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  • Bina Puri rebuffs offers for Main Place mall

    Bina Puri rebuffs offers for Main Place mall

    Despite its orphan status on the asset register of Malaysian energy company Bina Puri, the Main Place mall in Selangor will not be sold any time soon.

    The Subang Jaya shopping centre has renowned retailers including Uniqlo, Cotton On, Brand Outlet, Starbucks, McDonald’s and Toys R Us on its tenant list, which has a heavy skew to food and beverage.

    In time with an announcement of the company’s latest trading results, group executive director Matthew Tee declared the group had “no plans” to sell the shopping centre.

    “Since the mall opened its door last year, we have received three [acquisition] offers, but we have rejected them all. We are still enjoying the benefit of the retail mall and [we believe] it is too early for us to sell it,” he said at a press conference.

    Bina Puri Holdings Bhd expects its net profit to grow by 20 per cent in the year to December 31, 2016, driven by its construction and power business segments.

    Main Place Mall is recognised in marketing in Malaysia by its distinctive cat logo and character (pictured above). Centre management explains cats have long been revered as “a mythical creature across cultures and traditions”.

    “They are regarded as the guardian of the home and embody domestic goodness. Being ‘Your Neighbourhood Mall’, we want you to feel at home when you’re here and we assure that you will be well taken care of.”

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  • Alibaba Lunar New Year retail blitz planned

    Alibaba Lunar New Year retail blitz planned

    Alibaba plans to piggyback on the biggest celebration on the Chinese calendar – Lunar New Year – in the hopes of establishing another e-shopping tradition.

    Set to start in mid-January in the run-up to Chinese New Year, which falls on February 8 this year, theAlibaba Lunar New Year blitz – dubbed Ali Chinese New Year Shopping Festival – will have a different (and arguably less feverish) feel to it compared with the sprawling and competitive 11.11 sale, according to Alibaba.

    The company says its goal for the event is to use eCommerce to encourage two-way trade between China’s urban and rural areas, featuring discounted holiday products for the home, gifts, clothing and particularly food and agricultural products, in keeping with the spirit of a time when family members come together once a year for a celebratory feast.

    “Chinese New Year is the most significant celebration through the year and is a time to maintain traditions,” said Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang at a recent kick-off event.

    By hosting the sale, “we aim to enable rural customers to access an extensive range of New Year goods from home and abroad, while making agriculture products from rural China more available among urban customers.”

    To that end, the event will be promoted heavily by Rural Taobao, an arm of Alibaba Group which focuses on rural eCommerce, as well as main Alibaba shopping marketplaces Taobao Marketplace,Tmall.com and Juhuasuan. During the sale, Alibaba will for the first time bring more than 500 premium overseas brands to China’s hinterlands via Rural Taobao, which facilitates online shopping and home delivery through more than 10,000 rural service centers in villages across China. Rural customers in some villages will be able to buy foods from 25 countries, including American crawfish, Alaska black cod, Russian king crab, Canadian lobster, Australian beefsteak, French wine and British tea.

    Meanwhile, Alibaba’s cross-border shopping channel, Tmall Global, will work with eight country pavilions (online shops offering national specialty products) and eight major supermarkets, department stores and duty-free shops to provide quality goods from around the world. International retailers including Macy’s, Costco, Metro and King Power will join the promotion.

    Alibaba Group executive chairman Jack Ma said the festival is geared not only to offer rural Chinese a chance to buy merchandise that is unavailable in their local shops. It is also meant to boost regional economies by helping farmers generate more income by selling their produce directly to consumers over the Internet.

    “The 11.11 Shopping Festival is designed for netizens,” Ma explained, “while the Chinese New Year Shopping Festival is created for farmers.”

    During the sale, Alibaba will promote local specialties from farmlands and pastures to urban online shoppers looking for healthy foods. Juhuasuan, Alibaba’s flash sales platform, has stored 150 tons of Jinhua ham, 100 tons of beef from Inner Mongolia, four million organic eggs, 10 million packs of Cantonese sausages, 50,000 kilograms of pork from the Dabie Mountains, and 30,000 grain-fed hens from Shuanglian in Hubei province.

    In addition to facilitating rural-urban commerce, Alibaba is using the sale to showcase innovations in O2O eCommerce and financial technology. For example, Rural Taobao developed a mobile app so that migrant workers unable to return home for the holiday can use their smartphones to purchase gifts for faraway parents and loved ones.

    Tmall Global recently partnered with the Tianjin Free-trade Zone to open a brick-and-mortar store near Beijing where customers can check out a wide range of products, from snacks to cosmetics, available from overseas merchants and order them by scanning QR codes using their phones. Built to facilitate cross-border eCommerce, the “Alibaba experience center” will offer special discounts during the CNY sale.

