Macau to establish as a retail destination
To give luxury shoppers distinctive products that are not easily obtained somewhere else is the goal in an established Singapore retail market. The challenge in Macau is just to establish it as a retail destination, on the other hand.
Asia retailing operations, there will be around 50 more shops opening in September at the Marina Bay Sands casino resort in Singapore, according to David Sylvester, Senior Vice President of Las Vegas Sands Corporations’ (LVS). Marina Bay Sands will be home to over 150 stores, with the addition of the new stores, including Dior and Hermes outlets. Engendering estimated annual sales of over S$1 billion dollars, Marina Bay Sands will house about 300 restaurants and stores when totally operational. Of the mall capacity, they currently have contracts to occupy about 95%.
LVS was granted a tender from the Singapore government to construct an integrated resort, back in 2006. The initial segment of Marina Bay Sands opened, on April 27. The resort will include a mall, convention center, 2,560 hotel rooms, a theater, a casino for casino games, and the SkyPark, when completed.
The U.S. $4 billion dollar casino still has a target opening date for the third quarter of 2011, despite difficulty obtaining consistent construction labor. The Sands China Ltd.'s (1928.HK) delayed expansion project in Macau's Cotai area will be advertised to retailers, in just a few weeks. Of the Cotai expansion, sites 5 and 6 will be mid-range.
During the financial crisis, even though many retail shops suffered, most of the retail contracts at the Venetian million-square -foot mall have been renewed and sales are steadily improving.