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Takashimaya moves to hold hands with Singaporean developers
Takashimaya last week marked its foray into the lucrative Vietnamese retail market part of its strategy to further expand into Asia by joining a project with Keppel Land.
Takashimaya will be the anchor tenant in Keppel Land’s Saigon Centre phase 2 in Ho Chi Minh City.
Under the agreement signed between Keppel Land and Takashimaya, the latter is to pre-commit approximately 15,000 square metres of retail space across five floors of Saigon Centre phase 2.
With Takashimaya coming onboard, about 30 per cent of the total retail area is pre-leased ahead of the development’s expected completion in 2015. According to Kevin Wong, group CEO of Keppel Land, Takashimaya further established Saigon Centre as the place to be and preferred address for quality tenants.
“An established and quality brand in the industry, Takashimaya will complement and enhance the overall retail offerings at Saigon Centre and Ho Chi Minh City as a whole,” Wong said. “The strong pre-commitment secured almost three years ahead of completion is significant and reaffirms our positive sentiments on the Vietnamese retail market,” Wong added.
Yoko Yasuda, managing director of Takashimaya Singapore, said the Vietnamese retail market was entering an exciting phase of growth with an increasing middle income class and Takashimaya was looking forward to participate in this emerging market.
“This being Takashimaya’s first department store in Vietnam, we wanted a strategic location and renowned partner - we found both in Saigon Centre and Keppel Land,” Yasuda said.
At the same time, Toshin Development Company, the real estate subsidiary of Takashimaya has also entered into a share-purchase agreement with Keppel Land to hold 22.7 per cent stake in Saigon Centre phase 2.
Keppel Land will also jointly establish a 50:50 retail management company with Toshin Development Singapore, the Singapore subsidiary under Toshin Development, to provide retail management services for Keppel Land’s projects in Vietnam.
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