Four industry bodies in Singapore have banded together to battle the current downturn. The Singapore Retailers Association, the Restaurant Association of Singapore, the Singapore Jewellers Association, and the Textile and Fashion Federation have pledged to share information and create a unified stance on matters common to their industries. In a joint statement, the four industry bodies say they have tied...
Office / Retail Space
A 40-year-old shopping icon in Orchard Road is at risk of losing its tenants to upcoming malls in the area. Sources told Channel NewsAsia that about half of Shaw Centre's office and retail tenants had moved out within the last six months. Many of them refused to renew their leases after Shaw raised rents by about 100 per cent. Tyan and Betty Barclays, both upmarket boutiques on the ground floor of Shaw,...
ARE retailers on the verge of crisis or not? As their representative body cries out for help, shoppers who rub shoulders in crowded malls on weekends may be wondering. And at least one major landlord insists, there is no reason to panic, and no justification for an across-the-board cut in rentals. Last week, the Singapore Retailers Association sounded the alarm bells Sales have dropped 20 to 30 per cent...
I REFER to the report "A plea for survival" (Feb 27) about the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) asking landlords to reduce rentals significantly to help retailers cope with the severe economic downturn. The report was an eye-opener, showing that while businesses are trying their best to survive these difficult times, some landlords are trying to earn as much as they can in the short-term. The SRA is...
Association calls for landlords to cut rents by 20-30 per cent, with 20,000 jobs on the line WITH sales plunging by 20 to 30 per cent and profit margins "almost negligible if not negative", 20,000 jobs - that's a fifth of retail employees - are at stake as stores face the real prospect of folding. This is red alert sounded by the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) after an emergency meeting on...
The Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) says that 20,000 employees may be retrenched as a result of store closures, if landlords do not lower rentals. It says members' incomes have contracted by 20 to 30 per cent over the last few months, and that margins are now almost negligible, if not negative. Yet, rental rates have not come down for many retailers, says the association. Occupancy costs have...
Office rentals in Singapore suffered their sharpest quarterly drop since 2000 in the final three months of last year. A research report from property consultancy CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) said Grade A office rents fell 20 per cent on-quarter in the fourth quarter of last year, to an average of S$15 per square foot. Average office rents stood at some S$13 per square foot, down 14 per cent from a year...
AS air traffic falls, more than$60 million has been set aside to give retailers at Changi Airport a much needed lift. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will provide a rental relief package - $43 million in rebates and $20 million for a newly set up "Promotions Development Fund" - for retail, F&B and services concessionaires to help them remain viable, Senior Minister of State...
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will extend S$70 million to help airport partners tide over the economic downturn. This is over and above the S$130 million Air Hub Development Fund announced earlier. The CAAS had, in December last year, announced an extension on this fund till end-2009. The money will go towards rental rebates and a Promotions Development Fund for retail, food and...
Opera Gallery remained shut on Monday, one day after a stand-off with its landlord, Toshin Development, which has the master lease at Ngee Ann City. On Sunday morning, security guards from Toshin had sealed off the premises and tried to move the artworks worth US$20 million to vacate the unit for a new tenant. It was not because Opera Gallery did not pay its rent, but according to Toshin, it has a new...