are unique to Roppongi Hills. This policy was solely to differentiate from the other shopping destinations and thus making it the “only one “which differs from other shopping chains in Tokyo. The team strategize various methods to carry out the process such as the opening late up to 24 hours or to sell different products from the other chain of stores. The team also regulates the design and layouts including some operations. The management’s concept is noble with the intention of being very different and maintains its identity in remaining competitive. By doing so it provides an opportunity for the customers something very different from the normal. But alternatively it is actually dictating the retailers and operators on the way of doing business which is not fair for the retailers and tenants. Thus i believe the management is forcefully controlling them from progressing naturally.

Never the less some decisions had actually provided mutual gains for the both party like the sharing of space by Starbucks in the Tsuya’s DVD and CD rental store actually produced positive results when it became popular where the residents and visitors could enjoy by browsing the movie, books and relaxing and listening to the music while drinking a cup of coffee. However not all are successful synergies in this case as some retailers had poor sales due the “only one “policy. This is because such a policy may not be suitable with all the businesses as they need to sell a diverse range of products for sustainability.

Another bold action of the team is in terms with regards to the rentable space of 380,00 square metres which are actually too large for smaller firms. However many large enterprises such as the Goldman Sachs other multinational giants took such a large tenancy and therefore it had positively improved the Mori Buildings image and rental returns. On the other hand i believe it was not fair enough for the smaller firms. They had in this case, been deprived of an opportunity to participate in the businesses. If they had done so, more firms could participate unlike currently whereby only the big multinationals are fully benefitting. This i think is not a fair practice and therefore discriminate the smaller firms by not providing equal participations.

Another note worthy decision by the management is the layout decision of the complex whereby it opted purposely design a maze –like structures, for the visitors and residents to wonder around to discover shops of their interest. In my opinion there are positive and negative elements in this aspect. The managements intention of deliberately allowing the customers to wander actually maximises the opportunity for the customer to discover and expose equally all the constituents but never the less it is not fair for a customer whom has limited time or specific interest. Thus it is a waste of time for them to wander around to find and may also de motivate them from visiting the complex in future. Simultaneously for the bigger corporate tenants it is not fair as there is lack of clarity and confusing for the target customers in locating them.

Thus the above are some of the positive and negative effects in managing the complex to maximise benefits to its shareholders and stakeholders through the above mentioned policies. In addition to that the Mori Builders were very clear of their objectives and vision of creating a “cultural heart for Tokyo” that will be the main concept for the city making of Roppongi Hills. Thus in this capacity they are very concern with regards to the selection of the tenant to meet their objective. Hence in this case they not going for the highest bidders and thus sacrificing investment returns over objectives. Thus only companies that fit into their concepts and the mini city environment are selected. Hence it forgoes on the income factor but ultimately it succeeds by getting right the constituents selectively. Most modern and innovative companies such as the IT and Finance are given prominent by them.

In typical high rise compact buildings, the heat phenomenon is never addressed and they are densely packed without any open space or concern for greeneries. In Roppongi Hills with large open spaces and roof top “greenings” mitigate the heat phenomenon issues. Thus by doing so it effectively reduces the CO2 emissions and energy consumption as well contributing resource conversions. Thus the surrounding preservation of greenery and nature provides an extraordinary difference to the workplaces and residences which are normally lacking in compact cities with “concrete jungles”. The lush greenery in the vicinity helps to bring down the temperature and promoting a cooling environment.

Furthermore in Roppongi Hills due to the integration of workplaces, residences and places of leisure are integrated within walking distances; the requirements for the transportations are reduced. Thus the mixed use development cuts down the commuting between home and work. Hence this ultimately reduces the carbon dioxide emissions contributed by transportations. This ultimately provides health and environmental benefits for the surrounding areas.