    Alibaba e-payments affiliate Alipay is again putting a high-tech spin on the Chinese New Year practice of giving red envelopes stuffed with cash to friends and family. Alipay this year is the exclusive partner of China’s Spring Festival Gala, an annual TV program hosted by CCTV that is watched by millions. During the show, viewers armed with the Alipay app will be able to receive virtual red packets distributed by Alipay and participating merchants. Alipay said it has landed more than 100 corporate sponsors, including taxi-hailing firm Didi and handset maker Huawei.

    Advance sales for the Ali Chinese New Year Shopping Festival are set to start January 14. The actual shopping festival will begin January 17 and will last for five days.

    Other Festival initiatives include:

    • Alibaba in cooperation with local governments has chartered trains to provide free transportation to migrant workers to return home for the holiday. The trains will run from Guangzhou to Guiyang and from Shanghai to Xi’an.
    • Alibaba will organize free Chinese opera performances in rural communities.
    • The company will provide assistance to 13,000 rural service center managers so they can host 10,000 New Year’s Eve dinners for the elderly, left-behind children and disabled people.
    • Taobao Marketplace is featuring “time-honored brands” that are widely recognized in China for their connection to Chinese New Year and staying power through generations. Mobile Taobao plans to launch related location-based services to help users find nearby stores carrying these brands.
    • Alitrip, Alibaba’s online travel service platform, has designed several tour routes along which tourists can experience folk customs such as floating lotus-shaped lanterns on rivers in the city of Lijiang in Yunnan Province.
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  • Visa claims more Filipinos using contactless payments

    Visa claims more Filipinos using contactless payments

    More consumers in The Philippines are using contactless payments, according to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2015.

    It shows that 29 per cent of Filipinos have used contactless payments for transactions over the past year, up from 21 per cent in 2014. Cardholders cited the convenience of the system, security and ease of use among reasons for using contactless payments.

    Trends in payments behaviour and openness to using contactless payments were identified by the study which surveyed consumers in six Southeast Asian markets. Contactless payments are made by waving a credit or debit card or smartphone over a point-of-sale terminal, eliminating the need for cash, PIN number or signature.

    “As more Filipinos learn about the convenience, security and speed that contactless payments, such as Visa PayWave, bring to their lives, they are more willing to use them regularly,” says Visa country manager for The Philippines and Guam, Stuart Tomlinson.

    Filipinos’ awareness for contactless payments has risen 62 per cent in 2014 to 66 per cent last year. This has led to usage growing from 21 per cent last year to 29 per cent.

    Using contactless payments help save time, report 78 per cent of respondents (up from 58 per cent in 2014). The same percentage said system means they don’t need to carry cash (also up from 58 per cent), and 55 per cent said contactless payments are easier than using cash – a leap from 9 per cent in 2014.

    It was also revealed that Filipinos recognise contactless payments as being less hassle to use (41 per cent) and safer (36 per cent), while freeing them from queueing (34 per cent) and giving them a more enjoyable shopping experience (22 per cent).

    In The Philippines, contactless payments are mainly used for groceries plus food and beverage – 57 per cent for groceries, 37 per cent for F&B, 28 per cent for fashion and accessories, 27 per cent for beauty and cosmetics, 25 per cent for health and wellness services, 23 per cent for movie tickets, and 22 per cent for household electronics. Another revelation was that women are buying across all categories, however men use these payments more than women for transportation (8 per cent of total purchases). Other expenditures include books, CDs and DVDs (18 per cent), personal electronics (18 per cent), financial services (17 per cent), and events and concerts (10 per cent).

    Most respondents (80 per cent) said they prefer to buy products and services from retailers who offer contactless payments, and 84 per cent are interested in making payments with contactless wearables, such as smartwatches. Women would like to make such payments for groceries (67 per cent) while men prefer them for buying food and drinks (62 per cent).

    Users said security is also important, which is addressed by contactless cards having multiple layers of security including EMV chip technology and dynamic encryption. As they have a short read range, they are claimed to be virtually impossible to compromise. Financial institutions and credit card companies also monitor transactions to identify suspicious and unusual transactions.

    “Given growing awareness, use and openness to contactless payments among Filipinos over the past year, there is an immense opportunity for businesses to grow their market share by adopting the technology,” says Tomlinson.

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  • Tumi Japan buys out partner

    Tumi Japan buys out partner

    Luxury travel goods retailer Tumi has bought out its local Tumi Japan partner to gain full control of its retail and wholesale activities in what is one of the world’s largest luxury markets.

