Objectives

Objective of this assignment is to have better understanding on the chosen shopping centre, The Cathay. The assignment will look into the different aspect such as introduction and site analysis of The Cathay.

Besides having better understanding of The Cathay, the objective of the assignment will also look into the possibilities of the events that can take place at The Cathay. One of the recent major events in Singapore that took place there would be Singapore Idol 2009 Audition. It was held on Saturday, 6th June 2009.

Both of the objectives will be further discussed in the next two post.

The Cathay

Site Analysis

The Cathay

The Cathay is a shopping centre located at Handy Road and Mount Sophia in Singapore’s Museum Planning Area. The location is classified under Dhouby Ghaut area. It is not just a shopping centre but also a cinema and apartment which add up to 17 floors. The Cathay covers 168,000 square foot of retail floor area approximately.

Previously, it was called Cathay Building when the building initially launched in 3 October 1939. However, in 2000 it was closed for redevelopment and launched again in 24 March 2006. Though it went for redevelopment, the new building still used elements of the old Cathay Building which was nationally announced as a national monument.

The Cathay is owned and managed by Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited. Cathay Organisation is a leading leisure and entertainment groups operate in both Singapore and Malaysia. Another shopping centre managed under them is Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. It is located behind Meritus Mandarin Hotel.

The Cathay is classified as lifestyle shopping centre. They do not have any departmental store as an anchor tenant but provides vibrant and huge amount of retail outlets and entertainment centre. The Cathay has a total of 17 floors where five floors consist of all the retail outlets, two floors are occupied by their main trade, The Cathay Cineplex, and nine floors of The Cathay Residences.

The Cathay is known for its Cineplex, thus, becoming the main trade there. Most of the shoppers visit it for one main purpose which is to watch movie. The Cathay Cineplex is a movie theatre with eight halls that is located at the sixth and seventh storey. The halls include 600-seat Grand Cathay and The Picturehouse. The Picturehouse became Singapore’s first and only arthouse cinema with 82 Poltrona Faru Oscar seats.

The five floors of retail outlets offer countless shopping choices with an assorted tenants mix from beauty to fashion, food & beverages and gift ideas. Most of the food and beverages outlets are located at the Basement level. Level one to four consists of the other retail outlets that offer lifestyle related merchandise such as The Commercial Press, E2Max, Gramophone, and etc. More details on tenants mix will be discussed in the post.

The Cathay Residences consists of 76 units from levels 9 to 17. There is swimming pool, tennis court and garden built at the ninth floor. It was opened at the end 2006 and apartments can only be lease.

Location

Dhouby Ghaut is located around Orchard Road. Orchard Road is well-known for Singapore’s shopping district. Thus, by locating The Cathay around Dhouby Ghaut can draw many shoppers and tourists.

The Cathay is surrounded by a few places of attractions like Fort Canning Park, Singapore Philatelic Museum, Civil Defence Heritage Gallery, and Singapore Art Museum. There is also a nearby accommodation which is the Rendezvous Hotel. By locating around this attractions and accommodation, The Cathay can attract more tourists.

To add on, The Cathay is also surrounded by many education centres like Singapore Management University (SMU) and Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS). In the future, there will be another new education centre called School of the Arts (SOTA). This allows to reach their young target markets.

In short, The Cathay is located at highly visible area.

Transportation

The Cathay is easily accessible by both public and personal transportation.

By public transport, shoppers can travel through various ways such as taxi, buses or train. There is a nearby taxi stand located just beside The Cathay. Shoppers who prefer to travel by bus can take the different bus services such as 7, 14, 65, 174, and Express 518, and etc. For those shoppers who prefer to travel by the train can alight at the nearest MRT station which is Dhouby Ghaut MRT Station.

By personal transportation, shoppers can exit Central Expressway (CTE) to get there. There are two locations of parking lots provided by The Cathay. Shoppers may choose to park at Handy Road or Mount Sophia parking lots.

Size and Shape of Trading Area Analysis

Looking at location and transportations availability of The Cathay, the size and shape of it trading analysis can be analyzed.

Primary

The Cathay key shoppers will be those who live at The Cathay Residence. They are just levels away from The Cathay. Their main shoppers will also be residence around Bugis, Orchard and Lavender. These residences live very near to Dhouby Ghaut area. Therefore, they have shorter travel period.

Beside locals who live around the area, The Cathay main shoppers can also be tourists who check in to the nearby hotel, Rendezvous Hotel.

Additionally, students and lecturers from Singapore Management University (SMU) and Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) are The Cathay key shoppers too. The Cathay is located nearby the two schools.

Secondary

Beside the main shoppers, The Cathay less key shoppers will be those living outside the area. They are shoppers who live at North and East area. North area will include Toa Payoh, Bishan, Yio Chu Kang, Yishun and Woodlands. Residences there have direct transportation to The Cathay by taking the train.

This goes the same as shopper that live around East area. This would include shoppers who live at Kallang, Paya Lebar, Bedok and Tampines. Journey to reach there will not take more than one hour, thus, shopper won’t mind to travel there.

