COMPARISON OF TENANT MIX IN SHOPPING CENTRES : ORCHARD ROAD VERSUS THE FRINGE

Abstract

Over the last two decades, changing trends of retailing have been witnessed in Singapore. Rapid population growth and its decentralization, rising income and increasing influx of tourists, are some of the many factors that have affected the retail scene. These factors have fostered retail growth, promoted the construction of new forms of retail outlets, caused shifts in their location and changes in the retail structure. One phenomenon is the mushrooming of shopping centres on the fringe of the prime Orchard Road (OR) shopping district. This paper attempts to answer the research question: "how do retail mixes of fringe shopping centres differ with that of OR shopping centres? " Eight shopping centres were studied; four in OR, two on the fringe of OR and above Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Stations and two on the fringe of OR but not above MRT stations. Visual observation of the tenant mix of each case study was conducted and later compared according to four categories - primary shoppers' goods, secondary shoppers' goods, convenience goods and services. Among the study's findings, three are particularly noteworthy. First, the tenant mixes of OR, MRT and fringe shopping centres indicate a shopping hierarchy. Secondly, MRT shopping centres and OR shopping centres have very similar tenant mixes. Lastly, the main difference between the categorized shopping centres is that primary shoppers' goods e.g. apparel, dominate in OR and MRT centres, while fringe shopping centres display a more even distribution of retail mix.