    Tumi Japan runs a network of 13 stores and an eCommerce website, as well as distributing Tumi product across an extra 150 points of sale across the country.

    CEO/president Jerome Griffith says the acquisition of the partner’s 50 per cent stake is aimed at strengthening the company’s position within the Japanese and Asia Pacific region.

    “We have been pleased with the strong acceptance of our brand among Japanese consumers, and remain excited about the long-term growth prospects of this region. We look forward to welcoming the Tumi Japan team into the family and look forward to integrating this region into the business, sharing our expertise, brand power and retail strategy to drive it to the next level,” Griffith said in a statement.

    Tumi expects the acquisition will be earnings neutral to its consolidated financial results this year, and accretive to earnings thereafter.

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  • Starbucks Indonesia reopens stores after attack

    Starbucks Indonesia reopens stores after attack

    Starbucks Indonesia has reopened stores today after yesterday’s terror attack on one cafe in downtown Jakarta.

    In a statement, Starbucks head office in Seattle said it was “deeply saddened by the senseless act” that took place in Jakarta.

    “Our hearts are with the people of Indonesia. Amidst the attack in Jakarta, initial reports are that an explosion took place close to our store in the Skyline building. One customer sustained injuries; our partners (employees) are all confirmed to be safe.”

    The company said it would be business as usual today (Friday) as it works closely with local authorities and looks to them to provide further updates on what transpired as they learn more details.

    “While this store will remain closed, based on the stabilisation of the situation being conveyed by local authorities, we will open all other stores in Jakarta and across Indonesia.”

    The Starbucks cafe was one of three targets by Isis-linked terrorists in Indonesia’s capital city on Thursday. Two people lost their lives in the attacks, along with five suspected terrorists who either blew themselves up or were shot by police.

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  • Asia weighs on Richemont

    Asia weighs on Richemont

    Luxury goods retailer Richemont has reported its first drop in Christmas retail sales in seven years, citing a downturn in Asia and fallout from the Paris terror attacks.

    And worse may be in store in the fourth quarter for the Geneva-based owner of luxury brands including Montblanc, Cartier, IWC Schaffhausen, Net-a-Porter and Alfred Dunhill – especially in the watches category.

    According to data from the Swiss watch industry, stock shipments to Hong Kong, Richemont’s single largest market, are down 28 per cent.

    The company said demand for luxury watches and fashion was significantly down in Hong Kong and Macau in the three months to December 31. Sales in the territories fell by 9 per cent, but that rate was less than the 15 per cent decline for the first nine months of the year, suggesting the decline was levelling out.

    In contrast, Richemont said sales growth in Mainland China “continued to improve”.

    In Europe, sales fell 3 per cent in the quarter after Europeans were spooked by the Paris terror attacks in November, reducing the ranks of tourists to the French capital. That followed “very strong sales growth” in the first half of the financial year, which ends next March 31.

    Richemont’s global sales rose 3 per cent to 2.93 billion euros (US$3.2 billion), but on a constant currency basis fell 4 per cent, one per cent further than analysts were forecasting.

  • Thailand industry auto sales seen down 10pc in 2016

    Thailand industry auto sales seen down 10pc in 2016

    Thailand’s total domestic car sales are expected at 720,000 in 2016, down 10 percent from 2015, Toyota Motor Corp’s Thai unit said on Thursday.

    Toyota, which commands about a third of the Thai market, sees a 9.8 percent fall from 2015 in its annual automotive sales in the Southeast Asian nation to 240,000 in 2016, it said at a news conference.

    Kyoichi Tanada, president of the Toyota Thai unit, said the reason for the fall in both domestic car sales and Toyota’s own car sales were a weak global economy and a new Thai excise tax which would increase the retail prices of vehicles in 2016.

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  • Lewis Road Creamery eyes China as potential export market

    Lewis Road Creamery eyes China as potential export market

    Lewis Road Creamery will make a final decision this year whether to export fresh organic milk into China’s Shanghai.

    The premium dairy brand company is also planning to release a number of product extensions and has already moved beyond dairy products into baked goods.

    Lewis Road had 340% growth in retail sales to $40 million of its butter, cream, organic milk, and flavoured milk products during 2015 – the year founder Peter Cullinane calls “the chocolate milk frenzy.”

    His big decisions this year include whether to get serious about exporting and how far to extend the product range beyond dairy. For the past couple of months the company has been trialling sales of Lewis Road Bakery premium kibbled grain bread in 12 Auckland retail outlets.