Fringe

The Cathay fringe shoppers will be those who live far away from Dhouby Ghaut. These shoppers live at the South area of Singapore like Queenstown, Dover, Clementi, Jurong and Boon Lay. Travelling time for shoppers to The Cathay will take a long time. Due to this, it will discourage those shoppers to visit The Cathay.

Competition

The Cathay competitor will be Plaza Singapura. Plaza Singapura is an all-under-one-roof family-oriented shopping centre where there is John Little as anchor tenant. Plaza Singapura also provides a wider range of tenants mix for customers with different lifestyles.

Plaza Singapura provides more types of tenants mix as compared to The Cathay. There is intended-base tenants like Yahama Music School, Golden Village, Mothercare, and etc. There is also price-based tenant such as Mayor (premium tenant) and DAISO (discount tenant).

Besides the availability of wide range of tenants mix, Plaza Singapura has a direct linkage from Dhouby Ghaut MRT station to Plaza Singapura. Thus, with all the factors mentioned, many shoppers will tend to visit Plaza Singapura instead of The Cathay. Moreover, both the shopping centres have movie theatre, making shoppers to make comparison first before visiting.

Target Market

The Cathay’s target market is based on psychographic factor (lifestyle) such as shoppers that keep a healthy lifestyle (Fitness First) and enjoy watching movie (The Cathay Cineplex), gaming (E2Max), readings (The Commercial Press) and music (Gramophone). There are different tenants there sells products that cater to the different lifestyle. Based on demographics factor (income distribution), The Cathay will look into shopper with medium to high income level. Most of the tenants mix there sells products of affordable to exclusive prices.

In summary, The Cathay targets trendy shoppers that seek for entertainment too.



Tenants Mix

The Cathay provides shopper with impulse-based tenants by having retail cart located at level one. The carts sold items like fashion accessories and gifts. These items are great complimentary products. Locating at level one can also attract many shoppers’ attention.

There are also intended-based tenants like The Cathay Cineplex and Fitness First. Shoppers visit The Cathay for a main purpose which is watching movie at The Cathay Cineplex or to keep a healthy lifestyle at Fitness First.

Their deliver-based tenants will be the Three3Three outlet located at level three. Three3Three is sold a wide range of designer furniture, lightings & accessories collection from Italy, France, Belgium, Germany & Thailand. Since they sell furniture items, loading bay is required to deliver the item to the shop or to their customers.

The Cathay also provides image tenants such Starbucks, Adidas and PUMA. These retailers are popular among the locals and also have a good brand image. As a result, these retailers can help to attract more shoppers.

The Cathay food and beverages (F&B) based tenants are mostly located at Basement. Some of the examples are Ya Ku Kaya Toast, Indo Padang, New York Pizza, Mian Mian Ju Dao and Nihon Mura. There is also other F&B based tenants located at different levels. They have Ben & Jerry’s and The Cathay Restaurants at level two and Astons Specialities at level four.

Positioning

The brief explanations above are able to give a rough idea of The Cathay’s mall positioning. The tenants mix there sells products with good quality. PUMA, Adidas, and Three3Three are some of the examples that sell products of high quality. Other food and beverages retailers like Ya Kun Kaya Toast and Astons Specialities sells variety of foods with good quality and taste delicious.

In terms of pricing, The Cathay’s tenants mix sell products that are affordable to premium prices. Ya Kun Kaya Toast sell their food at affordable prices. However, retailers like Starbucks and Déjà Vu Vintage sell products at premium prices. Starbucks coffee are premium, thus, their pricing can be quite high. Déjà Vu Vintage is an elegant boutique that sells vintage fashion. Every product comes in one piece only, making it more exclusive. This exclusivity allows them to place high prices on the products sold.

With the different attributes mentioned above like highly visible and convenient location, it adds on to where the mall is being positioned.

In short, The Cathay positioned their shopping centre that provides good quality products at affordable to premium pricing.

*click on the images to enlarge it

The Next Singapore Idol?

Singapore Idol 2009 Audition

Singapore Idol 2009 Auditions was held at The Cathay on Saturday, 6th June 2009 from 8am-6pm. However, most of the contestants were there the day before so that they could be the first few to be auditioned. Though they were early, the barricades were only ready at 8pm for contestants and supporters to queue up. I was there at around 9.30pm on Friday night, and the queue was pretty long already. At around 9.30pm, the numbers of contestants were already more than 154.

As the night goes by, the numbers of contestant increases. At 12 a.m., the Team decide to distribute the number tags to the contestants due to the overwhelming response. However, only 400 number tags were distributed. Those who received the tags were able to leave the place or stay at the queue and required to return back by 7am. The next contestants after the 400th, need to continue queuing, the traditional way.

On Saturday itself, the queue keeps on increasing. There were too many responses that eventually, another audition had to take place the next day. It was reported that there were more than 4,000 people turned up on both days.

