Retail News CRM

Category: Real Estate

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Real Estate news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Capella Hotel Group Opens Capella Kyoto in Japan

    Capella Hotel Group Opens Capella Kyoto in Japan

    Capella Hotel Group has launched Capella Kyoto in Japan this week, entering the country’s prime cultural tourism market with 1 ultra-luxury hospitality development.

    The opening brings the Singapore-based hospitality operator into direct competition with established luxury properties in Kyoto’s heritage districts.

    Expanding Luxury Footprint in Japan

    International luxury operators continue to target Kyoto because of sustained foreign tourist spending and strict zoning constraints that limit new inventory in historic neighbourhoods. High barriers to entry make boutique developments in prime central locations especially valuable for global operators seeking premium room rates.

    Capella’s entry into the Japanese market follows the brand’s regional expansion across major destination markets in Southeast Asia and Greater China. By establishing a presence in Kyoto, the group adds an anchor location in Japan to capture high-net-worth leisure demand travelling across the Asia-Pacific circuit.

    Operator Competition in Historic Hubs

    Competition among five-star hotel brands in Kyoto has intensified as international flags establish properties near key heritage assets. Rival luxury operators have similarly focused on smaller room counts and tailored guest experiences to maintain elevated average daily rates rather than relying on high guest volume.

    For hotel owners and asset managers, Kyoto presents elevated development costs alongside complex municipal preservation guidelines. The operators that succeed in this environment depend on high-spending overseas guests who stay longer and spend more on on-site dining and wellness offerings.

    Next Steps for Regional Portfolios

    The brand’s performance in Kyoto will test customer intake against existing luxury properties across western Japan. RetailNews Asia will track the operator’s room yield metrics and subsequent project rollouts across the domestic market.

  • Royal Holdings and RB Capital Buy Singapore Scotts Square for $245 Million

    Royal Holdings and RB Capital Buy Singapore Scotts Square for $245 Million

    Royal Holdings and RB Capital have agreed to buy the Scotts Square shopping centre in Singapore from Wharf Estates Singapore for $245 million. The deal values the Scotts Road property at S$310 million.

    CBRE brokered the transaction. The sale covers a four-storey luxury retail podium with 130,875 square feet of gross floor area and roughly 76,660 square feet of net lettable space next to the Orchard Road shopping belt.

    Valuation Shifts and Prime Yields

    The agreed price reflects a discount from earlier seller expectations. Wharf Estates Singapore first marketed the retail asset in 2024 at $346 million, then cut that target to $300 million as institutional buyers pushed for higher yields.

    Talks accelerated in August after inquiries began at around $253 million, according to the Business Times. Completing due diligence allowed the parties to lock in the final $245 million valuation ahead of a planned closing before the end of the year.

    Luxury Footprint and Tenant Demand

    Scotts Square maintains an occupancy rate of nearly 99 per cent. Anchor luxury tenants include French fashion house Hermes, Christian Louboutin and Vivienne Westwood, supported by streetwear labels, technology retailers and art installations across four floors.

    For landlords along the Orchard corridor, the transaction sets a clear benchmark for boutique luxury retail space outside mega-malls. While larger landlords rely on heavy tourist traffic and mass entertainment, the buyers are betting on compact footprints with top-tier international brands that retain tenants.

    Capital expenditure remains the central risk for the new owners. Retaining luxury anchors requires continuous asset enhancement, especially as competing developments along Orchard Road upgrade their podium spaces for regional luxury spending.

    RB Capital and Royal Holdings will take full operational control of the retail asset when the acquisition closes before the end of December.

  • QIC Opens 6,842-Square-Metre Racquet Club at Robina Town Centre

    QIC Opens 6,842-Square-Metre Racquet Club at Robina Town Centre

    QIC Real Estate opened a 6,842-square-metre Racquet Club venue at Robina Town Centre on the Gold Coast in September 2026, adding 13 courts to the shopping complex.

    Built outdoors, the project features seven padel courts, six pickleball courts, athlete recovery facilities and a clubhouse food and beverage venue.

    Landlords pivot to social sports

    The project gives major retail space to racquet sports over traditional specialty stores or standard entertainment anchors. Sally Harding, head of alternative income at QIC, noted the shift in asset management: “Some of the most exciting opportunities in our portfolio come from looking at land in new ways; not just where the next store goes but how we create places that get people active and connected.”

    Retail landlords across Asia-Pacific face structural shifts in department store footprints and apparel tenancies. Turning outdoor land and rooftops into sports hubs drives footfall during weekday evenings and weekend mornings. Conventional mall traffic softens during those periods. The risk lies in operational intensity: leisure operators need steady community engagement to justify square footage that produces lower base rent per square metre than luxury or specialty retail tenancies.

    Alternative income and regional footprint

    Founded in Sydney in 2023, Racquet Club previously built permanent facilities in Sydney and Canberra alongside temporary pop-ups. The Gold Coast venue serves as the company’s third permanent Australian location and its second-largest site to date.

    Robina Town Centre celebrated its 30th anniversary in April 2026. That milestone followed a 2024 institutional marketing partnership between QIC, the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Institute of Sport to lift on-site sports participation.

    Clubhouse launch schedule

    Court bookings at the Robina venue are active now. The adjoining clubhouse food and beverage operation opens before the end of September 2026.

  • SingLand to Shut Marina Square for 360,000-Sqm Mixed-Use Rebuild

    SingLand to Shut Marina Square for 360,000-Sqm Mixed-Use Rebuild

    Singapore Land Group will close Marina Square on March 31 to redevelop the 40-year-old complex into a 360,000-square-metre mixed-use property.

    The project replaces the standalone shopping centre with three towers housing 204 luxury apartments, 13,000 square metres of office space, a 304-key hotel, and a four-storey retail hub by 2031.

    The Rebuild Plan for Marina Bay

    SingLand plans to build a 49-storey residential tower alongside an eight-floor office block and hospitality facilities. The revamped four-storey retail podium will pivot toward food and beverage outlets, pet-friendly public spaces, padel courts, a botanic loop, and covered pedestrian bridges linking directly to NS Square.

    Master planning is led by PLP Architecture alongside local firm DP Architects. The current building was designed in the 1980s as an inward-facing structure focused on department stores, a bowling alley, and cinemas, cutting off foot traffic from the surrounding waterfront district that grew around it over four decades.

    Why Single-Use Retail Boxes Are Disappearing

    The overhaul reflects a broader structural change across Asian retail hubs. Standalone malls in central business districts face direct pressure from decentralised suburban retail, with more than 50 town centres across Singapore now offering duplicate tenant mixes within residential estates.

    Landlords are responding by stacking residential and commercial towers directly above retail space to engineer built-in foot traffic. The same dynamic drives major mixed-use precinct investments across the region, including IconSiam and One Bangkok in Thailand, Omotesando Hills in Tokyo, and Taikoo Li in Shanghai.

    Planning Incentives and Anchor Store Decline

    Urban planners in Singapore are actively encouraging commercial landlords to retire single-use retail boxes. SingLand is tapping the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Strategic Development Incentive Scheme, which grants higher gross plot ratios and flexible land-use rezonings for developers adding residential and hotel components to older commercial sites. Similar transformations are underway at Union Square on Havelock Road and Tanglin Shopping Centre near Orchard Road.

    When Marina Square opened in 1986, its 59,000 square metres of retail floor area made it Southeast Asia’s largest shopping complex. That legacy retail model relied on sprawling department store anchors, an arrangement that has broken down following the collapse or scaling back of operators such as Robinsons, John Little, and Metro.

    Tenants face a final trading date of March 31 before demolition crews take over the site ahead of the 2031 handover.

  • Siam Center Adds Three New Concepts in Three Weeks to Anchor Local Brands

    Siam Center Adds Three New Concepts in Three Weeks to Anchor Local Brands

    Siam Piwat opened three concept stores across fashion, beauty and wellness at Bangkok’s Siam Center over three weeks. The openings add local labels alongside Italian apparel brand Subdued.

    Among them is domestic apparel maker Maison Keeps, which opened its largest flagship to date on the first floor on September 4.