    Mr Cullinane says the company is exporting small amounts of butter to Australia and has been investigating a wider move, in particular fresh organic milk to Shanghai. Other markets under consideration include Australia, the UK, and the US, though he thinks the latter may be beyond the company’s current reach.

    One of the advantages of being a small operator under a majority owner is the company he founded in 2011 can make decisions more quickly than some of its larger rivals, Mr Cullinane says. “When we do [export], we will do it quickly.”

    But he thinks New Zealand companies are too focused on export, forgetting the local market.

    “We will export when we are doing New Zealand really well,” he says.

    The company’s phenomenal growth in chocolate milk sales, which on launch in 2014 saw queues in supermarkets and security guards overseeing allocation, has abated from 48% between the last quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015 to more normal levels.

    “It was a once-in-a-blue-moon phenomenon,” he says. “But it was an extraordinary boost to the business.”

    Two million litres of chocolate milk were sold last year, with retail sales still a respectable $5.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. Discounted bottles have been spotted on sale of late, which Mr Cullinane attributes to an ordering glitch.

    Vanilla and coffee flavours were introduced when it extended flavoured milk into the South Island in October and he says other flavours will be added this year: think strawberry with real fruit.

    Other dairy brand extensions are planned in coming months, which Mr Cullinane prefers to keep under wraps for now but the cream range will have sour cream and crème fraiche added at some point.

    The company’s organic milk sales continue to grow despite increased competition, with Goodman Fielder releasing its own range of three premium organic milks under the Puhoi Valley brand last year and Fonterra launching Anchor Organic last May.

    At the time, Mr Cullinane labelled Goodman’s move “pathetic plagiarism” but has now mellowed to “all competition is good.”

    “The impact it will have is more a slowing down of growth,” he says. “It took us a long while to get well-established and others will struggle to catch up. We have a good head start.”

    Lewis Road holds half of the domestic organic dairy market, which has seen significant growth in the past two years, providing the bulk of increases in fresh milk sales.

    Problems with lack of supply during the dry season mid-2014 were avoided last year following the setting up of the Organic Dairy Hub farmer collective, which has long-term supply contracts at a premium price with the brand’s processor, Green Valley Dairies.

    Mr Cullinane says two key things he was mulling this year were “bringing the farmers market to the supermarket” with fresh premium products such as bread and honey, and meeting “customer demand for products that have more and better ingredients put back in.”

    He received a staff gift this Christmas – a bell that will sit on his desk. It’s an idea originating from the Guinness brewery company where staff ring the bell when things start going off track, he says.

    “Some products we will get wrong…that’s the price of experimentation, you just have to do it and hopefully nothing will be too wrong.”

    (BusinessDesk)

  • French Manufacturer to Release Smartphone in Indonesia

    French Manufacturer to Release Smartphone in Indonesia

    French smartphone vendor, Wiko Mobile, will release its latest product in Indonesia this Friday. The product dubbed Pulp Fab is expected to enliven smartphone sales competition at the beginning of the year.

    Chief Sales Officer Wiko Mobile Indonesia Sung Khiun said the product has various advanced features.  “To enjoy its various applications through a 2GB RAM,” he said in Solo on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

    Pulp Fab features an octa-core processor, allowing maximum performance when running game apps and high resolution HD films.  Its believe to be able to optimize multitasking performance when switching from one app to another.

    One of the advantages of Pulp Fab is the Floating Video Player feature.  Through this feature, users can enjoy watching video while doing other activities simultaneously.  In other words, users can minimize the video display when displaying other apps on the smartphone screen.

    Pulp Fab will come with a 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera.  Its camera resolution will be able to satisfy users in capturing important moments.  “Including selfie lovers,” said Sung Khiun.

    For game lovers, Wiko has added a USB On The Go (OTG) feature for on the handset, which is compatible with a mouse.

    Pulp Fab sport a 5.5-inch HD display with 1280×720 pixels.  Its design is a combination of premium metallic frame effect and soft leather on the back.

    Unfortunately, Sung Khiun is still reluctant to leak its price which is scheduled to make its roll out in Bandung.  “It will definitely be under Rp2 million,” he said.  With the relatively cheap price, Wiko hopes  to expand its market segment, starting from entrepreneurs, office workers, and teenagers.

  • Mihaibao Brings Luxury Brands to China

    Mihaibao Brings Luxury Brands to China

    Luxury retail tech start-up Mihaibao is looking to disrupt how Chinese consumers shop for luxury goods and how Western brands reach Chinese markets. And investors are certainly taking notice.

    Although still in a beta testing phase, the company is making waves due in part to the big-name participants in its $1.6 million seed round. Investors at this stage include Alibaba angel investor and former CTO John Wu, the UK Government and Royal Family, PayPal and more.

