Timezone repositions itself as a lead player in retail-entertainment space
By Timothy Tay
/ EdgeProp Singapore |
Timezone’s newest venue is a 22,000 sq ft space in Orchard Xchange, which opened last April. (Picture: Timezone)
Since opening its first amusement arcade in Singapore more than 27 years ago, Timezone has been a go-to entertainment venue for generations of Singaporeans, offering a wide variety of games and attractions. However, the brand has not been immune to shifts in consumer preferences and the changing retail environment.
Last April, the family entertainment operator opened its largest centre in Orchard Xchange, right above Orchard MRT Station. The 22,000 sq ft venue reflects a new demand for social spaces within the retail segment and Timezone’s strategy of repositioning itself as a footfall-generating anchor tenant.
Timezone was founded in 1978 when Malcolm Steinberg opened the first Timezone entertainment centre in Perth, Australia. It is now part of The Entertainment & Education Group (TEEG), an Australian-based family entertainment company jointly owned by investment firm Quadrant Private Equity and Leisure & Allied Industries Group.
Today, TEEG operates more than 343 family entertainment centres across seven countries in the Asia Pacific region: Australia, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. The company’s most significant presence is in its home country of Australia, where it operates 86 Timezone centres and other entertainment brands it owns, such as Zone Bowling and Kingpin.
Timezone has been present in Singapore since 1997, when it opened its first centre in the White Sands shopping mall in Pasir Ris. Today, the entertainment company has 13 locations across the city-state: Ang Mo Kio Hub, Causeway Point, City Square Mall, Jurong Point, Marina Square Mall, Northpoint City, Orchard Xchange, Our Tampines Hub, Parkway Parade, Plaza Singapura, VivoCity, Waterway Point and Westgate.
Timezone Orchard Xchange
Jason Bogie, general manager of real estate APAC at TEEG, selected the location of Timezone Orchard Xchange. He recounts that in 2018, he was walking along Orchard Road with a real estate agent trying to pick out potential new locations for Timezone. “I saw the potential of this location for a new Timezone, capitalising on its central location on Orchard Road and right above one of the busiest MRT interchange stations in Singapore,” he says.
Bogie: Our newest entry into Orchard Xchange demonstrates that we are now finding ourselves in a broader range of real estate locations compared to a decade ago. (Picture: Timezone)
It took several weeks to arrange a presentation to Stellar Lifestyle, the business arm of SMRT Corp and landlord of the Orchard Xchange retail space. “We hosted them in one of the party rooms in our VivoCity Timezone to showcase our ideas and concepts of what Timezone could bring to the retail space in Orchard,” says Bogie.
According to Nesh Selva, general manager of Timezone Singapore, Stellar Lifestyle is very selective about the types of tenants it invites into its retail spaces.
The 22,000 sq ft space was formerly occupied by Forever 21, a fast-fashion brand and was the brand’s flagship store. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019.
Selva says that Timezone had been keen to add an Orchard Road location to its line-up of centres in Singapore. “We have always wanted to have a large Timezone presence within the Orchard Road shopping belt, but it was a challenge to find a prime space with commercially sensible rent and well-positioned to draw in foot traffic,” he adds. “This large space in Orchard Xchange met all our criteria, and Stellar Lifestyle was keen to activate the space again.”
Timezone features bowling as part of its expanded offering of games. (Picture: Timezone)
After more than two years of disruption brought on by the Covid pandemic, renovating the space to accommodate the Timezone centre was challenging. Selva and his team had to navigate factors such as the low ceiling, columns that interrupted the layout, and security concerns due to the proximity to a public transport node. “While the space was challenging to design, the team was very creative, and this new location is now one of the top-three-performing Timezone centres across our Asia Pacific portfolio,” says Selva.
Growing demand for social experiences
Bogie says the opening of Timezone’s latest centre in a prime Orchard Road location coincides with the broader retail trends shaping the sector. “Singapore’s retail market is one of the most dynamic in the region,” he continues. “It is relatively small, and most landlords and shopping mall operators must continuously innovate to respond quickly to consumer trends and expectations.”
According to Bogie, curating the ideal retail experience now involves setting aside meaningful social experiences within the retail environment. He says that this goes beyond a diverse F&B mix, and curating social spaces is a priority among most landlords. Recent examples include the mixed-use development Funan by CapitaLand and Jewel Changi Airport.
Timezone in Jurong Point is about 17,000 sq ft, making it one of the largest venues the entertainment operator manages here. (Picture: Timezone)
In Singapore, retail-mall landlords are also broadening their tenant mix, leasing space to businesses that offer a social element, such as gyms, cooking classes and family entertainment centres. Bogie believes Timezone’s offering will help retail-mall operators that want to activate spaces and drum up footfalls.
While fit-out costs have increased dramatically since before Covid struck, Selva has observed an uplift in footfall and revenue generated for each centre that has been refreshed. Hence, Timezone Singapore has refreshing three key locations: Marina Square, One Tampines Hub and Northpoint. New games and entertainment options will also be added.
