Upmarket brands make a bee-line for Ion Orchard

Source : Business Times – 21 Jul 2009

More than 70% of the luxury mall’s tenants are ready for business today

IT’S the newest luxury mall on Orchard Road – and Ion Orchard’s many attractions have prompted some tenants to relocate to be a part of it.

Luxury brands Valentino and Cartier have each opened flagship boutiques at Ion Orchard. Cartier vacated space in the shopping arcade at the Hilton Hotel to do so, while Valentino could move out of Palais Renaissance, BT understands.

Swiss luxury watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen’s watches are also being sold at fewer places along Orchard Road, as the company has splurged on a 1,000 square foot store at Ion Orchard.

British high street brands Topshop and Topman have likewise moved from Wisma Atria to Ion Orchard. Together, the two brands will take up some 12,500 sq ft of space there.

Some F&B operators are also moving house. The Marmalade Pantry – a favourite of many ladies of leisure – will relocate to Ion Orchard from Palais Renaissance.

Cartier’s managing director Christopher Kilaniotis said the jeweller shut its 500 sq ft boutique in Hilton Hotel’s shopping arcade to open an $8 million, 5,800 sq ft store at Ion Orchard as times have changed.

‘Twenty-five years ago, Singapore was very different from today,’ said Mr Kilaniotis. Cartier’s sales have grown substantially, and it needs a setting worthy of its client base, he said.

With its two-storey store at Ion Orchard, Cartier can provide many luxury touches.

For instance, the Cartier duplex has its own spacious toilet, so if nature calls, shoppers need not venture out of the store. There is also a lift to the upper floor of the store, and enough space for a private room where dinners to showcase new jewellery can be held.

The main selling point appears to be Ion Orchard’s upmarket positioning. The mall’s developers, CapitaLand and Sun Hung Kai Properties, have brought a bunch of new luxury names to Singapore, such as IWC and famous jeweller Harry Winston. Cold Storage has also launched its first upmarket gourmet supermarket, ThreeSixty Market Place.

The mall also has ‘extras’ aplenty. Patrons of luxury brands will have access to VIP toilets, with glossy black tiles and fresh towels. And fashion retailers have large amounts of space, which mean they can come up with designer dressing rooms to impress their customers.

Laid out over 640,000 sq ft of net lettable space across eight floors, and with 335 shops, Ion Orchard will open its doors to shoppers today.

The mall is 96 per cent leased. More than 70 per cent of tenants are ready for business today, and the rest will open over the next few months.

CapitaLand and Sun Hung Kai spent more than $2 billion developing Ion Orchard and its adjoining residential tower The Orchard Residences. The luxury apartment complex is 86 per cent sold.