    “Chinese people are obsessed with Western luxury goods,” said Mihaibao co-founder Jacqueline Lam. “But on international websites, Chinese customers are dealing with language barriers, multiple shipping fees, and foreign currencies and payments.”

    Mihaibao co-founder Jacqueline Lam.Mihaibao co-founder Jacqueline Lam.

    Furthermore, while Western brands are eager to tap the Chinese market, “many do not understand the Chinese culture, shopping behaviour and trends, making China a high-risk investment,” said Lam.

    While many luxury brands have launched bricks-and-mortar stores in China, the taxes and mark-ups are high and the ranges often limited. Many such stores have been forced to slash prices, according to Bloomberg, due in part to online competition. China also has a massive ‘grey market’ for luxury goods fuelled by shopping agents who make a living moving Western luxury goods into China and reselling them.

    All of this means that there is massive demand in China for luxury goods but no real simple or satisfactory way of connecting consumers with the brands they want. And that is what Lam and Mihaibao are trying to do.

    Mihaibao is essentially a tech company. It has partnered with more than 200 Western luxury brands — including the likes of Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Valentino and many more — which are featured on the Mihaibao website. Shoppers pick what they want from the website and Mihaibao calculates prices and shipping costs via live currency conversion and deals with any tax or customs issues, for a percentage of the sale.

    As a tech company, Mihaibao is also focusing on its data capabilities, which it’s using to analyse key trends in the Chinese market to help its brands bring the right products to Chinese consumers.

    “Not only can we tailor the Chinese shopper’s experience but we can also help brands target the people that have created demand for a particular product — we know how the Chinese shopper thinks,” Lam told CNN.

    Together with streamlining the shopping process for Chinese consumers, Mihaibao is also working to establish consumer trust with buying luxury Western goods online. Many consumers have trust issues with major marketplaces, like China’s Tmall, which often sell counterfeit luxury goods side-by-side with the real thing.

    Whether Mihaibao can bridge the gap between Western luxury brands and eager Chinese consumers remains to be seen. But this young start-up’s powerful backers are certainly making people sit up and take notice.

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  • Burberry sales edge up after improvements in China

    Burberry sales edge up after improvements in China

    Luxury goods maker Burberry says its retail revenue rose 1 percent in the last three months of 2015, as its critical market in mainland China returned to growth.

    Shares in the company rose on the London stock exchange on Thursday, possibly due to investor relief that demand in mainland China held up.

    The revenue growth was nevertheless far below the double-digit increase enjoyed a year earlier. Sales in Hong Kong declined by over 20 percent, hurting results for the Asia-Pacific region.

    Christopher Bailey, chief creative and chief executive officer, says headwinds in Hong Kong and Macau “masked an otherwise stronger performance in many markets.”

    Anusha Couttigane, a senior consultant at retail analyst Conlumino, says “for all Burberry’s investment in experiential retailing, its Q3 performance has enjoyed little Christmas cheer.”

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  • Cigarette sales to minors: Shop’s licence revoked

    Cigarette sales to minors: Shop’s licence revoked

    A shop in Bedok has had its tobacco retail licence revoked after it was found to have repeatedly sold tobacco products to minors.

    Two other shops – a 7-Eleven outlet at 523, Bukit Batok Street 52 and Blu Jaz at 11, Bali Lane – have had their licences suspended by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for six months for the same offence. Both sold tobacco products to those aged under 18 for the first time.

    The shop whose licence has been revoked, Bedok Goodwill Store – located at 79, Bedok North Road – had already seen its licence suspended for six months in 2012 for the offence.

    Despite that, the outlet continued to sell tobacco products to the underaged, with the most recent case involving three minors in school uniform in two separate incidents on the same day, the HSA said in a press release yesterday .

    The seller also took the opportunity to profit from the sales by selling the cigarettes at a higher price than the actual retail price, it added.

    The shop’s licence was revoked on Dec 10 last year, meaning it is no longer allowed to sell tobacco products, the release said.

    The HSA said the three sellers, all employees of the three respective shops, failed to check the ages of the minors before selling them the tobacco products.

    They were caught following the HSA’s ground surveillance and enforcement activities.

    The authority has reminded licensees that they are responsible for all transactions of tobacco products at their outlets, and for the actions of their employ-ees.

    Anyone convicted of selling tobacco products to those aged under 18 faces a fine of up to $5,000 on the first offence, and a fine of up to $10,000 for subsequent offences.

    In addition, the tobacco retail licence will be suspended for six months for the first offence, and revoked for the second.

