Singapore retail rent decline worsens

The Singapore retail rent decline gathered pace in the last quarter according to data from Edmund Tie & Company.

In the second quarter, retail rents across the board fell by 3.9 per cent quarter-quarter.  That was double the 1.9 per cent decline of the preceding quarter.

Amid weaker demand, occupancy levels also dipped, falling by 0.5 percentage points quarter-on-quarter to 92.2 per cent.

“In light of declining rents, several established retailers have taken – or are taking – advantage of the lower rents to reinforce their brand presence in Singapore through flagship stores,” the company’s quarterly review said.

These include:

• Choo Yilin at Mandarin Gallery.
• HP at Marina Square.
• Christian Dada at 268 Orchard.
• Victoria’s Secret at Mandarin Gallery.
• Uniqlo at Orchard Central.
• Michael Kors at Mandarin Gallery.

“As the sector undergoes bouts of restructuring, retailers are also constantly reinventing themselves to reach out to the rising number of technological-savvy consumers. This includes the recent launch of digital wallets (eg: Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Android Pay) which a string of established retailers have adopted, including Starbucks, Uniqlo, NTUC FairPrice and Cold Storage.”

Headquartered in Singapore and supported by offices in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, Edmund Tie & Company is an established real-estate consulting firm that operates across Malaysia, Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia.