The new century: Lessons learned from Singapore's shopping sector during the 1990's

Singapore's main shopping corridor, Orchard Road, is being challenged as the international shopping paradise for residents and visitors. It no longer reigns supreme as the mecca for international shopping. The loss of prestige and dominance can be attributed to recent shifts in the Singaporean and regional marketplace such as: economic recession, tourism industry slump, societal concerns, technological trends and innovations, shopping sector development in the region, and political uncertainty, etc. Within Singapore, the restructuring of the retail shopping sector from one dominated by the Orchard Road Corridor to one including several satellite shopping centers in the "New Cities" creates additional severe competition for retail customers. This paper examines the spatial relationships and structure of Singapore's shopping centers and their impact on the Orchard Road corridor. The article highlights selected theories, models, and techniques developed for planning shopping center locations and determining store site selection in an attempt to discover applications for the Singapore shopping scene. The paper also examines environmental conditions that create challenges for the retail shopping industry during the new millenneum: for example, the effects of economic events, government policy changes, visitor pattern shifts, and the changing shopping habits of Singaporeans. While the focus is primarily on problems and opportunities for Singapore's retailers in the main shopping corridor, the implications for the additional surburban centers emerging along mass transit routes in major housing developments are discussed briefly. Finally, plans to counteract the current sluggish market conditions and reposition and revitalizing the centers along Orchard Road to enhance competitiveness for the new millennium, are discussed.