    However, any outlet found selling tobacco products to anyone aged under 18 in a school uniform, or anyone below 12 years of age, will have its licence revoked, even for the first offence.

    Twenty-five licences have been suspended and 22 revoked in the last three years, the HSA said.

    A list of these retailers can be found on the HSA’s website (www.hsa.gov.sg) under Health Products Regulation.

    Anyone with information on the illegal sales of tobacco products to minors can call the Tobacco Regulation Branch on 6684-2036 or 6684-2037 during office hours.

     

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  • Tanjong Pagar Centre: New tallest building in Singapore after 20 years

    Tanjong Pagar Centre: New tallest building in Singapore after 20 years

    It’s a record that has held for more than 20 years but by the middle of the year, Tanjong Pagar Centre will claim the title of the tallest building in Singapore – even if it is by just 10m.

    At 290m, Tanjong Pagar Centre will tower over the central business district, displacing UOB Plaza One, One Raffles Place and Republic Plaza, which had jointly held the title.

    The three buildings are about 280m tall – One Raffles Place was completed in 1988, UOB Plaza One in 1992 and Republic Plaza in 1995.

    But the buildings here pale in comparison to some of their overseas counterparts. The tallest building in the world is the 829.8m Burj Khalifa in Dubai; nearer home in Taiwan, Taipei 101 reaches 508m, almost double the height of Tanjong Pagar Centre.

    Last week, Tanjong Pagar Centre’s developer GuocoLand held a topping out ceremony, with National Development Minister Lawrence Wong as guest of honour.


    Sources: SKYSCRAPERPAGE.COM, GUOCOLAND GROUP ST GRAPHICS

    The 64-storey development, which cost $3.2 billion, comprises Guoco Tower, or 890,000 sq ft of Grade A office space; 100,000 sq ft of retail and food and beverage space; a 100,000 sq ft urban park; a 181-unit luxury residential component Wallich Residence; and the 222-room Sofitel Singapore City Centre hotel.

    The take-up rate at Guoco Tower is about 10 per cent. Tenants who have signed on include DNB Asia, Hong Leong Bank, Open Link and Regus. The company is in advanced discussions with tenants who could potentially form another 40 per cent of demand.

    While the office leasing market is not as exuberant as several years ago, there is still activity – from companies looking to upgrade, contract or expand, GuocoLand Singapore managing director Cheng Hsing Yao told reporters yesterday.

    Many interested parties are looking for half a floor, or a floor or two, and they tend to sign on closer to when the building is completed and they can see the product, he said.

    The retail component is 60 per cent committed, with gym operator Virgin Active as the anchor tenant.

    As for Wallich Residence – which was recently renamed from Clermont Residence, to honour its street address – 16 units have been sold since its soft launch at an average price of about $3,200 per sq ft.

    But while the building is the tallest in Singapore, Mr Cheng said it was not given a lofty name because GuocoLand wanted the building to reflect its surroundings.

    “It goes back to why we were interested in this piece of land… It is geographically in the heart of the district, which has offices, residences and hotels, and heritage shophouses… The name will grow and we are confident that we will create a transformation in Tanjong Pagar,” he said.

    And now that the building is close to completion, Mr Cheng said he had seen the view from the top and “it was really amazing”.

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  • Singapore’s hip enclave Dempsey stays fresh with bigger, better offerings

    Singapore’s hip enclave Dempsey stays fresh with bigger, better offerings

    The new Loewen cluster by Dempsey Hills. — TODAY pic

    The new Loewen cluster by Dempsey Hills.

    Quick, name us the coolest hot spots in Singapore. Chances are, you’ll be rattling off places such as Telok Ayer, Keong Saik and even Tiong Bahru. But what about the Dempsey area? Well, while it has become more of a leisurely family weekend destination in recent years, further transformation is in the pipeline and Dempsey is beginning to have a buzz again.

    Last month, it was announced that COMO Lifestyle by Club 21 fashion doyenne Christina Ong won the bid to develop two blocks in Dempsey with its proposal to open fashion concept store Dover Street Market, a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant and bar, and COMO Cuisine, a new restaurant concept.

    This comes hard on the heels of a string of other high-profile developments in the neighbourhood: In November, Loewen by Dempsey Hill, a new cluster best known for being the venue for Chanel’s first Cruise collection show in Asia in 2013, opened. It now houses 13 new tenants with an emphasis on family and educational offerings such as Tanderra, a clubhouse for families with facilities for both kids and adults, as well as Impressions Art Studio, Alpha Gymnastics and Little Mandarins. Events held there have also taken a family-friendly slant, such as a Christmas market and an upcoming Chinese New Year kids’ fashion show and fair, from January 21 to 23.

