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Tag: The Arcade

  • Apple is spending Millions on new Games for Arcade

    Apple is spending Millions on new Games for Arcade

    Last month, Apple Arcade was unveiled. Set to launch this fall, the service will offer subscribers access to over 100 “groundbreaking” new games. The Arcade will be available on all Apple devices including the iPhone, iPad and the Mac. And the only cost will be the monthly subscription fee; there are no in-game extras that Arcade members will have to shell out for. Besides allowing a family with up to six members to share, a whole new family of accessories certified MFi (made for iPhone, iPad), such as game controllers, will make playing games on an iOS device much easier.

    With iPhone sales struggling, the company is looking to take advantage of the large number of active units (nearly 1 billion at last count) by selling owners of these handsets subscription services such as Apple Music, Apple News+, Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade. Apple is looking to double its services revenue from the $25 billion it collected in 2017 to the $50 billion it hopes to garner next year. For the fiscal first quarter of 2019, the period covering October through December of last year, Apple grossed nearly $11 billion from its services unit, putting it on track to meet its goal for fiscal 2020.

    Apple has budgeted more than $500 million this year to spend on games for Arcade. In other words, the company is spending millions of dollars on each game. Will there be a payoff for the company after it keeps cutting such large checks? Global banking giant HSBC believes so. The firm’s analysts see Apple Arcade grossing $370 million next year, overtaking Apple TV+ by 2022 with $2.7 billion in sales, and generating $4.5 billion in revenue by 2024. In that year, HSBC expects Apple TV+ to bring in $4.1 billion in revenue, while Apple News+ takes in approximately $2.7 billion.

    To help generate business for Arcade, Apple is offering incentives to developers who are willing to give the new service exclusivity on new games for a few months. That would keep popular titles off of other platforms, including the Google Play Store, for a period of time. Apple is hoping that this will lead to developers debuting their games on Arcade first, which was a pattern seen years ago when App Store users spent much more money on games than Android users. Now, with Android’s huge global market share, new games are apt to launch on both platforms at the same time.

    The $500 million Apple has reportedly budgeted for Arcade is half the $1 billion it originally expected to lay out for Apple TV+. Games already announced for Arcade include one based on Sega’s popular Sonic the Hedgehog character. Subscribers will also be able to select titles from Cartoon Network and Lego. There will even be a new version of Frogger available. Independent developers, who have proven themselves with games listed on the App Store, have received larger than normal advances from Apple to deliver new titles for Arcade.

    HSBC forecasts that Apple Arcade will have 29 million subscribers by 2024, paying $12.99 a month for the service. But that is only an estimate. Only time will tell whether Apple has made the right move by laying out half a billion dollars for new, unproven games for its service. And if Arcade ends up being a big money maker for Apple, competition will surely follow. Still, Apple will have the advantage of plucking apples from the low hanging trees. Those are the nearly one billion owners of an active iPhone who will be receptive to Apple’s marketing of Arcade.

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  • What businesses occupy the most expensive retail space?

    What businesses occupy the most expensive retail space?

    At least 51 strata retail transactions have crossed the $10,000 psf mark, based on URA’s caveat data so far. These transactions took place as far back as 2005 at just nine developments: Alexandra  Central, Centrepoint, Far East Plaza, Lucky Plaza, Novena Regency, Pavilion Square, People’s Park Complex, Sim Lim Square and The Arcade.

    A 43 sq ft, ground-floor unit at The Arcade is by far the most expensive on price psf terms. The unit changed hands for $1.4 million, or $32,516 psf, in December 2015. The shop is prominently located at the entrance facing Raffles Place Park and enjoys high footfall. It is currently occupied by a money changer. Only two transactions at The Arcade crossed the $10,000 psf mark. The second transaction was that of a 65 sq ft shop on the second floor that fetched $780,000, or $12,077 psf, in February 2015. It is tenanted by a florist. The Arcade is a 99-year leasehold office-cum-retail development, with three levels of retail space, located within walking distance of Raffles Place MRT station. The Edge Property could not trace the profitability of these two transactions at The Arcade as there were no prior caveat records for the units.

    A new-sale transaction for a 161 sq ft unit at Alexandra Central that sold for $2.87 million, or $17,820 psf, in January 2013 ranks second on The Edge Property’s list of most expensive strata retail space psf. The unit is currently leased to an F&B business. According to the business’ director, who wished to remain anonymous, the monthly rent is $7,000 and the business is stable despite the low occupancy rate at the mall. Based on this, the monthly rent is $43.48 psf and gross rental yield is 2.9%.

    Transactions at Alexandra Central accounted for eight of the 51 top-dollar deals. All eight were new-sale transactions for ground-floor units that were sold in 1Q2013 at between $10,498 and $17,820 psf. Six of the eight units were unoccupied when The Edge Property visited Alexandra Central on Jan 5; two were occupied by F&B businesses Toast Box and 1-Box Bento.

    The third-most-expensive shop in terms of price psf is a 151 sq ft unit located on basement one of Lucky Plaza. The unit changed hands for $2.65 million, or $17,550 psf, in May 2011 and is occupied by a jewellery business.

    Based on the matching of caveats, the previous owner enjoyed a profit of $1.79 million, or 19% annualised capital gains, from the sale of this unit bought at $860,700 in April 2000.

    Lucky Plaza plays host to 14 of the 51 top- dollar cases that crossed the $10,000 psf mark. There were 58 transactions at Lucky Plaza between 2011 and 2015, with 11 above the $10,000 psf mark. The price ranged from a low of $1,490 to $17,550 psf, with the average at $6,994 psf.

