Suburban retailing in Singapore

 How do you define Suburban? Suburban is known as a non-CBD (Central Business District) area and is normally close to residential estates and mrt stations/bus interchanges.  The introduction of suburban shopping,a concept initiated in the early 1990s and targeted to reach out to a larger section of the population by bringing the shops to their neighborhood.

Retail stores in suburban malls……

What are the common amenities around the suburban shopping malls?  Close to mrt stations and bus interchanges  Residential estates  HDB shops  Learning institutions

 Targeted consumers  Housewives/families  Secondary and Primary school students  People working in the non CBD areas  Elderly people

Types of shops and brands that can be found in Suburban and Town areas

Others… Departmental stores and supermarkets  cold storage supermarket  John little Fashion wear & Accessories  Bossini  Dano  Esprit  Giordano  Hang Ten  Op  U2 and U.W.N( U2women)

Food & Restaurants  McDonald’s  KFC  Old Chang Kee  Pizza Hut  Prima Deli  Orange Julius Furniture, Furnishings & Household  Courts  Home-Fix The D.I.Y store

Gifts  Cards n Such  The Scent shop Hair & Beauty  Jantzen Hair Salon  Jean Yip Hair Salon & Jean Yip professional slimming & Beauty centre  Watson’s  The Body Shop Jewellery & Watches  Goldheart

 Poh Heng Jewellery  Tian Po Jewellery Leather Goods, Bags & Shoes  Charles & Keith Music & Audio Visuals  Music Junction Optical  Nanyang Optical  OPSM Optometrists

Pharmacy & Health  Eu Yan Seng  GNC ( General Nutrition Centre)  Guardian Pharmacy  Nature’s Farm Sports & Leisure  Royal Sporting House  Sports Connection

Two successful examples of how retailers differentiate themselves from their competitors 1. Bread Talk  Can be found in non-CBD areas and town areas-23 outlets.( strategic locations)  Strong promotions and advertisements  Strong Branding  Innovative and wide selections of bread and pastries  Open concept  Visual attractiveness

2.NTUC  Can be found in non-CBD areas and town areas  Household names  variety  Membership (rebate)  Easily accessible  Competitive prices

How do suburban shops survive? In order to keep up with those retail stores in the CBD areas. They need to constantly upgrade their business operations to keep up with competitions from new players in the retail market.

How suburban shopping malls and town shopping malls still appeals to you? suburban  Easy accessibility  Lower transport fees  Less variety on goods  Simple layout & common brands and shops  shop to buy necessities CBD area  Not as accessibility  Costly transport fees  More variety on goods  Glamorous layout & more specialty shops

Promotions and Events Suburban  Catalogs/flyers to promote festivities  Target at residents  Less extensive festivities decorations CBD areas  TV Ads  Target at locals and tourists  Extensive decorations

Case study Suburban Destination: Compass point Time consumed transport: 40 mins (to and fro) Bus trip: $1.16 Things to purchase:  Pokey(Japan) cold storage = $1.92  L'Oreal Hydra fresh (Watson's) = $11.12  McDonald's big Mac meal = $5.90  Green Frapuccino (tall) star bucks=$5.55  U2 basic tee = 2 for $18 Total time and cost: 1 ½ hrs and $43.65 Town area Destination: orchard Time consumed transport: 1 hr 20 min ( to and fro) Mrt trip: 1.6x2=$3.2 Things to purchase:  pokey (Japan) cold storage = $1.92  L'Oreal Hydra Fresh (Watson's)=$11.12  McDonald's big Mac meal =$5.90  Green Frapuccino (tall) star bucks = $5.55  U2 basic tee = 2 for $18 Total time and cost: 1hr 45 min and $45.69

What we have learnt  How Suburban malls compete to survive  How retail stores in suburban malls functions  The outlook of the future retail market in suburban shopping malls

Q & A JanetJasmine

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