With 3 new malls set to open, some wonder if the shopping district is getting too crowded
By
Shuli Sudderuddin & Estelle Low
Pedestrians in front of the almost completed shopping mall 313@Somerset, which is due to open in November. Though shoppers say they prefer a wider variety of shops, experts say malls tend to bring in tried and tested brands. -- ST PHOTOS: NG SOR LUAN
It might be recession time, but luxury brand Cartier is sparing no effort in dressing up its swanky new duplex at the corner of Scotts and Orchard roads in new mall ION Orchard.
Set to open next month, Cartier has sunk more than $8 million into the two-storey store, which comes with a glass facade with a gold inlay, two VIP rooms and a lift fitted with beige leather.
Statistics
4.5 million Estimated number of square feet of retail space in Orchard Road
5.8 million Number of square feet of retail space expected to be added to Singapore between this year and 2013
'ION is on a very important intersection and our store will face the intersection, making it very accessible,' said an excited Mr Christopher Kilaniotis, its managing director for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.
Just a few blocks down the road, however, the mood is far less cheery for some tenants.
Mr Jeffrey Liew, 48, who runs camera shop Letona Departmental Store, at Orchard Plaza, has seen his business plummet by 60 per cent to 70 per cent over the years as more electronics shops have moved into surrounding areas.
'We're been here for about 20 years. The more shops come up, the more business has dropped. There are too many shopping centres here now,' he lamented.
These are the two faces of Orchard Road retailers today, even as the shopping strip gears up for its biggest retail boost in a decade - the opening of ION Orchard and soft opening of Orchard Central next month.
Along with 313@Somerset, opening in November, the big malls will add about 625 shops and some 1.1 million sq ft of retail space to the 2km-long shopping belt. A revamped Mandarin Gallery is also opening in October with 130,000 sq ft in net lettable area.
Orchard Road already boasts about 4.5 million sq ft of retail space, according to property consultancy Knight Frank's figures.
That makes up 21 per cent of all private retail space on the whole island, said DTZ's senior director for research Chua Chor Hoon.