    Far East Plaza is another location with some of the priciest retail space, with 14 transactions crossing the $10,000 psf mark. The most expensive is a third-storey, 344 sq ft unit sold at $4.45 million, or $12,919 psf, in December 2012. Along with the two adjacent units, which are also on our list of pricey units at $12,533 and $12,514 psf respectively, the space is occupied by a consignment store offering micro retail “cubes” and shelf space.

    Of the 14 transactions at Far East Plaza, 13 were for units located on the third floor. The sole exception was a second-storey, 215 sq ft unit transacted at $2.65 million, or $12,310 psf, in April

    2014. According to the tenant, Suresh of Master Tailors, the monthly rent is $8,200. This puts the monthly rent at $38.14 psf and gross rental yield at 3.7%. “This location close to the escalators is important for my business as tailored suits are impulse buys. Although we have many repeat clients, we cannot move to another unit, as they will think that we have closed,” Suresh says.

    The most expensive unit at Far East Plaza is occupied by a consignment store. 

    far east plaza shop thousand lattice

    Six of the entries on the list of priciest retail space are at Pavilion Square, a residential and commercial development located on Geylang Road and slated for completion later this year. All six were new-sale transactions for first-floor units that took place in April 2013. The most expensive was a 118 sq ft unit sold at $1.29 million, or $10,879 psf. There have been 25 new-sale transactions for first-floor units at Pavilion Square, with the lowest price being $7,000 psf and the average at $8,658 psf. For the 25 second-storey units that were transacted, the price ranged from $5,097 to $5,791 psf and the average was $5,523 psf.

    Of the 51 transactions that crossed the $10,000 psf mark, 24 were resale cases whose previous caveats can be traced.  All 24 sellers reaped profits ranging from $132,000 to $11,680,000, or $3,047,871 on average.

    The transaction with the highest profit in absolute quantum was for a 1,281 sq ft, third-floor unit at Far East Plaza that is currently occupied by a fashion boutique. The previous owner bought the unit for $1.32 million in April 2005 and sold it for an $11.68 million profit in October 2014, resulting in an annualised profit of 93%.

    Among the 24 transactions, the highest annualised profit of 155% was for the 549 sq ft, third-floor unit at Far East Plaza occupied by the consignment store. This unit was purchased at $600,000 in March 2006 and subsequently resold at $6.88 million in December 2012.

    Three most expensive retail units over $10,000 psf mark per development

    No. Location Floor Type of business Area (sq ft) Type of sale Price ($ psf)  Price ($) Contract date
    1 Alexandra Central 1 F&B 161 New Sale        17,820 2,869,000 Jan-13
    2 1 Unoccupied 140 New Sale        17,221 2,411,000 Feb-13
    3 1 Unoccupied 161 New Sale        15,646 2,519,000 Feb-13
    1 Centrepoint 1 Department store 344 Resale        15,988 5,500,000 Jun-14
    1 Far East Plaza 3 Consignment store 344 Resale        12,936 4,450,000 Dec-12
    2 3 Accessories/Salon 549 Resale        12,750 7,000,000 Nov-12
    3 3 Consignment store 549 Resale        12,532 6,880,000 Dec-12
    1 Lucky Plaza B1 Jewellery 151 Resale        17,550 2,650,000 May-11
    2 B1 Perfume 151 Resale        17,351 2,620,000 Jul-11
    3 B1 Souvenir 151 Resale        16,424 2,480,000 Oct-10
    1 Novena Regency 1 Unoccupied 161 New Sale        10,298 1,658,000 Apr-13
    1 Pavilion Square 1 Uncompleted 118 New Sale        10,916 1,288,128 Apr-13
    2 1 Uncompleted 118 New Sale        10,492 1,238,048 Apr-13
    3 1 Uncompleted 118 New Sale        10,492 1,238,048 Apr-13
    1 People’S Park Complex 1 Bakery 291 Resale        10,997 3,200,000 Feb-13
    1 Sim Lim Square 1 Electronics 420 Resale        12,024 5,050,000 Nov-12
    2 1 Electronics 355 Resale        11,268 4,000,000 Jun-11
    3 1 Unoccupied 420 Resale        10,714 4,500,000 Mar-13
    1 The Arcade 1 Money changer 43 Resale        32,558 1,400,000 Dec-15
    2 2 Florist 65 Resale        12,000 780,000 Feb-15
    Source: URA, The Edge Property
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  • HK shopping mall partners with Variably to launch automated price negotiation system

    Hong Kong shopping mall The Arcade, Cyeberport has partners with a tech startup Variably to launch a personalised automated price negotiation system accessible via WeChat and QR Code Scan, allowing retailers and customers to negotiate the best possible price that is satisfactory for both.

    By scanning at the QR code of your favourite items with WeChat app, shopper can direct contact the retailer and negotiate the best possible price privately and automatically.

    In retail commerce, prices are fixed and cannot be negotiated. That has often left customers passively waiting for discounts, or skipping purchases altogether. For a seller, this is a tricky situation: set a price too low and they’ll lose profits; set the price too high, and risk losing customers. Finding the right price has proved to be a major challenge.

    The price negotiation platform empowers users to bargain the best possible price privately and automatically, breaking the traditional mold of retail operations and giving buyers and shoppers an innovative and efficient way to negotiate.

    A tenant at Cyberport, Variably is founded by a team of experts in the field of data, statistics, and computing. They are the only non-Chinese team included in Alibaba’s Baichuan developer services, with seed funding of more than USD900,000.

    In a pioneering move, the system will be available from now on to 15 April to give shoppers the chance to experience the future of interactive commerce.

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