More retailers in Singapore turning to short-term leases to manage costs, stay flexible

“For the REITs, because they do have certain internal benchmarks that they have set … they like stability, so a majority of their leases will still be based on a permanent lease structure,” said Mr Hsu.

“But they will also be able to weigh what percentage of their leases can operate on a more flexible structure, so that they can also use that to rejuvenate the kind of tenant mix that they want to have within the mall,” he added.

Lendlease – the developer behind several malls like 313@somerset and Jem – said finding that balance between stability and novelty is an ongoing process.

Lendlease’s retail and workspace management head Jenny Khoo said if the company has plans to enhance offerings at its malls, it could ask tenants to contribute.

“We may approach the tenants to ask, ‘Would you consider to scale up, scale down, or … bring in additional offerings from international or even homegrown brands?’ They may have some other brands that they are in the midst of curating that could (coincide) with our planning,” she added.

“(For) permanent retail space, we will see what are the shoppers’ needs and wants within the communities before we have put in any of the offerings.”