So How Much of $100M Spending Realized?

[makapaaa]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Orchard Road packed
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Some 40,000 tourists in town for F1 race go on shopping spree at malls </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Gracia Chiang
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->The F1 tourists are in town and Mr Dan Koh is in a race to serve them.
Since Friday, the 32-year-old sales staff member at Italian men's boutique Ermenegildo Zegna has been dashing about the Paragon branch, sometimes attending to more than one customer at a time.
He has been so busy that lunch has had to be pushed back from noon to 3pm. 'We've to be a lot faster in checking stocks and packaging items. We are seeing almost double the number of people coming compared to the last few weekends,' he said yesterday, looking frazzled.
It's turning out to be a great weekend for retailers in Orchard Road, with some estimating sales going up by as much as 30 per cent.
An estimated 40,000 tourists have arrived to watch the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, and they made their presence felt in Orchard Road yesterday.
Many were seen thronging the malls togged out in their Ferrari T-shirts and racing caps and splurging on items such as jackets, watches and electronic toys.
Some have come from as far as South Africa and Slovakia.
Businessman Stelio Papas, 40, from South Africa has spent $2,000 so far on an iPod Classic, a camera lens, Nike cross trainers and a Nintendo Wii game console.
Mr Jawad Salah, 32, a lawyer from Philadelphia, has spent more than $3,000 on a watch, CDs and jewellery for his fiancee.
Sales staff said such crowds are seen normally only during festive seasons.
Mr Andy Chua, 42, a sales manager at luxury watch retailer The Hour Glass in Ngee Ann City, said: 'Customers have been coming in non-stop. Sometimes, we even have to keep them waiting because there are not enough sales staff.'
Over at the Hugo Boss boutique in the same mall, a store manager said he did not even have time for a toilet break. He said there were at least 20 per cent more customers this weekend, with many snapping up suits because of the numerous parties they had to attend during the F1 season. Sales of its exclusive F1 McLaren T-shirt have also been 'moving fast'.
Mr He Kelun, 24, a sales assistant at clothing brand A/X Armani Exchange in Paragon, said he saw twice the number of customers this weekend. Most were from Europe and India, and spent an average of $1,000 each. [email protected]

 

[makapaaa]

Btw, how many of these "tourists" happen to just drop by and not part of the Grand Pee crowd?

 

[makapaaa]

>>>Mr He Kelun, 24, a sales assistant at clothing brand A/X Armani Exchange in Paragon, said he saw twice the number of customers this weekend. Most were from Europe and India, and spent an average of $1,000 each.<<<

Sure, from 1 person to 2 people. Btw, he's a PRC stealing job from Sporn?

 

[makapaaa]

$100M biz lost in Suntec City?

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Marina area deserted
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Local shoppers stay away, while tourists are there strictly for race </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>

</TD><TD width=10>

</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>

As Singaporeans shun the Suntec City-Marina Square area this weekend over concerns about road closures, places like Carrefour are seeing very few shoppers. -- ST PHOTO: SAMUEL HE
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Business was in first gear at the normally busy Suntec City mall yesterday afternoon.
The shop tills were not ringing, sales assistants were standing around looking bored and at Carrefour supermarket, the aisles were almost empty.
'It has been this way since Sept 23,' said Ms Irene Foo, who rents two pushcarts where she sells perfumes and essential oils. 'Saturdays are usually busy but I haven't sold anything today.'
Local shoppers have been giving Suntec City and Marina Square shopping centres a wide berth ever since some roads in the area were blocked off for the Formula One race. Many mistakenly thought that the entire area has become inaccessible to vehicles, even though one can still drive to Suntec City using Nicoll Highway.
Sales manager Jeffrey Yong, 34, was one of them. He usually takes his family to lunch at Suntec City on Saturdays. Yesterday, they went to Tampines Mall instead. 'I see signs everywhere saying the roads in the Marina area are cordoned off. I don't want to take any risk and get stuck there,' he said.
Over at Carrefour in Suntec City, cashiers looked bored as they waited for the random customer. The supermarket's trolley bay, which is usually empty on busy weekends, had three long rows of trolleys lined neatly.
The only time the supermarket got busy was when members of the F1 teams dropped by in the afternoon to shop for food.
They emptied the sushi counter and picked up boxes of fruits and drinks by the cartons. The BMW Sauber team's hospitality assistant, Austrian Claudio Falco, 38, spent $1,959 on beef tenderloin, chicken breasts and canned drinks.
Once the teams had left with trolleys laden with food, the supermarket returned to its lull.
Said a Carrefour staff member: 'It's extremely quiet today. On weekends, there are usually four times more people than this.'
Yama Yuki at Suntec City, which sells Japanese ice cream, had only $63 in its till at 4pm yesterday. Said an assistant manager: 'Last weekend, around this time, we had already earned over $200.'
Restaurants with alfresco dining said their customers now flock inside because the noise from the race track can be deafening.
Said Mr Jeremy Yeap, service manager of Ministry of Food, a Japanese restaurant at Marina Square: 'Most of the customers who request to sit outside would come back inside the restaurant after 10 minutes because of the noise.'
Fancy cars might be the talk of the town this weekend, but ironically, the Singapore Motorshow at Suntec convention centre has been snubbed. Few people turned up despite the cheaper $6 entrance fee this year.
Businesses said being so close to the racing track has not helped. Most of the tourists, they said, save their shopping for jaunts in Orchard Road. They go to the Marina area strictly for F1.
Tourists like Ms Anne Dyer, 41, from Australia, agree.
'I'm planning to shop in Orchard Road because I've heard so much about the place,' said the housewife. 'I'd think there is a wider variety of things to buy there.'
[email protected] Are you excited about F1? Have your say at straitstimes.com