In my opinion Japan is well known for earth quake disasters and thus the high rise buildings are known to be of high risk. Hence it is not safe during disasters. However the Mori Builders had provided very high technology for high earthquake resistance through the combination of concrete steel tubes pillars and seismic damping walls during its constructions. Thus this technology is said to provide resistance to earth quake and fire damage in addition to swaying during earthquakes. Hence with the advance technologies, additional safety measures include storerooms stocked with drinking water and emergency food supplies, and disaster readiness as wells to ensure that the water supply is uninterrupted. (Source: http://www.moriliving.com/en/residence/66/architecture.html )

Thus in conclusion, the Mori Builders have actually capitalized and structured a very unique mini city successfully. In this case they have developed the project and at the same time managed the real estate, simultaneously regulate the constituents to avoiding competition among them and ultimately promoting the complex without the dominance of the individual units. Basically Roppongi Hills is a high class development that has inspired many other countries and the concept had caused a revolution in the property market. With proper planning and designs it had enabled the Japanese people to live and work comfortably within the mini city causing a synergistic benefit.

There are many reasons for the successful implementations and governances of the Roppongi Hills property managements. In my opinion real estate property management is a very challenging task as basically they are striving to balance cost and risk for sustainability. At the same they must also come out with profitable solutions for the investors. However in the case of Roppongi they have created some innovative measures for their survival particularly so in the very vibrant Japanese property managements. Thus as in any enterprises there are their niche strengths that could had been capitalized while the weakness must be overcome to mitigate any risk that may arise.

In particular based on my research, the Mori Builders practiced the “Multi Sided Platform “business concept in the governances of the mini complex which were of quite unique and could be their main strengths. Multi-sided Platform” is one of the business model patterns. Multi-sided Platform brings together two or more distinct but interdependent groups of customers. Such platforms are of value to one group of customers only if the other groups if customers are also present. The platform creates value by facilitating interactions between the different groups. A multi-sided platform grows in value to the extent that it attracts more users, a phenomenon known as the “Network Effect”. (Sources: http://www.getoffthedrawingboard.com/2010/03/22/what-is-a-multi-sided-platform/ ).Thus based on this concept the Roppongi Hills used a mixtures of selected procedures and private governances rules and architectural designs to foster an overall brand image to the mini-city which is very difficult for the competitors to duplicate. In this platform the Roppongi Hills managed six distinctive parties namely the customers, residents, office tenants, retail tenants, external sponsors and the exhibitors. Hence they did this without the interference of any price instruments. Therefore there wasn’t any pricing strategy here but a set of their private rules as the management of property. As an example they utilized the most prestigious top five floors as an education facilities and Museum instead of allocating to the highest bidders due it high revenue. Thus in this capacity the Mori Builders selected its retailers on its own discretion in accordance with the value for the mini city. Furthermore they regulate the design, advertising activities, selection of tenants, nature of their business and many more. Thus I believe this concept itself is a strong competitive edge over the other real estate managements to be unique and ultimately offer very innovative services.

However in my opinion though the above models are innovative, alternatively they curb the freedom of the retail tenants from freely doing their businesses though their independent technically. But the rules imposed by the property management may not be suitable. For example the ‘only one policy’ imposed actually are dictating them in conducting the business freely and thus it does not suit to some business. This is proven by the exit of Mikimoto, a world renowned jewelry retailer which had to vacate its Roppongi Hills outlet after disappointing sales. It is a well known fact that the mentioned store is very popular jewelry retail and sells a diverse range of products which may be appealing to the customers. But when the retailer cannot offer the same at Roppongi store, it naturally loses its competitiveness in satisfying the customer’s needs in this case. Hence the “only one” policy imposed by Roppongi does not suit all businesses. In my opinion they are actually dictating their customer in doing business to their interest which is not healthy for a business enterprise. Thus they should be allowed to grow naturally rather than in confined manner practiced by Roppongi.

