Bookmark & Share
Some tenants were forced to shut down last year, even before SMRT decided to take back the units around January this year. Photo: Google Street View
Recently asked to vacate as landlord SMRT has decided to take back the units, tenants at the Orchard XChange have described the shopping area as a “ghost town”, with businesses there being sluggish due to low footfall, reported TODAY.
The underground circular shopping area is situated above Orchard MRT Station and is adjacent to ION Orchard mall, although the entrance to ION has been closed as part of COVID-19 crowd control measures.
Tenants told TODAY that the rail operator has sold them a bustling food-and-beverage (F&B) concept, with about 70 to 75% of the units occupied by the time they move in.
However, only 50% of the units were occupied, with business never picking up since the tenants took over the units in 2018.
The situation, which was already bad even before the pandemic, worsened due to reduced patronage as fewer people were using MRT services.
One of the affected tenants said her shop only made $400 a day, which was already better compared to some of her neighbours, who saw $50 to $100 in sales per day.
However, she explained that her earnings could only cover rental fees and not the cost of materials and manpower.
Another tenant, who owns a hair salon, said a handful of her staff have left since the salon was barely surviving on its revenue from regular customers.
Some tenants were forced to shut down last year, even before SMRT decided to take back the units around January this year – making the situation at Orchard XChange worse.
“Last time, when (more F&B outlets) were open, at least there were some people around during lunchtime. But after they closed, you barely see anyone walking past,” said Ms Jovi as quoted by TODAY.
And even with poor business, SMRT made little effort to market the area or spruce it up, revealed the tenants.
To lure in customers, tenants took it upon themselves to put up decorations during festive seasons such as Christmas and Chinese New Year.
“At ION (next door), they brought in a Christmas band and everyone was attracted to go there. But ours, nothing, zero… No attractions, no footfall,” said an F&B tenant as quoted by TODAY.
When they asked SMRT if they could distribute flyers or put up posters at the MRT station, the rail operator told them that they would have to pay an extra charge for them to do so, said one of the tenants.
“So we could not even do our own marketing,” she added.
They noted that the promotional efforts made by SMRT on its Wink rewards mobile application did not bear any fruit.
Meanwhile, SMRT said an anchor tenant will be taking over the area, without identifying the prospective tenant and revealing details on when it will be taking over.
“We plan to revamp our retail and F&B offerings at stations such as Dhoby Ghaut, Orchard and Tanjong Pagar, to bring in new experiences for our commuters and surrounding communities,” said Daniel Chua, General Manager at SMRT Properties, as quoted by TODAY.
“We will make them known in due course after finalising negotiations with prospective tenants.”
Looking for a property in Singapore? Visit PropertyGuru’s Listings, Project Reviews and Guides.
Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this story, email: victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg