Career Stories: Shane Cavell

After joining Vicinity during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Shane Cavell has wasted no time getting to know the Vicinity business and his colleagues.

Shane's career journey is an example of using transferable skills to move between businesses and roles, each time bringing with him valuable experience that he can impart onto his teams.

We caught up with Shane to dive a little deeper and understand how he has flourished at Vicinity.

VCX: Hi Shane, let's start with your career journey up to joining Vicinity. Where did you start out?

SC: I started my career at News Corp Australia, completing a two-year Advertising and Marketing cadetship. After graduating, I moved into Advertising Sales for the Herald Sun, before upping sticks and moving to Sydney to take up a National Network Sales position across all Metropolitan Newspapers.

I recognised my skills were transferable and eventually moved into the shopping centre industry, working for major property and asset managers in Casual Mall Leasing and Alternative Income Streams.

I then transitioned to work for a boutique experiential agency in an exciting role that saw me get to activate major brand partner programs across the top 50 shopping centres in Australia, before putting my skills to the test again by joining Vicinity Centres in 2021.

VCX: In what role did you start life at Vicinity and how have you progressed since then?

SC: I joined the Vicinity Mall Leasing team in 2021 and what most excited me was the strength of the Vicinity portfolio and that I would get to work with and have sales responsibility on key assets like Chadstone and Emporium Melbourne.

At the time, Melbourne had been through 159 days of lockdown and would have a further 62 days to go – in hindsight a really difficult time to join a business.

Working from home, a new company, teams video calls, cancelling and rebooking programs with every extended lockdown all presented challenges, but the Mall Leasing team, and the wider Vicinity business were incredibly supportive and made me feel very welcome.

During this time, I also worked through my development plans, and expressed interest with key Chadstone stakeholders, to move towards Centre Management in time. Two years on, I joined Emporium Melbourne as the Retail Manager, and now get to put my business experience and knowledge from different companies to good use.

VCX: Talk us through your current role. What does it entail?

SC: The Retail Management role involves a lot of analysis of retailer and category sales performance, working directly with our Centre Manager, on specific projects he wants delivered as part of our Vision, Strategy, Action document.

We’ve held two quarterly retailer insights presentations since I joined, with positive retailer engagement and feedback on the presentation content shared.

Our retail team collates insights into monthly sales performance results, determining which retailers are performing well, and how we might use data, insights and other measures to help all retailers be successful.

VCX: Is there a memorable project or moment you've enjoyed while working at Vicinity?

SC: I’ve been fortunate to work many projects, but my time in Mall Leasing was memorable when we look to expand our customer base, identifying the Automotive category for income growth post-lockdown.

After creating and conducting client presentations we managed to secure Zagames to launch the Spanish brand, Cupra, at Chadstone with a 35-week activation campaign, alternating across Chadstone Activation spaces, with sets imported from Spain.

We also helped Chinese EV Automotive brand, BYD, launch their new line up using an exclusive Vicinity multi-centre roadshow, as well as a semi-permanent presence for BYD into Box Hill Central.

VCX: What do you value most about working at Vicinity?

SC: The Vicinity culture is probably the best work culture I’ve ever experienced.

There is a genuine openness to share information and ideas. It might be intimidating to some to start working at such a revered centre as Chadstone, but I was inspired by how supportive and how genuine the team is. Everybody has a general willingness to simply help and solve problems for the benefit of the team and the customer.

VCX: Have you utilised any of the special benefits Vicinity offers its staff, like birthday leave, parental leave, volunteering days for example?

SC: In terms of Vicinity employer support, probably the greatest support I received was when I fractured my spine on an overseas holiday.

My manager was in constant contact, he genuinely cared about my health and wellbeing, unfortunately my return to work was delayed due to flight issues. Given this injury occurred on holiday, part of my annual leave was converted to sick leave. I didn’t expect this change, but these benefits show that Vicinity truly cares for their team.

VCX: How do you achieve work/life balance?

SC: I work at my own pace, but I often work on things as a creative outlet, strangely enough, a PowerPoint presentation, or even writing is something I enjoy.

I sometimes try to work one day a week from home, if I can, to give me the quiet time to focus on certain tasks.

Another tactic I use is to set my email notifications to come through between 8 am – 6 pm. I think it’s important to try to avoid the constant thought process of work and to switch off, so you get to properly recharge.

I like to get my head out of work by taking on home projects, gardening, and I really enjoy cooking. There’s nothing better than entertaining your friends and family after a busy working week.

VCX: What's the best advice you've ever received?

SC: Be your authentic self.

If you’re naturally energetic or shy for that matter, don’t change who you are and be yourself in the work environment.

Vicinity embraces a really diverse spectrum of people. At Emporium Melbourne, we all get along and enjoy how different we are. There is an understanding that our differences make our team unique and stronger - there’s no pressure to conform, only to ensure that we all feel comfortable in the office, to perform to the best of our ability.