As explained earlier the benefit of Roppongi playing the dual role of developer and the property management is an added advantage to the Mori Buildings. Thus through the set up of Town Management they have benefited through synergies of the various constituents of Roppongi. This enables them to create continuous revenue for the company in the long terms through the initiatives. The loyalty program such as the community passport helped to balance the business focus of the retailers between the residents, employees and the visitors .Thus providing incentives to the insiders it helps to promote a joint business value propositions so that they do not only focus on the visitors and tourist. Further its strategic use of architecture and designs as an instrument of control and regulations played an important role to the organization. It enables them to capitalize on larger multinational financial institutes and IT firm by offering large rentable spaces in line with their objectives to achieve its target sectors. The other is design and layout of the in maze-like structure that helped the visitors to fully explore complex intentionally for the benefits of all the tenants. In this capacity though it could have been confusing but on the other hand it helped to expose the diverse range of tenants fully which would not be possible in a conventional complexes whereby the superiors brands will have edge over the smaller tenants through promotions and proper directions.

Further the above the structure also assist the smaller and medium business tenants as all the infrastructure , designs and layouts are fully taken by the property management . Therefore in this case the tenants only need to focus on their core competent task of selling their products and services while the management fully takes care of their other needs for a fee. Simultaneously the advertising cost can be reduced or shared among the other constituents through the property managements. Alternatively advertising cost is expensive for small and medium tenants unlike the bigger corporations whom may have higher budgets. Thus Roppongi Hills actually is able to provide a fair deal of advertisement for the whole complex by monopolizing the publicity channels which are beneficial to all the tenants. More over due to the popularity and the brand image of Roppongi , there tend to be naturally free publicities when major events are mostly held in Roppongi through the public medias.

However not all of the above are positive outcomes for the tenants in the Roppongi Hills. There are equally negative effects in the process. Particularly not all tenants and visitors are happy with such a designs and layouts imposed by the town management. Additionally there are a great deal of criticism levied at the complex design, regarding its confusing, maze like structure and unfriendly nature in which the entire area is managed. Thus in this case most of the visitors may not return again due its negative effects. Furthermore the larger and popular brand tenants like Zara and Louis Vuitton are not happy about such layouts as they are losing customers due to lack of clear signs and directions. In terms of advertisement the branded establishments already have their allocated budgets but will not be fully utilize it as it will conflict with the property management’s objectives. Thus the collective publicity of the complex does no contribute much to their benefits.

The location of Suntory Museum and the National Arts Centre, Tokyo adds strength to the Roppongi mini city as the cultural center. The three museums form the “Art Triangle of Roppongi”. Thus in this capacity they have established themselves as a major cultural hub in the area .The two museums together with the Roppongi residents mutually work together to further promote art appreciation both inside and the surroundings. To boost visitors the Art Triangle has a popular discount ticket system termed “ATRO Savings”. Under the scheme the visitors retaining an entrance ticket stub of an ongoing exhibition at any one gallery are entitled to a reduced entry price at the other two galleries. Thus the synergies naturally attract diverse range of customers to the cultural hub, hence promoting business spill over to the surrounding businesses.

Due to the predetermined objectives of Mori in promoting a cultural and educational hub, they are actually losing out on the higher rental incomes from the properties. This is particularly so in allocating the top floors of the Mori Tower for the Mori Arts Museum and the Academy hills whereby the prime locations are not commercially utilized to their maximum benefits. I believe that the top floors could fetch better returns if they utilized as roof top restaurants or premium penthouses as explained by me earlier. Additionally limiting the larger floor spaces to selective sectors rather then higher bidders is a loss of opportunity for the company to increase their revenue rentals.

Another note worthy strengths of the Mori Builders is the key events are mostly held at Roppongi Hills compared with any other locations. The Tokyo International Film Festivals, screening premiere movies, Holy Night concerts for Christmas and Halloweens are some of the popular seasonal festivals held. Thus it helps to naturally promote high publicities and an attraction of crowds that generates good economic income for the complex as whole. This provides an opportunity for the surrounding business to capitalize a shared income as well due to the spillover effects.

