CapitaLand to turn Bugis Village and Bugis Street into 'Instagrammable' experiential retail hub

Real estate firm CapitaLand has bagged a joint tender by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) as the single operator for the integrated management of Bugis Village and Bugis Street.

Currently, Bugis+ and Bugis Junction malls are under the CapitaLand Group. Leveraging its retail stronghold in Bugis, the real estate company aims to include day-to-night market, retail incubator and shared economy spaces such as coliving and coworking areas in Bugis Village and Bugis Street.

According to CapitaLand, a section of the revamped Bugis Village and Bugis Street will be turned into a hub converging experiential retail, social experimentation and local entrepreneurship. This includes offering established brands and new entrants an incubator space to innovate new ways of creating curated brand experiences or pilot new concepts. The retail incubator will be aimed at diversifying offerings for shoppers and complement the current retail mix at Bugis Junction and Bugis+.

CapitaLand said that over the years, Bugis Street has gained popularity with both locals and tourists as “the largest street-shopping location in Singapore”. To add on to the retail experience, a series of loose and colourful container boxes with open display areas will be introduced, as a modern interpretation of street markets with trendy "Instagrammable" bites, quirky gifts and trending fashion accessories. In addition, homegrown heritage brand names will be invited to launch experiential concept stores and cuisine unique to Bugis, in a bid to entice shoppers.

According to Ronald Tay, CEO of CapitaLand Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, residential and retail, the integrated management of Bugis Village and Bugis Street is in line with CapitaLand’s precinct strategy to rejuvenate and maximise synergy in areas where it has an existing network and competitive advantage.

He added that with the addition of Bugis Village and Bugis Street, CapitaLand’s retail NLA in the Bras Basah-Bugis precinct enables the company to scale up cross-marketing opportunities. Meanwhile to enhance the connectivity of Bugis Village and Bugis Street, CapitaLand looks to explore a new link bridge connecting Bugis Street to Bugis+ to provide visitors with sheltered access from Bugis MRT station.

Meanwhile, Keith Tan, STB chief executive, said said the Bugis Village and Bugis Street site is a key landmark in the Bras Basah-Bugis precinct. "The new ideas and concepts by CapitaLand will enhance the street market concept and make the entire district more vibrant and interesting for locals and tourists. This supports the government’s ongoing efforts to rejuvenate various areas in Singapore. We look forward to seeing their business proposals and placemaking plans for the integrated site come to life in the coming years,” he added.

CapitaLand has also been pushing digital transformation across all its malls. In February last year, the real estate firm took its shopping vouchers online, to further increase CapitaVoucher’s popularity with shoppers, corporate partners and retailers. Scaling up as a lifestyle platform, CapitaStar has also extended its reach beyond CapitaLand’s network to partners from different industries. This development comes in line with the company’s goal in transforming CapitaStar into a lifestyle platform that integrates CapitaLand’s offerings into the daily lives of the shoppers.

Sometime in 2018, CapitaLand unveiled its multi-label concept store offering a blend of physical and digital experience. Called NomadX, the store looks to provide experiential shopping, as it includes gamified onboarding process, automated store assistance such as smart mirrors, interactive product walls and the cashless payment experience. NomadX also adopts a tribe-based marketing strategy to enhance shopper engagement.