Brand Expansions Driving Asia Pacific Retail Sector in Second Quarter

The entry and expansion of global and major brands have resulted in a buoyant second quarter for the Asia Pacific retail sector in most cities in the region. A boost in retail sales from strong tourist arrivals is driving demand and leasing activity in a number of markets.

Here’s an overview of the region’s retail performance in the second quarter:

SINGAPORE

The take-up of physical retail space remains healthy as evidenced by the entry and expansion of relevant-to-market retail brands.

Prime rents in Orchard could move to growth soon, fueled by stronger consumer sentiments and tourism. Singapore’s tourism market could enjoy a further boost, following the historic Trump-Kim summit meeting, which is said to have netted Singapore more than S$700 million in world-wide media exposure. Prime Orchard rents rose 0.5% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 34.55 in the second quarter of 2018.

SOUTH KOREA

Health and beauty chains are stepping up their expansion in the battle for market share. LVMH-owned Sephora, Lotte’s la cosmetique and Beauty in Bow, the wellness select shop of Hyundai Department Store, are all expected to extend this trend.

HONG KONG

Demand for retail space on high streets continued to be supported by the expansion of athleisure brand retailers. With upbeat tourist arrivals and retail sales, especially in the watch and jewellery category, luxury brand operators have shown interest in re-entering the market, should an opportunity arise in good locations.

AUSTRALIA

National retail investment volume rebounded strongly from a soft first quarter to record AU$2.4bn worth of transactions in the second quarter of 2018. This result was driven by both a larger number of deals, and a larger average deal size. YoY, Q2 2018 volume was also 55% stronger than Q2 2017 (AU$1.5bn).

VIETNAM

The opening of two new shopping centers and retail podiums in Hanoi in Q2 2018 resulted in a significant increase in the total retail stock by 4.8% QoQ and 7.3% YoY. Overall occupancy trended upwards with healthy absorption at new projects.

INDIA

The majority of transactions in the second quarter of 2018 were from food and beverages outlets . In Bengaluru, rents in existing malls remain unchanged due to no new mall supply this year with main streets continued to be seen as a viable alternative.

THAILAND

The tourism sector played an important role in driving the Thai economy which continued to to grow as international tourist arrivals increased by 8.8% from the previous year to 35.4 million, especially the Chinese. The average rental rate in Bangkok’s Center Retail District (CRD) reached THB 362.45psf/mo. Despite more retail options, vacancy rate remains below 10%.

Know more about Asia Pacific’s retail market and how the other sectors fared this quarter here.