IMPORTANCE OF RETROFITTING SHOPPING CENTRES IN ORCHARD ROAD

Abstract

The retail environment is becoming very competitive. In order to overcome this intense competition, several older shopping complexes in Orchard Road are undergoing retrofitting and refurbishment works. For instance, Lucky Plaza, Paragon, Wisma Atria, Tanglin Shopping Centre and Park Mall have upgraded their premises between 1990 to 1994. Having invested so much to improve the building facade, these investors hope that more shopper traffic will be introduced and hence, bring more businesses to the retailers. However, the success of these shopping complexes do not solely depend on a 'cleaner and newer' shopping environment. Other factors such as merchandise mix, tenant mix, location, market positioning, layout of the building, anchor tenant and personal services are important for the success of a shopping centre. The objective of this study is to find out these factors and rank them in order of importance. To achieve it, four case studies comprising of Scotts, Centrepoint, Orchard Point and Park Mall were selected for evaluation. A shopper survey and a retailer survey were carried out at these shopping centres. Scotts and Centrepoint have shown considerable success after retrofitting. Location, anchor tenants, proximity to other shopping centres as well as a pleasant environment are factors that have contributed to their performance. On the other hand, Orchard Point and Park Mall have performed badly despite the facelift of the buildings. In the case study of Orchard Point, it was found that factors such as anchor tenants, personal services, price and products range have contributed to its poor performance. As for Park Mall, it was reported that retailers have failed to adopt competitive pricing strategies and to carry out regular sales promotion. In addition, the location of Park Mall has not attracted many potential shoppers.