06-08-2012, 12:17 PM
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More potential business for Kingsmen's fit-out division?
The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Aug 06, 2012
Ion looking empty? Still fully leased, says mall
24 new tenants including retail giant H&M moving in by end of the year
By lee xin en
SHOPPERS have noticed that Basement 3 of Ion Orchard has looked sparse for a while, since more than 10 shops moved out after their three-year leases expired last month.
But the iconic mall said it is fully leased, and is undergoing its first major revamp since it opened three years ago.
Gone are Wacoal, Kipling, and m)phosis, among others. Coming in will be Swedish retail giant H&M, which will open its second store here in the mall by the end of the year. The 20,000 sq ft store will span two storeys in Basements 2 and 3, taking over the space of adidas, The North Face and Guess.
It will be among 24 new tenants which will move in by the end of the year, including South- east Asia's first Yves Saint Laurent Beaute boutique store. The brand, which left Asia-Pacific markets three years ago, sells fragrances, cosmetics and skincare products and will open in the middle of this month.
Tenants who are setting up their first stand-alone stores in Singapore include Vivienne Westwood Anglomania, French fashion label Carven, German skincare label Dr Hauschka and Greek beauty brand Apivita.
The mall's food hall in Basement 4 is also undergoing renovation and will house a new concept to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year.
A spokesman for Ion Orchard said tenants typically signed leases of between three and five years when the mall opened in July 2009.
Some were up for renewal this year, giving the mall the opportunity to refresh its offerings.
The mall's popularity is helping it to buck the trend of cooling rental prices here.
A report released last month by property consultancy CBRE showed that rental rates in prime shopping areas here have dropped from US$470 (S$584) to US$454 per sq ft a year in the first quarter of this year, but the Ion spokesman said its rents have been on the uptrend, although he declined to give figures.
Some of its tenants say they exited because of the increased rent.
A spokesman for Kipling, an international bag label, said it had not renewed its lease because the asking price was "just a bit too ridiculous".
She said: "We were asked for almost double that of our previous rent. Even if we had changed locations, the prices were still too high so we had to move out."
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More potential business for Kingsmen's fit-out division?
The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Aug 06, 2012
Ion looking empty? Still fully leased, says mall
24 new tenants including retail giant H&M moving in by end of the year
By lee xin en
SHOPPERS have noticed that Basement 3 of Ion Orchard has looked sparse for a while, since more than 10 shops moved out after their three-year leases expired last month.
But the iconic mall said it is fully leased, and is undergoing its first major revamp since it opened three years ago.
Gone are Wacoal, Kipling, and m)phosis, among others. Coming in will be Swedish retail giant H&M, which will open its second store here in the mall by the end of the year. The 20,000 sq ft store will span two storeys in Basements 2 and 3, taking over the space of adidas, The North Face and Guess.
It will be among 24 new tenants which will move in by the end of the year, including South- east Asia's first Yves Saint Laurent Beaute boutique store. The brand, which left Asia-Pacific markets three years ago, sells fragrances, cosmetics and skincare products and will open in the middle of this month.
Tenants who are setting up their first stand-alone stores in Singapore include Vivienne Westwood Anglomania, French fashion label Carven, German skincare label Dr Hauschka and Greek beauty brand Apivita.
The mall's food hall in Basement 4 is also undergoing renovation and will house a new concept to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year.
A spokesman for Ion Orchard said tenants typically signed leases of between three and five years when the mall opened in July 2009.
Some were up for renewal this year, giving the mall the opportunity to refresh its offerings.
The mall's popularity is helping it to buck the trend of cooling rental prices here.
A report released last month by property consultancy CBRE showed that rental rates in prime shopping areas here have dropped from US$470 (S$584) to US$454 per sq ft a year in the first quarter of this year, but the Ion spokesman said its rents have been on the uptrend, although he declined to give figures.
Some of its tenants say they exited because of the increased rent.
A spokesman for Kipling, an international bag label, said it had not renewed its lease because the asking price was "just a bit too ridiculous".
She said: "We were asked for almost double that of our previous rent. Even if we had changed locations, the prices were still too high so we had to move out."
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