There's a new mall in Raffles Place.

Here it is:

It used to be the Chevron House.

Now it is Change Alley Mall.

Here's the description of the mall on Commercial Guru:

"Upon the completion of the Asset Enhancement Initiative, Change Alley Mall is a reinvention of the past, construction of the new with modern material and exquisite craftsmanship.

Exuding the charm of a French shopping arcade, one gets a sense of wonderment as they transverse through the passage of ornate arches, columns and elegant shopfronts. The commercial development comprises of retail podium ranging from food & beverage to Retail trade and office space.

Transiting from an outdoor cityscape to semi-indoor streetscape, the stimulated skylight at the through block link illuminates the arcade and create a pleasant environment. The mall will serve as a place of comfort and relaxation for the working community before and after work."

French shopping arcade.

But more importantly, the mall was to serve as a "place of comfort and relaxation" for the working community at the Central area.

Here is what it looked like on their first day of operations on Oct. 1:

Not exactly packed.

The weekend crowd wasn't anything to shout about either.

When Mothership went down on Monday, more shops were open, but still nowhere the hustle and bustle that a mall, let alone a brand new mall, should be commanding.

Things picked up during lunchtime however, here are some pictures courtesy of an Oxley spokesperson.

No crowd to distance

Management had started charging rent in October, which in essence, informs tenants when to open the mall by.

Tan, owner of CAM Enso Hair Studios, told Mothership she personally did not expect customers to come rushing back in October, and had instead been eyeing a potential Dec. 1 opening.

Tan said the mall developers assured her that there would be crowds.

Responding to questions by Mothership, a spokesperson for Oxley predicted the further easing of measures would lead to better footfall:

"We understand that the government is working towards Phase 3, whereby more office workers will be returning to their offices in the CBD to work. This will most likely be beneficial to the footfall to the mall."

Change Alley Mall was sold to Siriti R Pte Ltd in June 2020. Oxley has been acting as an asset manager, acting on the instructions of the owner of the mall.

While regulations have been eased over the past few weeks, that does not necessarily mean the lunchtime crowds are automatically going to stream in.

A Straits Times article on Sep. 28 noted the phenomenon:

"Barista Shawn Tan, 23, who works at a Starbucks Coffee outlet in Raffles Place, said there was "no significant difference" in the number of customers on Monday compared with the last few weeks."

The equation appears to be quite simple. Fewer workers in the CBD area, with the same (or slightly more) amount of malls, equals to lesser footfall for all.

It is perhaps not too big a leap to assume that malls that generally have more shops open, or a varied range of shops, would attract more customers in these times.

More choices in a single space that might not be too apparent at Change Alley Mall just yet.

Filling stores

A striking aspect of the mall when Mothership went down on Monday was the number of boarded-up shops present.

Felicia, who owns Nail Bliss, told Mothership she had concerns regarding the outlets which have not been rented out yet.

She said: "So we are hoping that they can rent it out as soon as possible."

Felicia also said she hoped that there would be a rental rebate due to the mall's situation, as well as emphasising how tough it is to open shop right now.

When asked about the percentage of shops that have not been rented out yet, the Oxley spokesperson said that "the percentage of shops being rented out at any given time is a dynamic number, but we can share that we are looking forward to full occupancy".

Tan, who had opened her hair salon on the first day, noticed there were only 11 shops open throughout the mall on opening day, out of the "40+ units throughout level one to three".

Tan also claimed that she had been told 50 per cent of the shops would be ready by Oct. 1.

Another retailer Mothership spoke to said they were expecting over 50 per cent of the shops to be open, but that wasn't the case.

Oxley's spokesperson confirmed with Mothership that they had expected "majority of the tenants" to commence business on Oct. 1.

Oxley's spokesperson acknowledged the discrepancy between number of tenants expected to open and the actual number of tenants who did open for business, and gave two reasons for the shortfall.

"(i) some of the tenants who intended to open on Oct. 1, 2020 were not able to because they had not obtained the requisite licences and permits to open by that date; and/or (ii) some of the tenants who indicated that their preferred opening date was Oct. 1, 2020 chose not to open on that date (although we also note that some of the tenants who indicated a later preferred date still tried their best to open, and successfully did so, on Oct. 1, 2020)."

They expect more tenants to be open for business as they would have obtained the requisite licences and permits from the relevant authorities by the end of October.

Another point raised by retailers was the amount of "repeat" outlets.

For example:

There were multiple bubble tea outlets at the basement as well.

This, of course, is not a unique problem to Change Alley Mall.

Outlets that sell the same product are present in other malls. However, when there are not enough stores open, the repetition might be more pronounced.

The twin factors of less people at CBD, coupled with less variety of shops that are open, appear to have handicapped the grand opening.

Which brings us to perhaps the issue underpinning all these problems.

Rent.

Rental

According to retailers Mothership talked to, they were mostly open due to the fact that rental was already being charged.

Prior to the opening, Mothership understands a group of 19 retailers in the mall had written a petition letter stating they were just not ready for the opening.

In it, they proposed two options to alleviate rent.

One was to set up a "rent-free period" while the other was to calculate rental based solely on monthly gross turnover. This would mean no base rental fee.

Both these options were rejected by the developer.

In response to queries by Mothership over why the mall had declined the rental suggestions, and the opening date postponement, Oxley's spokesperson says that "both landlords and tenants across the board have been equally hit by the Covid-19 situation", and pointed out that they postponed the opening date twice.

The mall was supposed to open on April 15, but the circuit breaker ensured that wasn't going to happen.

The next date set was on July, but according to Oxley's spokesperson, they received "majority feedback" that Oct. 1, 2020 was the preferred opening date.

As for rental rebates, Oxley's spokesperson said that "the tenancy periods do not fall within the rental rebate/ rental relief period mandated by the government".

The petition letter by 19 retailers was sent on Sep. 4, 2020.

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Images by Darryl Laiu