Singapore: A walk along Orchard Road just as the coronavirus pandemic has hit Singapore’s famous shopping street.
Gone are popular restaurants like Modesto, which closed last month after 23 years. There are also rows of Chinese tourists missing in front of Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Shopping malls along the 1.5-mile 2.4-kilometer stretch, once one of Asia’s most productive shopping malls, are dotted with empty shops. On a recent midweek afternoon, the number of store workers who dust shelves or play with their cell phones that greet consumers is remarkable.
“It’s the worst crisis for Singapore and Orchard Road,” said Kiran Assodani, who has run her custom tailor shop in one of the older malls for 35 years. The alterations outlet, which caters to both tourists and locals, has seen sales drop by 90% since the virus outbreak. “I don’t know if the shops can weather this storm.”
Orchard Road’s discomfort is a microcosm of city-state pain. After the initial good fortune of the Covid-19 master’s degree, an epidemic spread across dozens of dormitories housing foreign workers, causing a two-month partial blockade that led the economy to the worst recession in its history. Global restrictions deprive Singapore of about $20 billion in tourism profits and the domestic market is too small to fill the void.
Originally, the site of fruit, nutmeg and pepper farms in the early 19th century that gave the band its name, transforming Orchard Road into a dazzling shopping mall, the first branch opened in 1958, reflected Singapore’s expansion from a sleepy announcement advanced to one of the world’s richest nations.
Now the decline of the economy is aligned.
Italian restaurant Modesto survived the SARS epidemic and Asian and global currency crises for more than two decades on Orchard Road, but has deformed under the coronavirus. Instead of renewing his lease, owner Ashok Melwani made the decision to decrease his losses and permanently close.
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“If I renewed, I would sign up for a roller coaster in the dark,” said the 62-year-old man, who also closed a moment near Modesto’s store. “I can bleed and bleed into sight.”
The slowdown has affected both luxury and low-end stores.
Read also: How a Singapore PhD student became a Chinese agent, encouraged Americans to share information
Robert Chua, who runs a discounted luggage shop at Far East Plaza, estimates it may take about two more months. I used to earn about S$25,000 ($18,000) a month by promoting suitcases and backpacks to basically American, European and Chinese tourists. Now, a $300 S-day is a smart day, and some days there are no consumers at all.
“Every day I come to the store with a feeling of sadness,” the 50-year-old said. In his ledgers, he helps keep 3 spending s$50, a Chinese superstition designed to circulate money, without success. “I can’t sleep thinking about the expenses I have to pay.” Their hiring of S$6,000 resumed this month after the government and some owners ended hiring refunds in July.
At least 20 outlets in Far East Plaza, which are partly owned by the billionaire circle of rb Capital relatives, are empty, with “rental” decals glued with optimism on their blinds.
A few blocks from the highest-level city of Ngee Ann, which is a component of Starhill Global REIT’s portfolio, is a similar story. Several outlets are closed, adding a Japanese eating spot and a British Indian clothing retailer.
“It’s never been worse and I’ve been operating in the retail business since 1994,” said Nana Sahamat, director of Japanese clothing store Fray I.D. “Before the crisis, I was busy entertaining customers, but now I spend more time doing scenes.”
It’s true that Orchard Road is already wasting its glow before it hit the coronavirus. The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands has attracted wealthy tourists and national consumers with upscale stores such as Christian Louboutin, Fendi and Gucci, and gourmet restaurants like Cut through Wolfgang Puck.
Meanwhile, the most cost-conscious shoppers head to the entire suburbs of big brands like Uniqlo, Zara and Topshop, and no longer see the desire to venture into Orchard Road.
“Before the pandemic, Orchard Road had already noticed a decline in pedestrians and sales,” said Wong King Yin, senior marketing professor at Nanyang University of Technology in Singapore.
“It is only when foreign tourism has fully recovered, the economy has recovered and everyone is able to spend, and when Orchard Road will offer exclusive reports rather than shopping, the community can attract other people as it did at its peak,” he told me.
There have been repeated attempts to rejuvenate the area. The futuristic Ion Orchard Mall that buys groceries at CapitaLand Ltd. opened in 2009 and shoppers can get everything they want, from luxury and fashion jewelry to brands like Swarovski. There is also a huge food court in the basement offering fast food and Singaporean street specialties. The Strip also bought groceries at midnight, night from pedestrians and a makeover of S$40 million to expand sidewalks.
“The experiments brought in are not yet to ‘impress’ consumers,” Wong said.
Last year, the government unveiled fresh plans to transform Orchard Road into a “lifestyle destination.” It’s envisaged the strip will be divided into four precincts each with its own focus, such as arts and culture, a youth hub and a garden district.
“Like many other cities, Singapore is investigating imaginable adjustments to customer behavior and has an effect on the pandemic on our urban progression plans,” said the Singapore Tourism Board and the Urban Reprogresion Authority in an email reaction to Bloomberg’s questions. “If necessary, we will consider the adjustment and progression of express plans.”
For restaurateur Melwani, it’s a little late.
“Orchard Road has its charms, however, I’m afraid the shipment has sailed,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t know what glamour can bring back.” – Bloomberg
Read also: Singapore sinks into recession as GDP falls from 41.2%
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