{"id":73810,"date":"2026-08-03T08:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T00:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=73810"},"modified":"2026-08-03T08:35:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T00:35:00","slug":"with-department-stores-shutting-are-anchor-tenants-a-thing-of-the-past-for-malls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=73810","title":{"rendered":"With department stores shutting, are anchor tenants a thing of the past for malls?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The role of a mall operator is particularly important when a long-standing anchor tenant leaves, creating a large and visible vacancy.<\/p>\n<p>There is reputational risk if mall operators take too long to backfill it, said JLL\u2019s Dr Chua, adding that it could appear that the asset is not doing well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNonetheless, it all presents an opportunity to the operator for it to reposition the asset or cut up the space into smaller units, bite-sized units that could command a stronger rent, but also implies more churn and high operational costs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>At Paragon, feasibility studies are underway to optimise and selectively reconfigure certain areas, including the space currently occupied by Metro, said CapitaLand\u2019s Mr Yeo.<\/p>\n<p>CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust recently acquired the mall in a S$3.9 billion deal.<\/p>\n<p>He added that Metro has expressed interest in remaining at Paragon under new retail concept stores, and discussions are ongoing.<\/p>\n<p>When evaluating any large-format space, their planning begins with the intended positioning in the mall and its relevance to its catchment, said Mr Yeo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDepending on the fit, this could involve introducing another sizeable anchor, right-sizing an existing anchor, or subdividing the space into a curated mix of smaller concepts that collectively deliver destination appeal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>At Junction 8, the former BHG space is now home to brands including Uniqlo and Japanese home and living brand Nitori, alongside a mix of beauty and wellness stores.<\/p>\n<p>At Tampines Mall, rejuvenation plans were well underway ahead of Isetan\u2019s closure, Mr Yeo said. A S$24 million asset enhancement initiative, scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of this year, will refresh the mall\u2019s environment, he added.<\/p>\n<p>The spokesperson from Frasers said Metro&#8217;s announcement to exit Causeway Point aligns with the operator\u2019s planned asset enhancement initiatives next year.<\/p>\n<p>They are in discussions with Metro on future arrangements, including opportunities to introduce \u201cnew and exciting\u201d retail concepts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are also exploring the subdivision of the existing anchor space, which will enable us to refresh the mall&#8217;s offerings and expand retail choices for shoppers across F&amp;B, lifestyle and entertainment categories,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n<p>At Nex, footfall has remained strong following Isetan\u2019s exit in April, the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first phase will involve the multi-floor reconfiguration of the space occupied formerly by Isetan to cater to newer and more refreshing store concepts.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.channelnewsasia.com\/singapore\/department-stores-anchor-tenants-metro-exit-shopping-malls-6280156\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The role of a mall operator is particularly important when a long-standing anchor tenant leaves, creating a large and visible vacancy. There is reputational risk&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dam.mediacorp.sg\/image\/upload\/s--IQ15EEWu--\/c_fill,g_auto,h_676,w_1200\/f_auto,q_auto\/v1\/mediacorp\/cna\/image\/2026\/07\/31\/metro-causeway-point.jpg?itok=ZvtEZAp1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[20730,4329,12685,8319,11457,5885],"class_list":["post-73810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-news-sg-global","tag-anchor","tag-department","tag-malls","tag-shutting","tag-stores","tag-tenants","wpcat-2-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/73811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}