    The brand started in 2017 as an officewear line called Keeps. During pandemic lockdowns, it shifted into durable everyday basics for young adults and children. Earlier, on August 17, nail artist Grace Kantima Banjobdee opened Kantima House on the first floor. Her salon is styled like a living room and takes bookings through Line and Instagram. Local fragrance house 3rd Sense opened its first physical counter near the first-floor escalator on August 26. The brand sells scents themed around four energy paths, featuring artwork by Thai painter Juart Woraset.

    Local flagships and first-floor concepts

    These domestic labels join Italian Gen Z fashion retailer Subdued, which entered Thailand on Siam Center’s ground floor in July. Securing space requires tenants to follow Siam Piwat’s exclusivity mandate. The mall operator requires multi-branch brands to reserve a fixed share of their inventory exclusively for Siam Center. This keeps tenants from simply replicating standard mall assortments.

    That policy turns the venue into an incubator rather than a volume driver. By demanding bespoke stock allocations and custom store designs, the landlord trades standard chain rollouts for distinct merchandising. The goal is keeping foot traffic from migrating to larger neighbouring complexes.

    Exclusivity rules test tenant margins

    For independent labels like Maison Keeps and 3rd Sense, physical retail drives up overhead through staffing, fit-outs and custom production runs. Yet a ground- or first-floor lease in the Siam interchange district provides high footfall. It draws younger domestic shoppers and regional tourists that digital channels cannot match.

    Inventory management poses the main challenge. Carrying dedicated stock for a single branch ties up working capital. Smaller designers must maintain fast sell-through rates to justify prime-district rents against rivals in less restrictive centres.

    Competing along the Rama 1 corridor

    Siam Piwat also operates Siam Discovery and Iconsiam, and holds a stake in Siam Paragon. It has spent years positioning Siam Center against retail rivals Central Pattana and The Mall Group. Competition along Rama 1 Road and Ploenchit Road is tight as operators chase discretionary spend.

    Just over a kilometre to the east, Central Pattana’s renovated Central Chidlom department store is hosting its Time and Treasures luxury watch exhibition. The show runs from September 2 to October 11, displaying limited pieces priced up to US$15,000.

  • Thai Mortgage Rejections Hit 60 per Cent as Banks Tighten Debt Checks

    Thai Mortgage Rejections Hit 60 per Cent as Banks Tighten Debt Checks

    Thailand’s state-owned Government Housing Bank approved only about 40 per cent of home loan applications across January and February 2026, rejecting the remaining 60 per cent as lenders scrutinised borrower balance sheets.

    Kasikorn Research Center expects full-year mortgage lending in 2026 to range between zero growth and a 0.5 per cent contraction. That stall comes even after regulators extended relaxed loan-to-value rules through June 2027 to help developers clear unsold residential inventory.

    Household Debt Limits Borrowing Capacity

    Elevated consumer obligations remain the primary hurdle for prospective buyers. Kasem Praphan, Bangkok district office branch 1 area manager at GH Bank, said elevated household debt, unverified income streams, and inconsistent banking records drive most rejections.

    High debt loads leave little room for new commitments. Under GH Bank criteria, total monthly debt servicing must generally remain within 60 per cent of a borrower’s income. Applicants carrying auto financing, personal loans, and credit card balances frequently exceed that ceiling even when base salaries seem adequate.

    Income verification poses an equal challenge for self-employed applicants, freelancers, and online sellers, who now form one of the largest applicant demographics. GH Bank has started reviewing digital transaction histories, including QR code payment receipts from micro-merchants, but requires documented consistency over several months rather than irregular cash lump sums.

    Pre-Approval Programmes Target Unsold Housing

    To rehabilitate unqualified applicants, GH Bank established a Financial School programme. The scheme targets four specific segments: salaried new graduates, gig workers, informal earners, and individuals working through past loan delinquencies.

    Seventeen property developers have also partnered with the bank under a linked Financial School Extra initiative. Under that arrangement, prospective buyers make regular monthly deposits directly to GH Bank for up to 12 months, which the lender then transfers to developers as accumulated down payment installments.

    Borrowers who clear outstanding debts using funds from third parties must also document the money trail. If funds come from friends or informal partners without clear paper records, the bank imposes a mandatory 90-day waiting period before reassessing the application to verify that the liability was genuinely settled rather than temporarily moved.