Japan is highly an earth quake prone area generally due its geographical locations. However the Mori Builders had overcome such fears through various safety measures to sustain any such calamites. This is actually done through some improvement to the engineering technologies. With a combination of seismic and rubber bearings enables the structure in the force during earth quakes by reducing sways ultimately preventing damage to the properties. Such a technology brings relief to Roppongi community in terms of safety. Further safety measures such as the disaster supplies stores and the emergency well enables uninterrupted food and water supplies during such an emergency is an added security measures and confidence are some of the added strengths.(source: http://www.moriliving.com/en/estate/services/aseismic.html#service-01 )

It cannot be denied that Mori had emphasize the green technology by designing an extensive green roof top and at the same time maintaining gardens with the ponds, populated with frogs, fish , insects and a paddy field in the urban vicinity which are very unique adding value to the ecosystems. They also created the green roof top to allowing growth of trees and plants. Thus this serves to counter balance building mass during earth quakes. Additionally they can capture, store and slowdown water movements of rain water which are used for irrigation purposes. Above all such greeneries help to reduce heat effects thus improving air temperatures in compact cities with high rise buildings.

Though the above concept green roof top has also its weakness aspect, in the sense it is very costly to maintain such greeneries. Thus in this capacity the Mori Builders had to allocate higher funds to carry out the activities in maintaining such roof top landscapes. Thus it is an additional cost for them.

Basically Roppongi Hill development had actually helped to resolve the majors housing issues in the Tokyo vicinity. The Tokyo city with approximately 12.79(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo#Demographics ) million people were densely populated. Thus an average Tokyoite had to commute an average of 2hours and 20 minutes per day as of 1999 based on the case. Thus in my opinion they had to helped to solve some of the housing problems by developing the “vertical city “in Roppongi. Additionally it had also contributes positively to the urban lifestyles changes. The integrated compact mini city connecting the multiple constituents to work and live within a confined environment had helped to change the lifestyles of Tokyoite tremendously. It had socially enabled them to live closer and thus encouraging community interactions and ultimately reducing isolations particularly among the young families. Thus this is a positive contribution to its constituents unlike the typical Japanese cultures whom have very less family interactions.

Further the integrated living concepts require less commuting and therefore less transport is required. This is due to the close proximities of the work and other amenities which are within walking distances. Therefore when transports are reduced it contributes to less carbon emissions. Thus it enables cleaner and healthier air environments. Thus in this capacity Roppongi real estate had contributed to better environment managements which are indirect strengths of the complex as a whole.

In this context, I would also wish to highlights some benefits with regards to the mixed use developments compared with the conventional scattered urban developments in the past. Firstly it allows the developer to generate more income resources then before. Further it provides fair deal competitive advantages for commercial tenants in view of the control by the properties managements. Whereas in the past conventional development the same type businesses were too concentrated thus reducing profits and some business may suffer losses due to competitiveness. Further this kind of development reduce dependant on transportations, hence producing cleaner environments with less carbon emissions and also reduces costly street improvements. The mixed use development gives more variety of houses and less land usage compared with the conventional developments that take up bigger land usage. Based on the cases the mixed use development encompasses landscapes and greeneries as an essential components of the developments, but it is not so in past development projects. In general the projects are well planned in the mixed use developments and orderly. As for the conventional developments the structures are scattered and disorganized thus occupying bigger land space. Thus a mixed use development is the key components of many current trends that are based on the smart growth principles.

In conclusion there are strengths and weakness in the establishments of such integrated mini city concepts. It is inevitable, that such a highly successful city concepts will also contribute to other social problems naturally. It cannot be denied that such commercial success also attracts other negative elements contradicting the original objectives of the existence of the mini city which is in this case Ropponggi. Due to the successful establishments vibrant night entertainments it had also attracted many foreign and locals thus causing many social issues. The large outdoor speakers in the area also cause noise pollutions to neighboring residents and thus some are forced out by those noises. Additionally it also leads to some other petty crimes and thus giving the complex image as notorious area. Hence this are some side effects of commercial development and popularity spots encountered commonly in most countries.

