Orchard Road non-food Shopping Action.....

[Barnsley]

Was having a stroll down Orchard Road last night as you do .....

What struck was that there were practically no shoppers in any of the shops.

Walking from H&M near Somerset MRT towards ION Orchard , there wasn't a single person in any of the shops until I reached Luis Vuitton and then there was just one lady in there!!!

Looking over the road at the new Robinsons Dept store , that looked empty as well.

This is in contrast to the eating establishments where they are all pretty full.

Maybe I have a natural skill to avoid the busy shopping times, but unless its around Christmas or some sale or other I hardly ever see anyone in any of the shops, and yet they appear to be looking to build more "shopping" areas.

If the new Malls dont have majority food outlets I just dont see them getting much footfall or whatever the measurement criteria is.

[ScoobyDoes]

Go at the weekend.

It was a public holiday yesterday I know, but the weekend is a different case. Add to that we try to figure out how many people took Monday off to have a super long weekend away somewhere.

We parked at Orchard Central on Saturday and did a little tour of 313, the new Gateway, Robinsons and yes, whilst not busy, they were not empty. Okay, the Gateway was empty but it's only half open anyway. We managed to find a table easily at the food court in 313, which for a normal Saturday lunchtime can be an issue.

[Barnsley]

We managed to find a table easily at the food court in 313, which for a normal Saturday lunchtime can be an issue.

Food establishments dont appear to have any problems.
We ate in Orchard Central last night .... some of the restaurants had massive queues waiting for them to open at 6pm.

If the non-food shops can survive on Saturday only shopping , as I see the same on Sundays as well, food places full , other shops empty I can only assume that their owners are running some kind of tax dodge whereby its a benefot to have a few loss making establishments.

[earthfriendly]

other shops empty I can only assume that their owners are running some kind of tax dodge whereby its a benefot to have a few loss making establishments.

Not every transaction will result in profit. It is common for businesses to run losses (no choice lah, patrons cannot be forced to spend if they don't want to) hoping that they can somehow recoup one way or another. E.g. Macdonalds or Hallmark franchisor will own a chain of 10 stores within a geographical area, some of them loss centers while others are profit generators. In the end, they hope that the profitable locations will help offset the unprofitable ones. Another eg, many USA retailers will operate at a loss until November comes around, when the holiday shopping season kicks in and hopefully the profit will help offset the losses for the year. Hence the term "Black Friday" which is the Friday after Thanksgiving Day, when the stores move from "red" to "black". Red ink traditionally denotes losses in the accounting books and black ink is used to denote profit.

The bottom line is legitimate businesses do hope to make a profit but it is not always possible.

[Brah]

Go at the weekend.

It was a public holiday yesterday I know, but the weekend is a different case. Add to that we try to figure out how many people took Monday off to have a super long weekend away somewhere.

Same findings in the same places as you and Barnsley. I think as many made it a 4-day weekend, but in reality, I wonder how much most of those shops ever sell.

Was thinking the same thing a few weeks back when at the MBS Mall, which must have someone paying to keep the lights on as I never see anyone buying anything there any time.

The new building, Gateway, is the new Central (the one in Clarke Quay) - crap stores where no one will shop. Waste of space and fanfare. Maybe the as yet to be opened other wing will offer something of value.

[ScoobyDoes]

The new building, Gateway, is the new Central (the one in Clarke Quay) - crap stores where no one will shop. Waste of space and fanfare. Maybe the as yet to be opened other wing will offer something of value.

Central Clarke Quay is a mess except for the basement. It's as easy to get lost inside as ION, which i detest with every fibre of my soul.

I think much like the new wing of Plaza Singapura, Central's will be pretty much a waste of space as well. There are a couple of food establishments that are quite busy in PS but you know they're on a hiding to nothing when the mall owner has to install a 4-storey high banner in the old wing to tell people it's even there.

I wish I felt sorry for the stores down either end of the new wing, at dead-ends but it's their own stupid fault for being in a road to know where.

[JR8]

It's as easy to get lost inside as ION, which i detest with every fibre of my soul.

It's designed to be like that. Many SGn 'malls' are - such that going down 5 floors by escalator? Well you'll have to walk the length of every floor to go to the escalator to next level down. To and fro, to and fro. It's really cynical, it's designed to keep you in there as long as possible, preferably completely lost, and walking past lots of merchandise you hadn't considered.

It's not just SG. They do it in M+S in London, 2-3 times a year they rotate all the aisles. It's a PITA as you get used to going in, #1, 2, 3 etc... shopping done > out. They see that as a lost marketing opportunity. So then one day you walk in and it's almost like 'where am I, where is everything?', as you wander around endlessly trying to find what you came for...

Ion must be a pinnacle of it. Asymmetric, escalators in all directions, between, 1, 2, 3, floors at a time? Maybe? I remember last time in there, battling to figure a way out ... literally. Not my kind of place, it's like a retail version of 'Hotel California'...

[earthfriendly]

Casinos are designed this way too. In order to get to the restaurants, theaters or parking lot, you need to walk thru the gambling area.

[Addadude]

Ion must be a pinnacle of it. Asymmetric, escalators in all directions, between, 1, 2, 3, floors at a time? Maybe? I remember last time in there, battling to figure a way out ... literally. Not my kind of place, it's like a retail version of 'Hotel California'...

I long ago stopped trying trying to figure Ion out and simply let my better half lead the way. It's interesting: outside of shopping centres, she's blur like sotong when it comes to a sense of direction. But once she's inside a mall, any mall, even for the first time, she's like a guided missile.

[JR8]

Hahaha ^

Yeah, my wife doesn't mind getting lost in a mall for half a day.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Singaporean women are born with an innate sense of direction in anyplace that has rows of racks/shelves and some machine going $kaching $kaching in a place with a slight overtone of formaldehyde to the atmosphere but completely disappears once they enter a normal atmosphere without walls and atriums.

[PNGMK]

I really detest the push by the Orchard Road designed to get people off the surface streets. I don't want to have to walk through bloody Ion to tranverse the old crossing on Scotts Road/Orchard Road.

[Barnsley]

I really detest the push by the Orchard Road designed to get people off the surface streets. I don't want to have to walk through bloody Ion to tranverse the old crossing on Scotts Road/Orchard Road.

Is the aim to have both sides of Orchard Road walkable without going outside?

[ScoobyDoes]

Ion must be a pinnacle of it. Asymmetric, escalators in all directions, between, 1, 2, 3, floors at a time? Maybe? I remember last time in there, battling to figure a way out ... literally. Not my kind of place, it's like a retail version of 'Hotel California'...

313 and Wisma Atria, for example, are the opposite.....you can go right up and right back down again without having to walk along any floor. Perfect, and if I want to walk, I can.

But I see that you are in about the same position as me, just avoiding ION completely and there are many doing exactly the same.

Is the aim to have both sides of Orchard Road walkable without going outside?

Like Hong Kong's Central district. You can basically walk forever without hitting ground level and even when you are outside you would be on a covered walkway. You can virtually walk from the Macau Ferry Terminal to Admiralty without hitting street level or getting wet in the rain....perfect.

[nakatago]

Orchard Central is still the worst; it has more hidden passageways, stairs and escalators than a dungeon level in a video game, not to mention escalators and lifts that skip arbitrary numbers of levels. No wonder tenants are complaining of poor business; people either don't find the stores or just give up altogether and back track to get out.