    Lenders continue to evaluate total household use rather than property equity alone. Housing developers in Bangkok are watching the June 2027 expiration of loan-to-value relief measures as commercial banks keep credit criteria tight through the remainder of the year.

  • Singapore Retail Rents Forecast to Rise 2% as Supply Tightens

    Singapore Retail Rents Forecast to Rise 2% as Supply Tightens

    Singapore retail rents will increase by up to 2% this year as landlord negotiations tighten across prime shopping belts. New retail supply will moderate to 241,000 square feet through 2027.

    Orchard Road mall vacancy held broadly stable at 7.2% in the second quarter. Landlords across prime shopping centers are actively refreshing tenant mixes to capture resilient consumer footfall and tourist spending. Prime commercial assets continue to lead property transactions across the city-state, supported by tight floorplate availability and stable yields.

    Supply constraints cushion mall landlords

    Limited incoming space provides a firm floor under prime mall valuations. Developers face restrictive land releases in core commercial districts, keeping completion volumes well below historical ten-year averages through 2027. Tenants seeking flagship positions in downtown centers must negotiate leases months before existing tenancies expire.

    Retailers are adjusting footprints rather than shedding space outright. International fashion and lifestyle brands are trading underperforming suburban formats for refreshed prime city spaces, balancing higher base rents against stronger foot traffic conversions.

    Yields hold across commercial assets

    Offices and retail assets continue to take the lead in Singapore commercial property deals. Investors favor prime retail assets where tight physical supply cushions net operating income against wider regional macroeconomic pressures.

    RetailNews Asia sees this squeeze accelerating landlord use into the second half of the year. While department store operators reassess floor efficiency, specialty dining and experiential brands are absorbing available prime units as fast as leases turn over.

    The next quarter will test whether luxury consumer spending can maintain rental momentum as 241,000 square feet of replacement retail stock prepares to enter the market through 2027.

  • HSBC and W. Management Secure Prime Causeway Bay Flagships as Rents Soften

    HSBC and W. Management Secure Prime Causeway Bay Flagships as Rents Soften

    HSBC has secured a five-floor flagship branch at Causeway Bay’s Capitol Centre for HK$4 million a month, taking space long dominated by international fashion retailers.

    The 3,900-square-metre lease lets the lender replace two nearby outlets with a single customer hub that exceeds the combined floor area of both prior locations.

    Renovation is now underway across the ground floor and four upper levels. The space previously housed apparel brands including Victoria’s Secret, Forever 21 and Chanel. Land Registry filings confirm HSBC signed a five-year agreement for the site, making it the first long-term non-fashion occupant at the property since 2008, when casualwear chain Giordano paid HK$5.06 million monthly for the basement and five upper floors.

    Shifting from Apparel to Wealth Hubs

    A few streets away on Paterson Street, fast-fashion retailer W. Management took three floors spanning roughly 2,790 square metres in Fashion Walk. The company agreed to pay more than HK$2 million monthly for space vacated by Swedish rival H&M, which previously paid as much as HK$10 million a month for the entire four-floor building.

    Financial institutions across Asia-Pacific are increasingly stepping onto prime retail strips that once priced out non-luxury operators. Where fashion giants previously bid up core retail corridors to unsustainable peaks, wealth managers, private banks and insurance firms now view discounted street-front flagships as essential physical hubs for customer acquisition and private client meetings.

    Prime Street Rents Level Off

    Data from Savills shows Hong Kong retail sales climbed 7.1 per cent year on year in the second quarter, while online sales rose 25.3 per cent. Street-level rents across the four core shopping districts of Central, Causeway Bay, Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui held flat quarter on quarter, while mall rents slipped 1.8 per cent over the same timeframe.

    HSBC will close its Premier centre at Causeway Bay Plaza 2 on Lockhart Road and its branch at Park Lane on Gloucester Road on October 17, with the new Capitol Centre flagship scheduled to open on October 20.

  • China Mandates Finished Home Sales as Developer Losses Mount

    China Mandates Finished Home Sales as Developer Losses Mount

    Chinese regulators issued a joint directive mandating a shift toward completed-home sales, putting fresh liquidity pressure on property developers as the market downturn entered its fifth year.

