Property developer Far East Organization has launched a scheme to encourage start-ups at its shopping malls. Instead of paying rent, these tenants can issue preference shares to the developer for up to three years. Tenants at six Far East Organization malls – including the new Orchard Central – can now pay rent in shares, instead of cash. The other participating malls are Central, Far East Square,...
Retail Rental
Property consultancy CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) is revising its rental forecasts for 2009, given better-than-expected average rentals in the second quarter. The firm now expects Orchard Road rents to fall between 10 and 12 per cent this year, a less drastic decrease than its earlier estimate of 15 to 20 per cent. Suburban mall rents are likely to contract between 5 and 6 per cent, down from its earlier...
Singapore has moved a notch higher to 18th spot as the most expensive retail location in the world, despite easing rental rates for super prime retail space. Property consultancy firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) said prime retail rents have declined across the globe with the global financial crisis reducing consumer confidence and weakening spending. Yet super prime rents in Singapore stood at US$408 per...
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...
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...
Landlords and their retail tenants are seeking the same present from Santa as Christmas approaches - a return to the good times. The shop tenants are worried that there will be a dip in consumer spending as a result of the economic downturn. Meanwhile they are still paying top dollar for retail space. While market watchers say they certainly are not expecting rents to rise in the final quarter of this...