SINGAPORE – After two years of yearning for foot traffic like cats yearn for laser pointers, Jewel Changi Airport is strutting its retail stuff again. You know, that 1.7 billion-dollar mall that went from bustling to ghost town faster than you can say “Covid-19.”
With the pandemic finally chillin’ out and travelers gathering like moths to a flame, foot traffic has more than doubled in 2022 compared to the most riveting year of all—2021. Mr. James Fong, the CEO of Jewel Changi Airport Development, probably deserves a medal for surviving the drama.
In a spectacular display of consumerism that would make Black Friday blush, nearly 345,000 people stormed the mall on Christmas Day 2022. This number, of course, is historic—like “the highest recorded since Covid-19 decided to ruin all our travel plans in 2020.”
Pre-pandemic, Jewel was raking in around 300,000 visitors daily, which, let’s face it, sounds like a crowd-surfing event for retail enthusiasts. Mr. Fong is basking in the glory, reporting December 2022 retail sales that outshined even December 2019—because who doesn’t love a comeback story?
A wave of tourists rediscovering their shopping habits also saw ticket sales for attractions like the Canopy Park skyrocket to about 80% of 2019 levels. It’s like watching someone who once lived in sweatpants suddenly decide to wear pants with buttons again.
Some top-performing shops included Coach, Foot Locker, Nike, and that wonder of childlike joy, Pokemon Centre Singapore. Food-wise, eateries like Beauty In The Pot and Shake Shack have people lined up faster than Justin Bieber fans at a pop concert, while the 130-room Yotelair seems to be bustling more than your average college dorm during finals week.
But hold your applause, folks. While many shops are celebrating as if they’ve just won the lottery, several retail and food outlets decided to close up shop during the dark ages of the pandemic. Yet against all odds, Jewel managed to welcome a stellar cast of 74 new tenants since the world flipped back to normal, proving that, like a bad penny, the mall just keeps turning up.
New players in the F&B game include the chain Kei Kaisendon, alongside local favorites like The Hainan Story. And on the retail side, Converse decided it was time to make a bold entrance with its flagship store. Because who doesn’t want to buy shoes in a room filled with clouds, am I right?
