AMARA Holdings’ shopping mall in Tanjong Pagar, 100 AM, will soon be home to Parco, after the group inked a lease agreement with the Singapore subsidiary of the Japanese department store operator.
Parco (Singapore) Pte Ltd agreed to take up some 14,000 square feet of food and beverage (F&B) space at the mall. It plans to open a new restaurant zone named itadakimasu by Parco, housing a variety of Japanese cuisines, in the last quarter of 2016.
An Amara spokeswoman said that the company was tweaking the tenant mix at 100 AM in response to the changing retail landscape with a rejuvenation of concepts to engage shoppers. The addition of Parco increases the mall’s F&B net lettable area (NLA) by 6 per cent.
100 AM is located at 100 Tras Street and within walking distance from the Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Its retail podium covering 126,000 sq ft NLA is about 97 per cent occupied.
Amara chief executive officer Albert Teo said: This new F&B concept ‘itadakimasu by Parco’ is a strategic fit and ties in well with 100 AM, which appeals to modern, inner city urban dwellers with high purchasing power. We are confident that this unique dining concept by Parco will be a strong draw for shoppers and residents alike.
Shigeyoshi Sato, chief executive of Parco (Singapore) Pte Ltd, said that 100 AM was a strategic choice for Parco’s new itadakimasu by Parco concept in Singapore given its location, surrounded by new developments such as the Tanjong Pagar Centre and the future Tanjong Pagar port area development.
The area also has a mixture of residential developments and hotels within walking distance. Our restaurant mix will be a boost to the large working population and residents in the vicinity, Mr Sato said.
Parco had in 2014 vacated its 83,000 sq ft premises at Millenia Walk where it first introduced the Japanese restaurant zone under the itadakimasu concept. It used to manage Bugis Junction until it sold its stake in 2005, and was the appointed retail manager for the Clarke Quay Central mall between 2006 and 2009.
In Japan, Parco Co Ltd operates 19 domestic stores. It is opening a new annex store in Sendai this year and is planning to open a new store in Ueno in Tokyo next year.