Frasers Property Retail was established as a retail-focused business unit under Frasers Property Singapore in October 2019 to bring retail business in Singapore to the next level. With a portfolio of 14 retail malls island-wide, the business unit has been dedicated in meeting the diverse needs of the communities it serves through creating safe and inclusive spaces.
While this year was marked by unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, significant strides were made in growing a strong and resilient retail platform, with a series of digital initiatives to continuously drive shopper engagement and create meaningful experiences, while staying ahead of the ever-evolving retail landscape.
As 2020 comes to a close, here are some key moments that have defined the year for Frasers Property Retail.
Frasers Property Retail's staff, tenants, and shoppers stood in solidarity to overcome this crisis.
Since hitting our shores earlier this year, COVID-19 has affected our lives in ways beyond our imagination. The Circuit Breaker period that was introduced by the Singapore government in April saw huge changes in the community, and the effects could be clearly seen at the malls. Despite the circumstances, Frasers Property Retail's staff, tenants, and shoppers stood in solidarity to overcome this crisis.
#1
To help ease the impact of the pandemic for tenants, a Tenant Support Package was introduced to provide $45 million in rental rebates on top of passing the full property tax rebate to their tenants. In addition, one-month cash security deposits were also released to tenants to offset rental payments. Further support was provided, and the total rental rebate for tenants added up to approximately $75 million. With the rental rebates, property tax rebates and offsetting of cash security deposit, Frasers Property Retail managed to work with tenants and provide them with some form of support or relief during this trying period.
#2
As the number of COVID-19 cases declined, Singapore moved into Phase 2 of its safe re-opening. To aid tenants in the re-opening of their stores and to gear up for the increase in number of shoppers, Frasers Property Retail distributed a Retail Tenant Information Kit, which contained useful information on how tenants can get their premises ready to welcome shoppers back to the malls. It also outlines the measures that have been implemented to uphold high public health standards across the malls.
#3
To further boost public confidence, Frasers Property Retail successfully passed the SG Clean audit across all 14 malls. This is a testament to the high standards of public hygiene maintained within its premises, and its commitment in safeguarding the health and well being of the shoppers, tenants, and staff. This recognition was made possible through the collective effort of the staff, tenants, and shoppers. Looking beyond the pandemic, Frasers Property Retail remains committed to upholding these high hygiene and safety standards to protect the communities that it serves.
#4
To recognise the efforts of their frontline staff in keeping the malls a safe space for the community, Frasers Property Retail has distributed close to 800 care kits to these staff in February. These unsung heroes have worked tirelessly behind the scenes since the start of the pandemic, serving shoppers on a daily basis, and going above and beyond their duties to upkeep the cleanliness of the malls.
The care kit comprises a hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial wipes and healthy snacks to thank the frontline staff for their hard work. In addition, face masks and face shields were distributed to staff, so that they can better protect themselves and the community.
#5
As the holiday season approaches, Frasers Property Retail has partnered with The Food Bank Singapore to spread the joy of giving to families in need. Over the three days, 1,000 Jolly Food Bundles were packed by volunteers and staff, with each bundle comprising several food items such as pasta, energy bars, canned soup, and more, and some party props to ring in the new year. All in all, 90 volunteers from Frasers Property Retail helped pack and distribute the food bundles to households across Central, Northern and Eastern parts of Singapore.
FPR deployed UV-disinfecting robots (left), and provided a space for Razer to place their mask vending machines (right) across its malls as part of its partnerships with PBA Group and Razer respectively.
#6
As part of efforts to protect the health and well being of shoppers, tenants, and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, Frasers Property Retail partnered with with PBA Group to deploy a series of UV-disinfecting Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) called Sunburst UV bots across all its malls. Equipped with an ultraviolet-C light module that emits powerful UV-C rays to eradicate viruses, these made-in-Singapore UV Bots were rolled out to complement the increased frequency of cleaning and disinfection in the malls.
Frasers Property Retail was the first mall operator in Singapore to adopt this technology that was designed and developed by PBA Group. Through this collaboration, it has helped supplement manpower resources on labour-intensive cleaning tasks, leading to an increase in operational efficiency.
#7
Frasers Property Retail also supported Razer’s #ForSingaporeansBySingaporeans initiative by committing $70,000 to purchase its first batch of made-in-Singapore masks from Razer’s mask manufacturing line. These masks were distributed to over 1,300 tenants across 14 malls and frontline staff as part of their continuous commitment to prioritising the health and wellbeing of the community.
