Shhh. Do you hear that? It’s the sound of wind whistling through the abandoned malls of America as the Cassandras of contemporary retail cry their doom through corridors lined by fronds of lonely greenery: the end of a way of shopping, and all that.
But train your ears toward another direction. In Asia, an entirely different story is being sung: one full of glimmer and potential; one that is not limited to luxury products but treats all customers as if they were buying luxury; one in which consumers are drawn like magnets to the physical reality of a — what to call it? Not a bazaar, really, or an arcade, or a plaza. An immersive aesthetic experience with shopping as a byproduct, perhaps.
In Shanghai, the Shanghai Village, an outlet shopping complex created by Value Retail (founder of Bicester Village in Oxford, England) in a Disney resort area, stretches for 473,612 square feet across the waterfront, its gleaming Art Deco promenades lined by 200 trees and featuring bathroom lounges covered in swirling mosaics in the styles of different artists and so eye-popping they are actually booked for local events on their own.
In Seoul, the 30,140-square-foot library in the COEX Mall includes approximately 50,000 books and magazines to browse, and offers couches and reading tables for passers-by as well as serving as a venue for cultural events.
In Siem Reap, Cambodia, the 86,000-square-foot T Galleria by DFS (yes, the “duty free” folks, though this is not your standard airport experience) houses a multitude of brands alongside reflecting pools, verdant gardens and work from local artisans.
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