 

[DIVISION1]

100 million is not a problem. What concerns the government of Singapore as secondary objectives is the breakdown of expenditure of the 100 million.

 

[DerekLeung]

$100M biz lost in Suntec City?

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Marina area deserted
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Local shoppers stay away, while tourists are there strictly for race </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>

</TD><TD width=10>

</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>

As Singaporeans shun the Suntec City-Marina Square area this weekend over concerns about road closures, places like Carrefour are seeing very few shoppers. -- ST PHOTO: SAMUEL HE
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Business was in first gear at the normally busy Suntec City mall yesterday afternoon.
The shop tills were not ringing, sales assistants were standing around looking bored and at Carrefour supermarket, the aisles were almost empty.
'It has been this way since Sept 23,' said Ms Irene Foo, who rents two pushcarts where she sells perfumes and essential oils. 'Saturdays are usually busy but I haven't sold anything today.'
Local shoppers have been giving Suntec City and Marina Square shopping centres a wide berth ever since some roads in the area were blocked off for the Formula One race. Many mistakenly thought that the entire area has become inaccessible to vehicles, even though one can still drive to Suntec City using Nicoll Highway.
Sales manager Jeffrey Yong, 34, was one of them. He usually takes his family to lunch at Suntec City on Saturdays. Yesterday, they went to Tampines Mall instead. 'I see signs everywhere saying the roads in the Marina area are cordoned off. I don't want to take any risk and get stuck there,' he said.
Over at Carrefour in Suntec City, cashiers looked bored as they waited for the random customer. The supermarket's trolley bay, which is usually empty on busy weekends, had three long rows of trolleys lined neatly.
The only time the supermarket got busy was when members of the F1 teams dropped by in the afternoon to shop for food.
They emptied the sushi counter and picked up boxes of fruits and drinks by the cartons. The BMW Sauber team's hospitality assistant, Austrian Claudio Falco, 38, spent $1,959 on beef tenderloin, chicken breasts and canned drinks.
Once the teams had left with trolleys laden with food, the supermarket returned to its lull.
Said a Carrefour staff member: 'It's extremely quiet today. On weekends, there are usually four times more people than this.'
Yama Yuki at Suntec City, which sells Japanese ice cream, had only $63 in its till at 4pm yesterday. Said an assistant manager: 'Last weekend, around this time, we had already earned over $200.'
Restaurants with alfresco dining said their customers now flock inside because the noise from the race track can be deafening.
Said Mr Jeremy Yeap, service manager of Ministry of Food, a Japanese restaurant at Marina Square: 'Most of the customers who request to sit outside would come back inside the restaurant after 10 minutes because of the noise.'
Fancy cars might be the talk of the town this weekend, but ironically, the Singapore Motorshow at Suntec convention centre has been snubbed. Few people turned up despite the cheaper $6 entrance fee this year.
Businesses said being so close to the racing track has not helped. Most of the tourists, they said, save their shopping for jaunts in Orchard Road. They go to the Marina area strictly for F1.
Tourists like Ms Anne Dyer, 41, from Australia, agree.
'I'm planning to shop in Orchard Road because I've heard so much about the place,' said the housewife. 'I'd think there is a wider variety of things to buy there.'
[email protected] Are you excited about F1? Have your say at straitstimes.com

Suntec city is a far-cry without the F1 !