The venue at One Tampines Hub is about 3,000 sq ft and was reopened in November last year after a refurbishment; Timezone Marina Square is also approximately 3,000 sq ft and underwent a refurbshment in 2022 before reopening in November 2022. Its venue at Northpoint City is about 5,000 sq ft and the centre reopened in May 2023 after refurbishment.
Re-evaluating traditional tenant mix
Bogie says Timezone is positioning itself as an activity-centric entertainment operator. Its positioning appeals to landlords who are reassessing the value of having a footfall-generating tenant like Timezone in more prime spots.
In Plaza Singapura, Timezone occupies what Bogie says is “a legacy retail positioning by landlords of the past”: It is tucked away on the seventh floor alongside a Golden Village cinema. “Back then, we did not have much choice on the floor we could be located in,” he says.
Things have changed. “Our newest entry into Orchard Xchange demonstrates that we are now finding ourselves in a broader range of real estate locations compared to a decade ago,” says Bogie.
Timezone in Northpoint City is about 5,000 sq ft, and the venue was recently refurbished and reopened in May last year. (Picture: Timezone)
Landlords have approached Timezone to discuss the possibility of setting up a centre in retail spaces formerly occupied by department stores. An example is Westgate, a shopping mall linked to Jurong East MRT Interchange Station, where in 2020, Timezone took up the 18,000 sq ft of retail space previously occupied by the Isetan department store. It was Timezone’s largest centre in Singapore before the opening of the outlet at Orchard Xchange.
The family centre at Westgate introduced a laser maze challenge and a party room in addition to its other typical offerings. According to Selva, more retail mall landlords now view Timezone as an anchor tenant. “They understand the importance of having us within their retail mix and working with us to help them activate their spaces and drive up footfalls, rather than dictating the location of our centres as in the case of Plaza Singapura,” he adds.
Retail landlords becoming ‘more adventurous’
Singapore’s challenging retail market is compounded by the fact that up to 90% of the retail malls are in the portfolios of REITs, according to Selva. Examples include CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Frasers Commercial Trust, OUE Reit, Lendlease Global Commercial REIT and Starhill Global REIT.
Consequently, Selva says retail landlords have fallen into the trap of choosing the “tried and tested” tenants to maintain rental yields. However, since Covid, some landlords have become “more adventurous”, realising that they have to increase footfall in their malls, as online shopping has diverted away some shoppers.
Some landlords are more willing to forgo some prime retail spaces to bring in entertainment options with an eye towards developing engaging social spaces within their shopping malls. With entertainment now playing a more significant role in the retail experience, Timezone has increased the average size of its centres in Singapore from about 3,000 sq ft in the 2000s to 10,000 sq ft today, says Selva. The Timezone in Orchard Xchange is more than double that at 22,000 sq ft. Its venue in Jurong Point is about 17,000 sq ft, while Timezone in Vivocity is about 12,000 sq ft, and its centre in Westgate is also 17,000 sq ft.
Timezone Orchard Xchange saw Timezone introduce the latest generation of virtual-reality games. (Picture: Timezone)
Timezone has also ramped up its product offering with new games, attractions and private rooms for entertainment and socialising. For example, Timezone Orchard Xchange features a new virtual reality arena, bumper cars, a bowling alley with eight bowling lanes, and two private party rooms for events and celebrations.
Selva sees Timezone’s presence as having a “spillover effect” on the other tenants within the mall. He points to VivoCity and Jurong Point, malls with some of the highest footfalls in the local retail market. “It goes to show that a cohesive tenant mix creates the type of vibrant retail experience consumers are looking for today,” he adds.
‘Co-mingling entertainment and retail space’
Since its official opening last April, Timezone Orchard Xchange has clocked an average weekend footfall of about 400 to 500 visitors. Selva says Timezone’s latest concept has helped revitalise overall consumer awareness among Singaporeans, contributing to an uptick in footfall across its other centres in Singapore.
Timezone Singapore is also receiving more enquiries from landlords and asset owners that are keen on exploring alternative ways of activating some of their fledgling spaces, says Bogie. “While we remain opportunistic in growing our presence in Singapore, we have to be cognisant of the fact that overall capital expenditure is significantly higher than a decade ago.”
According to Bogie, fit-out costs have increased by 30% over the past decade. The average cost to fit out a new Timezone centre is four times higher on a psf basis than a new restaurant.
Selva: Today, retail landlords and mall owners see us as an anchor tenant, and they understand the importance of having us within their retail mix. (Picture: Timezone)
Still, Timezone aims to grow its Singapore portfolio to about 20 centres over the next few years. It is also exploring the possibility of closing some of the smaller centres and reinvesting its capital in new, larger venues “more reflective of our brand positioning today”, adds Selva.
Bogie sees long-term growth for the Asia Pacific region. His target is to add 50 new family entertainment centres annually across the seven countries where the firm already has a presence. His focus on expansion will be on emerging markets like India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Bogie sees Timezone as a key player in the “ongoing evolution of a co-mingling in the entertainment and retail environment”. He adds: “I think Timezone and TEEG are well-positioned to be a leading player in this space.”
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