Hardly a week goes by where we don’t find ourselves sailing through the corridors of ION Orchard. The mall, which celebrated its 15th anniversary last year, has become an essential stop on the Singaporean shopaholic’s weekend route.
Keeping things running at this fixture of the Orchard Road landscape is Yeo Mui Hong, who has joined Options for coffee and a chat in Patisserie Woo on the mall’s fourth floor. The CEO of Orchard Turn Developments assumed the role in 2018, having joined the organisation as its head of leasing five years prior.
“I’m very blessed to have a strong team,” says Yeo right off the bat. Noting that running a mall like ION Orchard requires “a multifaceted approach, as well as a dedicated team”, she is quick to credit her colleagues for their role in not only ensuring the day-to-day operations stay smooth, but also keeping the mall relevant amid an ever-changing retail environment.
Indeed, 16 may not be old by any means — especially for a building — but it is noteworthy that ION Orchard has continued attracting shoppers all this time.
“Every department must work together to create a seamless shopping experience for both our brands and shoppers,” says Yeo. She breaks her team’s strategy down into three points of continuous improvement: infrastructure, tenant mix and the retail experience. Keeping a finger on the pulse when it comes to these has helped keep things interesting for shoppers.
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Evolving retail
The last of those three things has arguably been the most consequential in differentiating ION Orchard from other malls in Singapore. “We are seeing a growing demand for experiential retail, as consumers seek more than just traditional brick-and-mortar shopping experiences,” Yeo notes.
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To draw shoppers’ attention in an era of smartphone living, ION Orchard has incorporated online elements into the retail experience. The mall has its own mobile app with gamification features; it most recently launched Another Sphere, an in-app augmented reality experience that allows users to explore brands and rewards, among others.
“While online shopping has been a part of the retail landscape for years, the conversation today is less about [its novelty], and more about how we can seamlessly integrate it with the physical shopping experience,” says Yeo, adding that the two can coexist and complement each other to “create unique and memorable experiences”.
Exclusivity is another key factor driving consumer engagement. Yeo points out that, beyond going online, ION Orchard offers unique shopping experiences through pop-up stores, exclusive items, exhibitions, events and customisation services. “Increasingly, we are seeing the physical retail environment evolve into an experiential space that fosters community-building and creates deeper connections with shoppers.”
For instance, an ongoing pop-up by Coach for the Tabby bag features customisation counters, where Singaporean artists Tiffany Lovage and Aeropalmics are offering bespoke paint work for bags purchased on site. (The pop-up runs till April 10, so you’ve only got a couple of days left to check out the stunning yellow display.)
Earlier this year, the mall played host to two activations by Hennessy, including one titled Crafted, by Hennessy. This was the travelling exhibition’s second stop in Asia, after an initial launch in Malaysia, and introduced visitors to the Hennessy brand’s history and the production processes that go into its cognacs.
A big part of offering such unique experiences for shoppers comes down to “partnering with the brands”, says Yeo. She cites as an example the recently reopened Prada boutique, which spans two floors with a total floor area of more than 1,200 sq m.
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Most notably, the boutique houses Southeast Asia’s first Prada Caffè. “When [Prada] wanted to renovate its flagship store in Southeast Asia, we told them we didn’t want just an aesthetic enhancement,” Yeo recalls. “We wanted to make it different; we wanted to make it talked about.”
“Ultimately, the mall’s success extends far beyond retail,” Yeo continues. “It’s about building a vibrant community and delivering a memorable, enjoyable experience for all shoppers and visitors.”
Catering to different groups
Personalisation and sustainability have also been major focuses for ION Orchard.
On the former, Yeo points to ION Orchard’s membership tiers, which allow the mall to tailor its engagement with different groups of shoppers.
“For our higher-tier members, they value a personal touch,” she says. Taking inspiration from the finance industry, the mall’s top spenders in the ION Privi Elite and by-invite-only The 100 tiers are assigned a relationship manager and granted access to the ION Suite, “where they can rest their legs and have a coffee before going to shop again”.
“One other group that we cannot neglect,” Yeo highlights, “is our eco-conscious shoppers.” Among other initiatives, ION Orchard has rolled out a Green Points programme to reward shoppers for environmentally friendly behaviours, such as bringing their own bags or containers to reduce reliance on single-use plastic. Electric vehicle chargers have also been installed and deployed since last year.
In addition to the measures that are more consumer-facing, the mall is working to ensure its backend operations are made greener as well, says Yeo. For instance, a new recycling programme takes food waste from F&B tenants to turn into fertiliser; in addition, sanitarywares have been upgraded with water-saving features. “We want to adopt a very holistic approach to sustainability,” Yeo adds.
Always getting better
Asked about what a day in her life as CEO of Orchard Turn Developments looks like, Yeo points out that “no two days are the same in this industry”.
Most often, though, after her meetings she can usually be seen walking through the mall, on the hunt for things that can be made better. Doing so may sound easy, but it is certainly no walk in the park, with about 280 tenants across the mall’s eight floors. “Retail is all about detailing,” Yeo explains, adding that these walkabouts help her identify “the little details you wouldn’t spot if you don’t walk the ground”.
Having been in the industry for over three decades, Yeo has seen Singapore’s retail landscape evolve in all sorts of ways. For one, she notes that while multi-brand department stores had once dominated, today the focus is squarely on malls with freestanding single-brand stores. (“We had Daimaru, we had Sogo, we had Yaohan — oh, I’ve revealed my age,” she jokes.)
On a broader level, Yeo notes the economic factors that can weigh on consumer sentiment, from tariffs to the strength of the Singapore dollar. She also recalls the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the mall went from celebrating its 10th anniversary to a screeching halt as lockdown measures came into play.
Navigating such major moves in consumer preferences and the retail environment has kept Yeo’s job exciting. “I need to have a very forward-looking approach to make sure that ION Orchard remains competitive and relevant … There are bound to be challenging days, but I constantly remind myself that the best is yet to come — and that has helped me remain steadfast in making the most of every opportunity.”