Mechanics of the Event

This audition is opened to the public. Contestants need to be a Singaporean or a member of Permanent Residence. Only contestants aged between 16-32 years are allowed to go for the audition.

Contestants were requested to register online first before coming down for the audition. Online registration was opened 1 May 2009. Singapore Idol Team needs to have records of the participants so that the actual registration process will be faster and convenient.

Since the audition is opened to the public, it is hard to gauge the number of contestants coming. And as mentioned above, more than 4,000 people turned up on both Saturday and Sunday.

Stakeholder for the Event

Stakeholder for this event looks into Singapore Idol Team. There are different department involved. However, during the audition, I only realise a number of the departments turned up. There is the IT department which went down to set up the laptop and printer used for the registration counter.

The Marketing department was also there to see the turnout of the audition as well as the Vice President too.

The Publicity department was there too to make live report. They were there to interview contestants as well as supporters around. They came along with the Production department where the technical team were required. They need them to record the interviews and the surroundings of the event which will be useful for the show.

Security department was there too. Security guards were also used to control the crowds as well as ensuring the proper queue for the auditions. The guards were there the day before the event due to contestants and supporters who overnight for the event. Additionally the guard are able to look around the event so that nothing went wrong like missing laptops or arguments among contestants.

Purpose

The purpose of this event is to look out for the next Singapore Idol. I believed, Singapore Idol Team had achieved their purpose. They were able to find a group of potential singers. While queuing up, I could hear contestants who can sing well.

At the same time, the purpose of this event is to draw more public attention to watch local reality show like Singapore Idol. Thus, choosing prime location like Singapore’s shopping district is able to attract more passerby.

The Team will be able to draw more public to watch their reality show. Sticker on glass that consist the picture of all the three judges as well as the two hosts was installed main entrance of The Cathay. As a result, many shoppers are able to see the sticker and aware of the upcoming Singapore Idol 2009.

The Cathay as Location

In my perception, the reason why The Cathay was chosen is due to its movie theatre. The Cathay has a total 8 movie theatres. Movie theatre is able to hold high number of capacity. It is also a suitable place for a close or private audition.

And I believed that the reasons why The Cathay agreed to conduct the event there is that they are able to promote their mall. Public recognised The Cathay as an entertainment shopping centre where they can watch movies. By agreeing to conduct the audition there, it will create buzz among the public. Public will come down to support their friends and families or come down to look at the audition. This draws them to the mall and allows them to walk around. As a results, public are able to exposed to the different retail stores available there and familiarise with the stores there.

Since the queue was located in front of The Cathay main entrance which faced the main roads, it can also attract passerby who do not know about Singapore Idol Audition. They will wonder why there is a huge amount of people gathering around The Cathay and approach The Cathay to see what is going on.

The tenants inside The Cathay had the advantages of generating high sales from Friday to Sunday. 7-Eleven being one of the tenants there are able to generate high sales. 7-Eleven is a 24-hour convenience store. It was the only store opened for the contestants and supporters to shop.

Besides that, Starbucks took the opportunity to get awareness from the people there. One of their workers walked around to introduce new flavour of their drinks. They are able to let a huge amount of possible customers to try the flavour and thus, increasing their awareness and sales too.

Best Practices

One of the best practices was using the barricades. The barricades were used to represent the queuing line for the contestants that had signed up for Singapore Idol Audition. If there were no barricades, the queue will look messy and people can just jump queue. Thus, a bad situation can occur.

Another best practice was using the movie theatres. The movie theatres were used for the contestant holding area and audition room. Using movie theatre as the holding area is a good idea because the theatre is able to hold many contestants. Also, it allow contestants to enjoy the cool room rather than standing at the hot sun. Besides that, it is also a good idea to use the theatre for audition room. This is because the room is echo to provide a better sound quality. This allowed the Team members to select the good singers.

Additionally, another best practice would include giving out of the first 400 number tags. The Team had decided to give out number tag the first 00 contestants when they saw they the good response. This is to shorten the queue and provide enough space for other contestants.

Critics

Even though the audition queue was located in front of The Cathay main entrance and at the same time facing the main roads, the area is actually quite small compared to the previous Singapore Idol Audition which took place at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. Cathay Cineleisure Orchard used to have a huge field beside the mall where the queue was located.

Since it is a small area, the Singapore Idol Team and Cathay Organisations were not able to place many barricades. Thus, it was insufficient to have long queue of contestants. Due to this issue and as mentioned above, I guessed they had decided to give out number tag for the first 500 contestants.

My cousin, one of Singapore Idol Audition contestant number 154, commented that the registration process was very slow. They were requested to be there by 7a.m., however, she was only registered at 10a.m. This shows that the Singapore Idol Team is not efficient.

Recommendation

Instead of doing it on first come basis when queuing up, the team should do it on first come basis when they registered online. This means, that a group of contestants will get their time slot for audition when they registered online. This will be much more convenient for registration process and for the contestants too. Contestant can gauge the time they should come and queue.

Other Images





*click on the images to enlarge it