With department stores shutting, are anchor tenants a thing of the past for malls?
With department stores like Metro closing their last outlets, retail experts in Singapore are questioning the future of traditional anchor tenants in shopping malls. Mall operators are now focusing on a diverse mix of food and beverage, lifestyle brands, and entertainment options to attract shoppers.
Why it matters
This reflects a significant shift in the retail landscape and consumer behavior, impacting urban planning, commercial real estate, and the overall shopping experience in cities like Singapore.
Metro, which is an anchor tenant at Paragon and Causeway Point, announced last month that it would close its last two stores.
Erin Liam 03 Aug 2026 06:00AM (Updated: 03 Aug 2026 04:43PM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a new cards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST SINGAPORE: In the early days of Singapore’s shopping malls, department stores were often synonymous with the malls they anchored.
Say The Centrepoint, and one might think of Robinsons. Or Ngee Ann City, and Takashimaya would come to mind.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in