    The policy overhaul on August 28 coincided with wider mortgage easing, including raising the debt service-to-income cap to 60 per cent from 55 per cent and extending maximum loan terms to 40 years from 30 years.

    Cash Flow Squeeze for Distressed Builders

    Pre-sales historically funded the bulk of residential construction across mainland China. Ending that practice forces developers to finance entire projects up front, stretching cash conversion cycles at a time when private builders remain cut off from standard bank lending.

    State-backed developers with deeper balance sheets stand to gain market share while defaulted operators struggle to buy land. Fitch Ratings warned that the rules raise the bar for internal financial management just as distressed builders attempt to revive project deliveries.

    Recent regulatory changes place even higher demands on developers’ cash flow and financial management capabilities.

    Asset disposals and external debt restructurings offer the only immediate route to liquidity for private builders, according to Shanghai-based property consultancy E-house China.

    Country Garden and Sunac Narrow Half-Year Deficits

    Interim earnings released late August showed that finished restructurings have not yet restored profitability. Country Garden reported first-half revenue of 44.1 billion yuan ($6.6 billion) and a net loss of 15.62 billion yuan, narrowing its deficit by 16.3 per cent from a year earlier.

    Sunac posted six-month sales of 16.35 billion yuan, down 18.2 per cent year on year. Its net loss reached 12.54 billion yuan, a 2.1 per cent reduction from the prior period.

    The operational pivot follows the life imprisonment sentence handed to China Evergrande founder Hui Ka-yan. While risk resolution on historical offshore bond defaults is progressing through courts in Hong Kong and the mainland, physical housing turnover across primary markets remains depressed.

    Investors now await monthly transaction figures for September across top-tier cities to gauge whether 40-year mortgages and easier debt thresholds can lift buyer demand under the new finished-home regime.

  • Central Pattana Targets 10% Footfall Growth at Central Park Mall

    Central Pattana Targets 10% Footfall Growth at Central Park Mall

    Central Pattana aims to increase foot traffic at its Central Park mall in Bangkok by 10 per cent year on year during its second year of operation.

    The retail hub inside the Dusit Central Park mixed-use development drew roughly 25 million visitors in its first twelve months after opening on Sept 4, 2025. International tourists accounted for 10 million of those visits, while retail occupancy reached 98 per cent with daily visitor counts averaging between 65,000 and 75,000 people.

    Office tenants and residents drive traffic

    Office and residential handovers will feed additional pedestrian volumes into the retail podium over the coming quarters. Central Park Offices currently records an occupancy rate above 80 per cent, with corporate tenants finishing interior fit-outs before moving staff into the tower.

    Residential transfers at The Residences at Dusit Central Park will begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, following pre-sales that reached 96 per cent. Kunayudh Dej-udom, asset director of centralwOrld and Central Park at CPN, stated that these incoming occupants will provide a built-in customer base for the property’s food, service, and lifestyle tenants.

    Bangkok’s prime retail landlords increasingly rely on integrated mega-projects to shield themselves from retail oversupply in the city centre. By embedding high-density office towers and luxury residences directly above retail concourses, developers like CPN and rival One Bangkok secure regular baseline spend before counting on discretionary tourist inflows.

    Transit links and brand launches

    CPN is positioning the mall around first-in-Thailand brand debuts, exclusive merchandise drops, and cross-cultural art installations to broaden international visitor recognition. The strategy pairs global creative partnerships with experiential retail formats to capture high-spending travellers.

    Physical access will expand with a direct pedestrian connection linking the complex to the underground MRT Silom station, scheduled for completion between late first quarter and early second quarter of 2027.

  • Singapore Land to Close Marina Square for 76,000-Square-Metre Revamp

    Singapore Land to Close Marina Square for 76,000-Square-Metre Revamp

    Singapore Land will close its Marina Square retail mall on March 31 to begin a multi-year redevelopment across more than 76,000 square metres of gross floor area. The project converts the standalone four-storey shopping centre into a mixed-use complex slated for completion in 2031.

    The overhaul will add three new towers to the site. These buildings will contain 204 luxury homes, a 260-key serviced apartment development, a 304-key hotel, and approximately 13,000 square metres of Grade A office space.

