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Orchard Malls
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Exciting days ahead for Orchard Rd shoppers
By MELISSA LWEE
EAGER shoppers may be on tenterhooks as they wait for Ion Orchard to fling open its doors on July 21, but they’ll also be pleased to know that as the Orchard Road revamp unfolds over the coming months, there’ll be enough new malls to keep them busy for a pretty long time.
Retail heaven: Grand Park Orchard is set to become an iconic landmark on Orchard Road when it opens

In fact, any shopper with Sloane Ranger aspirations can strut their stuff on Knightsbridge – London’s most prestigious address – without having to fly to the United Kingdom, thanks to a chic four-storey retail podium opening next year.

The 83,000 sq ft luxury shopping destination that will house between eight to 10 luxury brands will be integrated within an $80 million makeover of the former Park Hotel Orchard (across Bideford Road from Paragon Shopping Centre).

‘The Knightsbridge branding is in line with our vision for Grand Park Orchard to become synonymous with fashion and luxury,’ says Allen Law, director of Park Hotel Group.

‘Our unique concept and strategic location has attracted many sought-after international brands and we are confident that Grand Park Orchard is set to become an iconic landmark on Orchard Road.’

Meanwhile, art lovers dreaming of the Tate Modern or Saatchi Gallery can find distraction by marvelling at the $9 million worth of contemporary art that Far East Organization has showcased in the mall.

The collection that features the creations of renowned artists such as Gary Carsley, Hans Peter Kuhn and Inges Idee is the largest permanent public commission by a developer for a single property in Singapore.

Artistic nightowls will also be able to enjoy the mall’s 24-hour public rooftop garden that will be transformed into a sculptural haven, showcasing a series of 11 wire sculptures by local sculptural artist, Victor Tan.

Not to be outdone, ION Orchard will also be contributing to the local artscape through ION Art – a structured art and design programme which introduces new and multi-media art outside the traditional museum venue, into the integrated mall experience.

The initiative includes permanent and changing signature sculptural and media installations positioned throughout the mall, as well as a spectrum of art-based events and exhibitions held throughout the year in the ION Art gallery (a dedicated art space in excess of 5,600 sq ft), and at other locations in the mall.

With all these in the pipeline, in these tough economic times, rather than waste money travelling abroad, a quick visit down Orchard Road might just be a cool, affordable alternative.

Anyone for a Chelsea concept next?

Starting tomorrow, BT Weekend will kick off a 10-part weekly series on Orchard Road that showcases its new gems while celebrating the classic appeal of its established tenants

A strong down-day put an abrupt end to the recent upswing. In today’s action, the NASDAQ 100 declined 2.37%, the S&P 500 dropped 2.81%, and the Dow lost 2.5%. The final weekly tallies (note that US markets are closed on Friday) are as follows: NASDAQ 100 down 2.29%; S&P 500 off 2.37%; Dow down 1.67%.

Today’s volume output on the S&P 500 amounted to 3,161 million shares. This volume production is 33% below the index’s average daily volume production over the past three months.

The odds for additional downside on the major indexes are fairly high.

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Yesterday, we noted that today’s scheduled release of the June jobs report might have a market moving impact. This is exactly what happened, as the news of sizable job losses in June had an immediate and strong impact, driving the major indexes sharply lower. The US employment rate reached a 26-year high, with the current jobless rate now at 9.5% (up 0.1% from May). Whereas the increase in the unemployment rate was relatively slim, it was the extent of additional job losses that startled and spooked investors. According to the Labor Department, the US economy lost 467,000 jobs in June, a number that far exceeds the 363,000 job losses economists had been projecting.

Because the jobs report is one of the most closely watched economic data releases, today’s dour news from the employment front put a damper on investor optimism. In recent months, investors have become more positive about the pace of the US economic recovery, as some positive ‘green shoots’ have been seen emerging in areas such as housing and manufacturing. Today’s employment data shows however that the US economy is still struggling. Consumers who lose their jobs are unlikely to lead the country out of recession. Some market observers believe the recent market rally has no solid fundamental underpinnings and is unlikely to continue for that reason.

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