16.0 The Need for a Mix of Small Developers and Operators

As Asia proceeds on the fast pace to development there is an abundance of “Mega Projects” usually by private developers and they target to bring in the big chains and branded outlets.  Every mall in Asia has a Watsons, Guardian, Giordano, Nike, Adidas, etc, etc.  For anchor tenants it’s usually one of the department stores and of course a chain supermarket, while the fast food you’ll always find KFC and McDonalds and for coffee Starbucks.

Typical Asian Shopping Mall has become almost comodity of space with "standard" tenants.

Certainly there is a need for these types of outlets especially if the target market is for local daily conveniences, but there is no product differentiation if by tenant mix all malls are equal!  The customer catchmen will only be limited to the neighboring vicinity. 

Private shop ownership, whether its street front commercial or owning a kiosk within a larger shopping complex brings diversity of product.  But this can be a double edged sword as it too may not yield the optimum tenant mix or products.  In tourism related shopping, there is an even much greater need for this type of diversity giving outlets for local products and F&B. 

Bali handicraft shop

Famous home grown Bali restaurant

Over 20 years ago when I first came to Asia there used to be much more small family businesses running various shops, bakeries and F&B outlets.  Most shopping was in shop fronts or in malls with multiple ownership and it would be a surprise walking around and finding new and unique shops and products.  Places like Bali where individual owners still are the majority you can still wander for hours along shopping streets and find all types of one off products, either crafts, arts or fashions as well as F&B outlets.  It is this that makes Bali a shopper’s paradise.  Some of this is slowly disappearing as mass wholesalers corner the market and have their product easily sold in every street corner, much as you will find ABC Store on every block of Waikiki, Hawaii. 

This need for diversity of the Small and Medium Enterprise not only is desirable in retail, but also in F&B as well as small hotels.  For destinations like Bali can thrive on repeat visitors and long stay visitors because of this diversity.  The tourist that stays in Kuta Beach for a week can eat in a different outlet every day and still have hundreds of choices available for the next meal.  And these are outlets that they cannot find anywhere but in Bali.

Likewise having stayed for a week and enjoyed the variety as well as competitive pricing the tourist is likely to return for another week and this time trying another accommodation.  In fact may choose to try 2 or 3 different locations on the next trip having seen the variety available. 

Small independent home grown hotel in Bali

Small independent home grown hotel in Bali

When you look at retailing and dining as entertainment, certainly there is a value in diversity and in particular that of the SME.  These businesses bring their own special touch that is missing from chains and franchises and it is this that gives the life and soul to a destination.   

In some of the commercial developments, the shophouse a common and originally wonderful building typology has become the “urban blight” of Southeast Asia.  It has in most cased become the equal to the strip malls of suburban America. This primarily in the hands of the large developers where masses are built and sold as a commodity where investors can bank their money in a hard asset as opposed to keeping it in “fiat money”.  Unfortunately the impact on the cityscape is generally negative.  The old shophouse of Penang or Singapore never had such monopolies by single developers where the same unit was repeated for unbearably long stretches or at least from the look of the streetscape, you could not tell.  The traditional shophouse always fronted road and made streets where now they face parking lots just as their American counterpart strip malls.

New Batam Shophouses

Singapore Heritage Shophouse in Chinatown

Some developers now days do try to diversify the design and make a variety of elevations, but the basic planning principle, masses or endless row of shophouses fronting parking away from the real road. The only real objective to  generate cash regardless of how of it is ultimately used is the same, hence the impact on the city does not change much, purely urban blight!  Mostly end up as unoccupied investments banking on capital appreciation. 

Batam Shophouses decorated but without soul.

For master developers and governments to sell wholesale to a developer that will mass produce say 200 units of something is much easier and faster to show results in the accounts, but does the built environment eventually measure up to the financial accounts? It’s hard to find a positive example, but probably there is one out there.

Ultimately governments are accountable and need to have some control and take responsibility so smaller developers and independent business can find a place in the city adding both diversity in physical development as well as consumer products in retail, F&B as well as residential. 

That’s not to say large developers should not be allowed, but the governments need to put the right balance as well as physical and policy guidelines so they all can find a harmony in the physical urban design, operators that come in to make a city lively, while both small and large developers can be profitable. 

The personal touch of restaurants like Babek Bengil give a location real character.

Small unique boutiques add welcome surprizes for shoppers

Jiwa Studio

Singapore, December 2011
http://jiwastudioweb.blogspot.com/