In Malaysia too, we have such locations due to successful commercial establishments and it also created other negative effects that are parallel. The Bangsar area is one such locations in Kuala Lumpur where business boomed and ultimately becoming into a much accomplished up market suburb with an international appeal. Soon friction emerged between residents and proprietors of commercials lots over the noises and traffic congestions. Many illegal businesses cropped up due to greed. Today the negative effects of the success are many houses were eventually turned into commercial premises causing excessive traffic and noise. The local residents have loss privacy and thus causing many other social problems.

The Roppongi Hill mini city projects are certainly culture-dependant. Basically in the 1980’s the Japanese trade flourished and thus causing a trade surplus. Thus during this period the Japanese had to open up its market due to external pressures from countries such Britain and US. Hence the Mori Builders capitalize on the opportunity in anticipation of many foreign institutions and multinational companies that were expected to enter into Tokyo. They took the challenge to duplicate a 24 hours city like New York where people live, work and enjoy. Hence in this capacity they developed the mixed use development
Further the concept is also based on the strong Japanese “workaholics” culture and they were not accustomed to enjoying their life. Hence traditionally in the industrialized society the workplace and the residence were separated. During the periods the residential quarters were scattered widely apart in the suburbs of Japan. Due to this reasons the residence and workplace fall apart extremely and therefore the Japanese people were spending more money and time commuting with less family times. Thus the Mori Builders with these factors in mind, placed cultural facilities in Roppongi to address the issue. Thus the implications are now days the Japanese people are spending more money in cultural activities and shopping. The people can now save more time spent in long distance commutations and such a time can be used for quality family times. Thus Roppongi had developed an intellectual society that helped to form a close knit culture with the development downtown districts such as the Roppongi, Ark Hills .They had indeed revolutionized culturally.
Further in my opinion, lands are scarce and therefore the prices are sky rocketing high in Japan. Thus in Roppongi, the Mori Builders chose to be different by not developing and selling but owning the real estate properties for receiving high rental yields. Simultaneously extra revenues were generated through the other unique services that were added in their real estate properties through high class lifestyles.
Additionally I don’t think that a conventional real estate development can achieve success. Thus in this case a mixed use development with variety of cultural facilities were incorporated to distinguish its status merely as a commercial hub but a synergy of commerce and culture to make it different and successful. Thus the Suntory Concert Hall in Ark Hills, Mori Arts Centre in Roppongi and the Mitsui Midtowns Suntory Art gallery helped to form the vicinity as a “Cultural Hub”. Therefore in this capacity the people were certainly dedicated to a high class lifestyle and economy.
In Malaysia too we have similar real estate development facing many challenges which were of cultural dependants. Firstly I would like to quote the Mont Kiara which is situated about 8km from the heart of Kuala Lumpur city. It is a mixed enclave of variety of luxury living lifestyle that is most sought after by many expatriates and locals corporate executives, business entrepreneurs, professionals who demand the most from the conveniences of urban living coupled with comfortable and fun living. Furthermore Mont Kiara is a township that has all the closely incorporated elements of live, work and play culture closely knitted in sophisticated urban lifestyle. Thus the mini city is encompassed of luxury styled residences, Sri Hartamas Shopping complexes, retail shops, the vibrant night life hang outs termed Solaris Mont Kiara, a cluster of International Schools (American, British and French syllabus), high class commercial centers and offices at the SOHO KL at the Solaris Mont Kiara .The entire area is had been developed with well landscaped streets providing greeneries generating fresh airs in a hustle and bustle city livings. Furthermore the Sime Darby Convention Centre is an ultra modern facility which had been the choice of location for many corporate and International events. The One World Hotel at Bukit Kiara provides exclusive lodgings for visitors and guest to the mini city. There are also many indoor and outdoor sports facilities in addition to high class golf clubs such as the Kuala Lumpur and Country Club and the Royal Selangor Kiara Sport annex. Thus this mini city were mainly developed to cater for an alternative urban lifestyle and to divert a concentrations of economic activities away from the Kuala Lumpur city.
