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A press release from Pure Fitness has sparked speculations that an Apple Store will soon open in Singapore after the gym operator issued a statement saying it will be closing its branch at the Knightsbridge mall in Orchard “to make way for the opening of a new Apple store in late 2016.”
In the e-mail messages sent out by the management of Pure Fitness, it told its members that the 15,000 sq ft gym at Orchard mall will close on 15 December as part of a reorganisation plan for the site.
“The reason for closing the gym is that we were given formal notification only very recently that we need to hand back our Knightsbridge space,” the statement said adding “we, along with other tenants in the building will be handing back [the] space to the landlord.”
The four-storey Knightsbridge retail podium is integrated within Park Hotel Group’s Grand Park Orchard which houses upmarket brands such as luxury watch retailer The Hour Glass and American retailer Abercrombie & Fitch.
Knightsbridge in Orchard
Meanwhile the gym chain, owned by Hong Kong-based Pure Group, said it is also looking for a much larger space in Orchard Road and will be opening a new yoga studio in Singapore’s CBD in the second quarter of next year, as well as another gym location late next year.
Separately, media reports said US tech giant Apple has inked a lease for 35,000 square feet of space spanning two floors at CapitaLand’s CapitaGreen building along Market Street and is expected to move its sales and marketing staff to CBD office building this year. Apple in Singapore is currently housed in an industrial building at Ang Mo Kio Street 64.
Following the report, sources told CommercialGuru that the IT giant is on the lookout for a space to set up a flagship retail outlet in Orchard Road.
Meanwhile, Apple neither confirmed nor denied any of the information. When asked to comment about the issue, Apple told CommercialGuru: “As of now, we have nothing to announce.”
Image: Apple Store at International Finance Centre in Hong Kong.
Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg
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