Revamped Shaw Centre fails to pull in shoppers, tenants unhappy

Singapore

BARELY a year after moving in, tenants at the newly refurbished Shaw Centre shopping mall are already up in arms over the mall's deserted state. At least eight tenants have come together to petition the mall's management to promote the place and boost occupancy rates.

Chief among the grouses listed in the three tenant petitions sent between April and May are the low occupancy rates and footfall, the lack of a cohesive concept in the retail tenant mix and the dearth of mall-led advertising and promotional initiatives.

When The Business Times visited the place last week, only a few shoppers were spotted along its corridors.

Around half the mall's units were still behind hoardings. On the fourth floor, only two units were tenanted; a third was undergoing heavy construction. The air-conditioning on that side of the…