    New Towers and Rooftop Links

    Plans for the redesigned four-storey podium focus on experiential retail, sports, wellness facilities, dining, and pet-friendly outdoor areas. Direct roofscape links will connect the mall to the new towers and the precinct’s three existing hotels, which will remain open during construction.

    Singapore Land intends to use the retail podium as an active conduit between residential, commercial, and hospitality traffic throughout Marina Bay across different hours of the day. The developer plans to run community activations and events before the shutdown to maintain tenant sales and visitor footfall.

    “By adding residences, serviced apartments and workplaces alongside the existing hotels and repositioning the mall around experience-led retail, sports, wellness and community, we are creating a new ecosystem where people can live, work, stay and connect,” said Jonathan Eu, chief executive of Singapore Land.

    Rethinking Prime Downtown Retail

    The project reflects a broader trend across prime Asian commercial districts, where landlords are dismantling single-use suburban-style malls in favour of dense, mixed-use assets. With e-commerce shifting retail spending patterns and office attendance remaining flexible, central developers in Singapore and Hong Kong increasingly rely on on-site residential and hotel populations to guarantee daily mall traffic.

    Tenants at Marina Square will vacate ahead of the March 31 shutdown, with construction work running through to the targeted delivery date in 2031.

  • Mapletree Secures $500 Million for Emerging Asia Logistics Strategy

    Mapletree Secures $500 Million for Emerging Asia Logistics Strategy

    Singapore’s Mapletree Investments secured more than $500 million in first-close equity commitments for an emerging Asia logistics strategy targeting $2.1 billion in developments across Malaysia, Vietnam and India.

    The pool combines $250 million raised through the Mapletree Emerging Growth Asia Logistics Private Trust, known as MEGA, with over $250 million in co-investments and joint ventures for Malaysian warehouse projects. Sovereign wealth funds, a pension manager and a state investment group provided the capital. Mapletree will retain a minimum 20 per cent co-investment stake in the vehicle.

    Seed Assets and Target Returns

    Seven development properties seed the new vehicle: four projects in Malaysia, one in India and two operating warehouses in Vietnam. Mapletree aims to deliver an internal rate of return above the mid-teens as modern warehouse space remains scarce across developing Asian manufacturing hubs.

    Logistics forms Mapletree’s largest operating division, representing 43 per cent of total assets under management at S$32.4 billion ($24.8 billion). The firm managed 22.8 million square metres across 12 markets as of March, while its listed Mapletree Logistics Trust vehicle held 175 properties in nine Asia-Pacific markets with occupancy running at 96.9 per cent.

    Shifting Capital Back to Asian Hubs

    The push into emerging Asian industrial corridors mirrors a broader portfolio rotation away from western commercial property. While Mapletree raised capital for China logistics in 2022 and Japan in 2024, the group recently liquidated underperforming student housing vehicles and shed $1.3 billion in US logistics sheds over a 10-month window to fund higher-yielding regional builds.

    Fund managers across Southeast Asia are reallocating institutional money directly toward factory-adjacent storage as multinational brands diversify manufacturing beyond coastal China. Malaysia and Vietnam continue to absorb the bulk of factory floor expansions from electronics and consumer goods suppliers requiring automated, high-ceiling distribution centers.

    Mapletree is targeting an additional $200 million in commitments for MEGA at a second fund closing scheduled for early next year.

  • K11 Musea First-Half Sales Jump 40 per Cent on Luxury Tenant Overhaul

    K11 Musea First-Half Sales Jump 40 per Cent on Luxury Tenant Overhaul

    Hong Kong retail complex K11 Musea increased first-half revenue by 40 per cent year-on-year, posting record sales for the period following a sweeping overhaul of its tenant roster.

    Newly introduced brands at the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront destination averaged sales gains of more than 30 per cent, parent company New World Development said.

    The landlord initiated the first phase of its brand repositioning in the second half of 2024. That phase will wrap up by the end of this year, clearing space for flagship retail formats designed to generate higher revenue per square foot.