Another similar development concept is the Cyberjaya City. This city is conceptualized as the model intelligent city of the world, is also the Malaysia’s strategic vision for the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). MSC is the Malaysia’s vision to transform the nation into a knowledge based economy driven by a knowledge society. It is located at about 26km from the Kuala Lumpur city and it is a fully integrated city complete with modern amenities and facilities. Hence it is a self contained intelligent city with world class infrastructure, commercial enterprises, residential and higher educational institutions. The township also provides a conducive living environment with convenient amenities such as hotel, shopping malls, recreation centre, community clubhouse and many more. Thus it is an ideal place to live, work and play with conducive living with convenient and amenities. In this case, the city incorporates technology as the hub while integrating the commercial enterprise as basis for its development of an urban living culture.
I would further like to mention here another very successful urban development of a mixed use development concept that I have visited recently in Korea. The integrated urbanism project termed as Songdo International Business District is a joint venture of Gale International a New York based real estate developer and Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO) . Songdo IBD is a 1500 acres land area along Incheons waterfront located 64 km from the Seoul City, capital of Korea. The area incorporates 68 floors North East Asia Trade Tower, Songdo Convention Center, Incheon Arts Centre and Cultural complex, 100 acres of central park, Jack Nicklaus Golf Club of Korea, Songdo International Hospital, public and private schools. This city had been developed basically with the emphasis on business culture thus its designed to cater as an International Commercial hub for multinational corporations. With easy access to Incheon International Airport and Free Economic Zone, Songdo IBD will be an attractive business location in North Asia. Thus Songdo IBD’s multi use living and working environment provides the constituents to live, work and enjoy the surrounding in the confined surroundings. Additionally they are offered a quality life comprising cultural, technological and recreational amenity with ample open parks promoting greeneries.
In conclusion notably all the above urban real estate properties basically have one common features which are becoming popular globally. Though they are planned and developed with different basic concepts of hubs but in common they all commonly cater for a place to live, work and play. As for the case of Roppongi, it was basically with the concept of cultural hub, while Cyberjaya was centered on technology as the hub. As for Songdo IBD their emphasis was more on a Business culture based and the Mont Kiara was more Lifestyle based. Naturally in all the above projects they intend to divert the development from the densely populated cities and eventually the most common similarities were that an integrated lifestyle that allow the constituents to live, work and play in close proximities through the mixed use developments. The need and importance for a green concept are well accepted and implemented by all the mentioned property developers. Thus in my opinion the urban development culture had taken a new dimensions based on with regards to this case study. Thus I think that that this concept will soon be imitated by all as a basis in most of the countries in the future and the positive outcome of this phenomenon I foresee are the quality lifestyle and the close family cultures. Further it provides an opportunity for the developers to generate multiple incomes generally compared with current projects which were scattered in the urban developments.

Conclusions: In my opinion the most common business for property developers is to move into property management. Since development companies are often in the business of owning and operating rental property, self managing those properties can be the natural extensions of their operations. Thus by self management they can provide an organization with greater control over the property and ultimately generate more revenues that help to diversify revenue streams. Therefore based on this case the Mori Builders had made the right strategy in developing and self managing the Roppingi Hill project as a mixed use development. The well planned and developed center had matured into a quality neighborhood that enjoys higher densities, a mix of activities, convenient shopping, services and amenities. However I believe that Mori Builders cannot be contented with their achievements, as the emergence of new projects by their competitors can be a threat to their business. This can be evidence by the declining of visitors from 45million in 2003 to 40million in 2008. Thus as the complex wore off newer trendy complexes had cropped up particularly the Tokyo Midtown. Thus they need to explore ways to keep the visitors engaged and repeatedly visiting their complexes. Roppongi had certainly changed since the bubble years as flourishing real estate in Tokyo. They are now exposed to many challenges from competitors and also from their internal property managements that may be lacking, which need to be rectified for its sustainability. It will all depend on how well the Mori Builders continue to strategize and innovate new products that can enable them to face those challenges in order for the business to be sustained in the years ahead.