    Meanwhile, Huber’s Butchery relocated to Block 22 in October. Its new two-storey 13,000sqft home is twice the size of its former address at Block 9, allowing Huber’s to have an outdoor playground for kids, a demonstration kitchen for cooking classes, a staggering selection of 150 varieties of cheese — said to be the largest in town — as well as the longest meat and sausages counter in Singapore at more than 40m long. Portico launched its second outlet Portico Prime at Block 10 in November featuring a more upmarket repertoire of dishes and a Chef’s Table. One Michelin-starred chef Carles Gaig from Barcelona also quietly opened an outpost at Block 16A called La Ventana in June.

    Think of Tanderra as a clubhouse for families with everything you need for a fun, relaxing day out. — TODAY picThink of Tanderra as a clubhouse for families with everything you need for a fun, relaxing day out. — TODAY picAnother new entrant is Open Farm Community. This latest baby from the Spa Esprit Group is not simply a restaurant — it is, as its name suggest, a farm and a community hub educating diners about the origins of food. The restaurant is popular with the brunch crowd since it opened in July, and has since organised several events such as ice cream and sauce masterclasses, as well as its popular Social Market held every second weekend of the month.

    Discovering more

    For a Dempsey stalwart such as the Spa Esprit Group, which has been here since establishing House in 2007, these changes are a sign of how the area has matured. Lifestyle maven and founder of the group Cynthia Chua recalled how Dempsey was like “a big isolated enclave in the middle of the city” when she made her foray here. “When Dempsey first started, the F&B scene here was still at its infancy stage; indie cafe culture was just beginning. I love (how Dempsey has) the seafood mass hall concept juxtaposed with creative cafes and kid-friendly places, ice cream parlours and spas. The variety of brands reached out to the diversity of the crowd. This diversity made Dempsey a success. It was original,” she said.

    Executive director of Huber’s, Andre Huber, concurred. Having been in Dempsey since October 2008, Huber said the area has definitely changed over the years from “a quiet laidback place to a more vibrant shopping and F&B area with unique concepts”.

    Of course, housing these concepts in colonial buildings amid lush greenery helps tremendously. “This created a unique and delightful urban sanctuary that cannot be found anywhere else in Singapore,” added Nicholas Ng, general manager of Country City Investments, which manages Dempsey Hill and Loewen by Dempsey Hill.

    The Royal Suite of The Wagginton Pet Hotel. — TODAY picThe Royal Suite of The Wagginton Pet Hotel. — TODAY picAnd it’s not just locals who appreciate this charming diversity. Ranita Sundramoorthy, director, Attractions, Dining and Retail, Singapore Tourism Board, said visitors enjoy Dempsey Village as a tranquil hideaway with a distinct character and nearby attractions such as the Orchard Road shopping belt and Singapore Botanic Gardens.

    This is why Country City Investment has taken the opportunity to get Singaporeans and travellers more familiar with the enclave by launching Dempsey Walking Trails. The four trails aim to take visitors through its nature and heritage as well as its food, lifestyle and kid-friendly options. Downloadable maps also offer interesting factoids such as how Loewen by Dempsey Hill used to be the Tanglin Military Hospital and was once also the home of the SAF Music and Drama Company.

    Coming attractions

    Still, there’s no denying the huge boost that comes from having internationally renowned names such as COMO and Dover Street Market. Sundramoorthy expects the COMO Lifestyle Cluster to “significantly contribute to the vibrancy of Dempsey and Singapore’s tourism scene”, especially since brands such as that of the Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant are not available in South-east Asia.

    Dempsey’s tenants welcomed news of the COMO Lifestyle cluster. Country City Investment, which is the biggest player in the enclave, doesn’t foresee COMO’s upmarket and fashionable positioning affecting the family-friendly destination. Instead Ng feels this is “win-win situation” as the tenant mix is complementary.

    Live out your farmer fantasies at Open Farm Community. — TODAY picLive out your farmer fantasies at Open Farm Community. — TODAY picAnd even though the well-loved House is a similar lifestyle hub with a spa and beauty emporium in the same building, Chua feels there won’t be any competition with the COMO Lifestyle cluster. “House is about familiarity, comfort food reinvented and a laidback green space that is unique, while COMO targets the high-end luxury crowd,” she pointed out. To keep guests intrigued as House turns 10 next year, Chua’s team recently introduced a revamped high tea offering while a new menu of comfort foods with a distinct Singaporean spin is currently in the works.