    Watches and Jewellery Drive Member Spending

    Hard luxury delivered the sharpest gains. Loyalty member spending on watches and jewellery climbed 80 per cent year-on-year during the first six months, while outlays on international luxury labels rose 20 per cent.

    Recent openings include boutiques from Miu Miu and IWC Schaffhausen, alongside a duplex flagship for Max Mara. Running label Hoka and Chinese outdoor brand Kailas also opened locations at the property over the summer.

    Tourist retail spend climbed 50 per cent year-on-year across the summer holiday period, supported by targeted arts and cultural exhibitions. Loyalty club spending continued that pace into August, rising 30 per cent.

    Landlords Shift Floor Plans to High-Yield Tenants

    Hong Kong shopping malls are aggressively reallocating square footage toward top-tier luxury labels and high-margin outdoor apparel to capture higher average basket sizes from mainland visitors. Rather than relying on volume foot traffic alone, operators are filtering tenants by direct sales productivity, a metric Horace Lam, chief executive of K11 Hong Kong, identified as the primary filter for new leases.

    Prada will open a new boutique at K11 Musea in the coming months, alongside an unannounced international yoga apparel brand scheduled to make its debut before the upgrade concludes.

  • Universal Studios Japan to Expand Osaka Park for First Time with 30,000-Square-Metre Site

    Universal Studios Japan to Expand Osaka Park for First Time with 30,000-Square-Metre Site

    USJ will expand Universal Studios Japan in Osaka for the first time since 2001 after securing a 30,000-square-metre plot from the city government. The transaction adds roughly 5.5 per cent to the existing 540,000-square-metre footprint, which drew 16 million visitors in fiscal 2024.

    City officials confirmed the municipal government will lease the plot on the northern edge of the park to the operator. USJ approached the city in April 2026 to negotiate long-term access, aiming to build new attractions that increase visitor capacity.

    Expanding the Waterfront Footprint

    Nippon Steel currently leases the 30,000-square-metre parcel and will return it to the city in June 2027. Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama backed the transaction as part of a broader municipal effort to revitalize the Osaka Bay waterfront district.

    Theme park operators across Asia are adding real estate to capture rising international tourism flows, competing directly with major resort expansions in Tokyo, Hong Kong and mainland China. In Osaka, physical boundary constraints have long limited USJ to redeveloping internal zones rather than adding raw land.

    Next Steps Toward the 2028 Lease

    Before construction can begin, USJ is running environmental surveys to test for soil contamination across the industrial site. The final lease contract between the municipal government and the park operator is scheduled for completion in 2028.

  • SM Supermalls Revenue Rises 8% to $667M on Record Occupancy

    SM Supermalls Revenue Rises 8% to $667M on Record Occupancy

    SM Supermalls lifted first-half revenue by 8 per cent to US$667 million across the Philippines as mall occupancy reached a record 96 per cent.

    Same-store sales rose 4.8 per cent to 41.8 billion Philippine pesos during the six-month period, driven by steady foot traffic and resilient food spending.

    Vacant floor space dropped to 4 per cent across the network, with the operator attributing most empty units to planned tenant relocations rather than lease cancellations. President Stephen Tan said shoppers have grown more deliberate about where they spend, favouring better quality and experiential formats over basic discount hunting.

    Casual dining led tenant performance, according to executive vice president for marketing Joaquin San Agustin, who noted that trading held steady across nearly all retail categories.

    Shifting space from apparel to leisure

    To keep mall floors full, the group is reallocating square footage away from traditional apparel racks toward sports, entertainment and social concepts. Recent additions include pickleball courts, running hubs, food halls, game parks and combined dining-and-gaming venues.

    “A mall can’t stay the same,” Tan said. “You have to keep introducing new tenants and new experiences to keep customers coming back.”

    Across Southeast Asia, mall operators face a split market. While department stores in older suburban centres lose ground to online shopping, dominant prime developers in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand are converting excess retail capacity into recreational destinations to protect dwell times and rental yields.

    Provincial expansion pipeline

    Growth is now concentrated outside the capital. The company opens SM Nuvali in Laguna this November, installing the country’s first direct-view LED cinema screen to replace traditional projection booths.

    Further openings scheduled in the pipeline include new regional developments in Tagum, General Trias, Bohol and Malolos.