CBD mall One Raffles Place hit by retail slump; big brands like Uniqlo and Victoria’s Secret closed

When you think of shopping in Singapore, the CBD area doesn’t really come to mind. Sure, it’s packed during weekday lunch hours, but if you’ve ever worked OT on a weekend, you’ll know the place is basically a ghost town on Saturdays and Sundays.

So it’s no surprise that the latest mall to be hit by the retail slump is One Raffles Place.

The building next to Raffles Place MRT station underwent a facelift in 2014 and emerged with a shiny new makeover that hosted several big brands, but as it turned out, even those names weren’t enough to attract the crowds. According to The Straits Times, lingerie label Victoria’s Secret, cafe chain Paris Baguette and even the ever-so-ubiquitous Uniqlo have already shuttered their stores. Other shops that won’t be renewing their leases include Tumi, Swatch, Pandora, The Body Shop, Melissa, Evergreen Stationery, and Blow + Bar.

No word yet on whether the two-storey H&M shop will leave the mall when its lease ends.

It seems like at least 14 out of the mall’s 113 tenants have closed their shops, and another 13 will move out next month after their three-year lease comes to an end. That means the next time you walk into the six-storey building, it may only be three-quarters occupied.

A spokesman for the mall told The Straits Times that “given the typical retail lease cycle of about three years, it is normal to see tenant attrition upon lease expiration”. He went on to state that the mall “enjoys a healthy occupancy rate”, although he didn’t reveal which brands would be taking over the empty shop spaces.