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Divvying up Robinsons' space a better leasing option

Real estate observers say doing so will help landlords at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre maintain prime rentals and make it more feasible for brands

Published Thu, Nov 5, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Retail

Singapore

WITH substantial plots of prime real estate to be vacated when Robinsons Singapore exits, The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre's landlords could divide the plots into smaller ones, rather than wait for a major tenant to take over the vast spaces, real estate observers have said.

Robinsons occupies a roughly 85,000-square feet (sq ft) space, spanning three floors, in Raffles City. Its flagship at The Heeren takes up 186,000 sq ft of space, over six floors. They are prime, street-facing retail shop fronts along Stamford Road and Orchard Road respectively, and are hard to come by, noted Ethan Hsu, head of retail at Knight Frank Singapore.

But the plots are expensive to rent. Even though prime retail rents fell across the board in the third quarter of this year, Christine Li, head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia at Cushman & Wakefield, noted that the average rent for the Raffles City area is still S$20.25 per square foot (psf) per month. In Orchard, where The Heeren is, the averag…