    Fans of Dempsey don’t expect the area to transform too much with the addition of the COMO Lifestyle Cluster. “Each restaurant and block in the Dempsey area is pretty self-contained. I’d probably check out Dover Street Market when it opens, but I don’t think it will change the vibe of Dempsey,” said Shirlie Tang, an events manager. “I’d still hang out at my usual familiar places, like PS.Cafe and RedDot BrewHouse.”

    A spokesperson from COMO Lifestyle declined to comment when the COMO Lifestyle Cluster will be ready. In the meantime, there is more than enough indulgences to keep consumers glutted.

    Huber’s Butchery has the longest meat and sausage counter in Singapore at 40m. — TODAY pic

    Huber’s Butchery has the longest meat and sausage counter in Singapore at 40m.

     

    New fun outlets to check out at Dempsey:

    Tanderra (73 Loewen Road, #01-21. Tel: +65 6509 3468)

    Its name is an Aboriginal word for “resting place”, and what a resting place it is. This family clubhouse has pretty much everything you want to while away the day with the family. Besides catering to kids with play ateliers and swimming pools, Tanderra boasts a spa, a cosy cafe and multi-purpose rooms for yoga and Zumba lessons.

    Anjali Chocolate (73 Loewen Road, #01-15/16. Tel: +65 6509 6800)

    Craving for handmade chocolates? Besides picking up a gift of chocolatey goodness, you can sign up for workshops and learn how to make truffles and other chocolate treats. Birthday parties and baby showers can also be held here.

    Swish! Swimming School (72 Loewen Road, #01-08. Tel: +65 9832 2522)

    Three words: Temperature-controlled pools. Yes, the pools here are designed to be shiver-free at 32 degrees Celsius, ideal for little ones learning to take to the water. SWISH! Swimming is also a gold-accredited AUSTSWIM school (Australia’s national organisation for the teaching of swimming and water safety) and founder Kristen Romain is an AUSTSWIM Assessor for coaches.

    Portico Prime features a more upmarket repertoire of dishes and a Chef’s Table. — TODAY picPortico Prime features a more upmarket repertoire of dishes and a Chef’s Table. — TODAY picThe Wagington Luxury Pet Hotel (27B Loewen Road. Tel: +65 6471 1689)

    Wagington isn’t kidding when it says it’s a luxury hotel for furry friends. There is a bone-shaped pool with cabanas and parasols for dogs and an outdoor garden with a high-speed air-cooler system to ensure pampered pooches remain cool. Rooms are also equipped with CCTV so pet owners can check in with their beloved anytime. Demand is off the charts so book early.

    Open Farm Community (130E Minden Road. Tel: +65 6471 0306)

    Part farm, part social project, Open Farm Community aims to educate the community about the origins of its food while promoting urban farming and local produce in a delicious setting. Food aside, the restaurant plays host to markets and workshops, and has a dedicated kids’ area.

    Huber’s Butchery (22 Dempsey Road. Tel: +65 6737 1588)

    Huber’s expansive new space now boasts a shady playground for tykes in tow when you’re dining at its 50-seater bistro. It has become more of a gourmet superstore, stocking exclusive craft beers such as Chopfab from Switzerland and Bruce Cost ginger ale from the United States. There are also veggies, fruits and herbs flown in from Australia and cooking classes such as a shabu shabu session at its kitchen studio Tanderra. — TODAY

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  • Ted Baker shines over Holiday Season

    Ted Baker shines over Holiday Season

    Quirky fashion and lifestyle label Ted Baker has announced enviable Christmas trading results, with retail sales rising 10.1 per cent (10.6 per cent at constant currency) for the eight weeks to January 9.

    Over the period, the group added 355,907 sqft to its selling space. This helped to augment sales opportunities in the run-up to Christmas, but also highlights that trading during the busiest time of the year did not hold back Ted Baker’s rapid expansion plans.

    The group added concessions in the UK, France, Spain and California, in addition to licensed openings in the form of a new full-line store in Saudi Arabia, a concession in Mexico and outlets in Melbourne and Sydney.

    This geographical spread once again highlights not only Ted Baker’s ambitions to be a truly global brand, but also its willingness to be flexible in its approach as it enters new markets.

    Customer engagement was supported by the success of its ‘Wonders Never Cease’ video campaign, which showcased the brand’s Autumn/Winter range in typical Ted Baker story-telling fashion.

    Despite tough trading conditions and a highly competitive landscape, the company managed to avoid significant discounting, ensuring that expectations around gross margins were met. Furthermore, its eCommerce business witnessed dazzling results, with a 39.1 per cent increase in sales signifying strong performance across all of the group’s sites.

    A winning Christmas will help the company to secure a strong set of full-year results when the year closes on 30 January.

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