AN ANALYSIS OF THE SUCCESS OF HDB TOWN CENTRE RETAIL OUTLETS

Abstract

The role of the retail outlets at the HDB's Town Centres is to provide higher-order goods and services to complement the basic goods and services provided at the neighbourhood level. The degree of success of the Town Centre retail outlets affects the degree of self-sufficiency of the Towns, and hence the convenience of living of the residents. To measure the success of the Town Centre retail outlets, surveys were conducted on the households and Town Centre retailers of 3 HDB New Towns. The findings show that convenience goods and food services at the Town Centre are generally well patronised by the residents. However, the Town Centre retailers of shopping goods have failed to reach large sectors of the residents. With rising affluence and expectation, the Town Centre retailers need to keep pace with changing demand to remain viable.