Most of the more notable malls have some things in common — big flashy retail chains, a cinema, or a large supermarket, for instance.

Queensway Shopping Centre (QSC) has arguably none of these things. You could argue that the McDonald's is a good draw, but the other two points have more or less completely been glossed over.

It is in essence a shoe haven, filled with below average-priced sneakers, and boots.

Unlike other shopping malls that have one or two flagship brands, like Nike or adidas dominating their offerings, QSC features an almost absurdly eclectic mix of similar looking shops selling similar looking things.

In fact if you take a look at their directory, none of the shops really evoke much brand recognition.

It's just different.

They are just shops that have been there, and will continue to be there, till maybe they can't afford to be there anymore.

These are bamboozling choices in an age where carefully-curated shops take up limited space in many major shopping malls.

Weird design and layout

It is of course dismissive, and untrue, to say that the mall has not tried to bring in popular brands.

McDonald's is always a good draw, and did you know they have a LiHo outlet there as well?

But for every one of these semi-popular outlets they put forth, there's also things like this.

And this.

And whatever this is.

The escalators are sometimes rather narrow, and the staircases are comically wide.

Perhaps built back when people were still wary of this ominous contraption, much preferring the more solidly-built stairs.

Also they have massage chairs, the clearest sign of an old mall.

Unplanned

The narrow escalators, confusing shop arrangements, weird, niche outlets all hark back to a less organised, curated era.

Which makes sense — QSC is from a different time, after all.

Established in 1976, the S$10 million shopping centre was expected to "make shopping a pleasure for residents in the Queenstown area".

Things haven't changed much since then.

But is that a sign that every shopping centre should emulate QSC, and rebuff the changing times?

Not at all.

In fact, QSC is very much an outlier.

Of the 80 strata-malls (malls where the store holders own the individual units) in Singapore, most are doing quite poorly.

In fact, a 2016 article by Today highlighted a few of these strata malls that were doing relatively well.

QSC was one of them, the others weren't so lucky.

"R’ST Research director Ong Kah Seng estimates that about a dozen are 'resilient' and have adapted to consumers’ demand but at the other end of the spectrum, almost half are suffering. The ones in between are barely getting by."

Does it well

You can point to a lot of little things that QSC does well.

There's the insanely good branding establishing the mall as a premium shoe destination.

The food choices aren't extensive by any means, but the ones that are there, they do them well.

There are interesting little shops that feels like they wouldn't really have a home in many larger malls.

It is tough to package all these little things into a coherent template for other malls to follow to build up cult followings and loyalties.

So it is by no means a lesson for up-and-coming malls.

What it is though, is a quaint little shopping mall that never felt the need, or perhaps just could never muster the ability, to chase trends, to change what made them special in fear of missing out on named brands, and shops that have absolutely conquered Orchard Road.

Because in a world where shopping malls are increasingly becoming carbon copies of one another, a weird little mall, beside a giant Swedish conglomerate with new malls popping up (and failing) around it, might have just found the answer to survival.

They made shopping a pleasure for residents in the Queenstown area.

Oh, also the photocopying stores in the fourth floor are the best.

Photos by Charis Chan, cover image via National Archives