In addition, spaces were provided across all Malls of Frasers Property for the placement of Razer’s mask vending machine. This allowed Singaporeans to conveniently claim their free mask or purchase more masks when patronising the malls.
In 2020, FPR acquired the five malls under AsiaMalls Management. It also welcomed anchor tenants Decathlon, Harvey Norman and JustCo into The Centrepoint.
#8
On 10 February 2020, Frasers Property Retail entered into an agreement to acquire AsiaMalls Management which has a total of five malls in its portfolio. With the acquisition, it now oversees a combined portfolio of 14 retail assets across Singapore, unlocking greater operational efficiencies and positioning itself as a leading local retail player. Frasers Property Retail officially welcomed the AsiaMalls Management team on board in May 2020.
The acquisition also saw two loyalty programmes, Frasers Experience and AMperkz, integrating into a single loyalty programme with a potential membership base of over 800,000 shoppers and over 2,000 touchpoints across the 14 malls.
#9
In July, Frasers Property Retail formed a strategic partnership with TCC Prosperity Group as the capital partner for 50% if its stake in Northpoint City (South Wing). This has enabled Frasers Property Retail to optimise capital productivity while retaining management of strategic investment properties within its portfolio.
#10
Frasers Centrepoint Trust acquired the remaining 63.1% in AsiaRetail Fund Limited, making it the top-10 largest Singapore Reit (“S-REIT”) by market capitalisation. With the increment from seven to 11 malls, its net lettable area expanded by about 64% to 2.3 million square feet, placing it among the largest suburban retail mall owners in Singapore. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Frasers Centrepoint Trust maintains its strong financial position, with continuous efforts to expand its retail footprint.
#11
Frasers Property Retail welcomed a slew of new tenants into The Centrepoint, including anchor tenants Decathlon, Harvey Norman and JustCo, as part of its plans to transform the mall into a one-of-a-kind lifestyle destination for all. In line with the mall’s plans to create meaningful retail experiences for its shoppers, each of these new anchor brands introduced experiential concepts for their stores at The Centrepoint.
With its freshly unveiled work-live-play retail concept, The Centrepoint aims to continuously create vibrant spaces within the mall to meet the diverse needs of the next generation of shoppers.
FPR made strides in their digital journey with Frasers Makan Master clinching two awards, launching Frasers eStore, and hosting their very first live-stream commerce event.
#12
In April, delivery services were piloted on Frasers Property Retail’s digital F&B concierge, Makan Master, for over 100 tenants on top of existing contactless pre-order, pay and collect options. This launch was in-line with the increase in demand for F&B delivery services given the continued COVID-19 restrictions. With this initiative, F&B tenants could leverage on Makan Master to reach out to new and existing customers through different avenues.
Later in October, Makan Master began accepting multi-store delivery orders. Shoppers can now order from multiple stores within the same mall and have them delivered to their doorstep with a single delivery fee. This allowed tenants the opportunity to tap on Frasers Experience's database, while bringing an omni-channel retail experience for shoppers.
With these enhancements made, Makan Master was awarded Best Loyalty Programme - Lifestyle (Bronze) and Best Loyalty Programme - Relaunch (Bronze) at the recent Marketing Magazine’s Loyalty & Engagement Awards 2020.
#13
With mall events restricted due to COVID-19 measures, Frasers Property Retail looked to alternative ways to continuously engage with shoppers, and to drive shopper engagement and experiences. On 30 September, Frasers Property Retail’s inaugural live-stream commerce event, Frasers Live, was held from 9pm to 11pm. This two-hour long shoppertainment cum sales affair drew close to 7,000 live views in addition to 3,000 on-demand views over the following four days.
The event not only provided shoppers with a seamless store-to-door experience, but also supported tenants by providing them an additional avenue to reach out to shoppers outside of regular retail hours. Post-pandemic, the trend of live-streaming is expected to continue and Frasers Property Retail has plans to host more of such similar events in the future.
#14
The growing preference for e-commerce platforms and cashless payments, together with Singapore’s accelerated digital landscape, has led to an increasing need for businesses to make their products and services available both in-store and online.
With the upcoming launch of its new e-commerce marketplace, Frasers eStore, Frasers Property Retail aims to support its tenants on their digital journey, and unlock new growth opportunities with a true omnichannel retail experience. Through the Frasers eStore, shoppers can browse and purchase products from tenants across all 14 malls with greater convenience and flexibility, creating a frictionless retail experience for both shoppers and tenants.
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As the retail landscape continues evolving, Frasers Property Retail remains invested in exploring and integrating digital innovations to create more meaningful experiences for shoppers while standing together with tenants to navigate the post-pandemic retail world.