On September 10, 2026, AADE Chairman Tan Chong Huat and President Tan Poh Hwee co-authored a commentary published in The Business Times, titled "Japan Home is retreating and rents are rising. Singapore retail could pay the price." The piece examines the structural pressures reshaping Singapore's retail sector, using the recent retreat of household-goods chain Japan Home as a starting point for a broader discussion on cross-border e-commerce disruption and shifting landlord strategy.
The authors point to a striking contradiction in Singapore's retail market: even as the Urban Redevelopment Authority's retail rental index rose in the second quarter of 2026, occupied retail space fell and the islandwide vacancy rate edged higher. They argue that cross-border e-commerce platforms — able to aggregate mainland China's manufacturing base and offer free shipping on single-item orders — are eroding the "basket threshold" that once protected physical retailers from low-ticket impulse purchases, while personal, relationship-driven businesses such as neighbourhood barbers continue to hold value that price alone cannot capture.
Beyond diagnosing the pressure points, they call for a shared response: landlords rethinking tenant mix to preserve community value, government schemes such as the refreshed Retail Industry Digital Plan, and greater transparency from private mall owners undertaking asset-enhancement projects. They conclude that the real test of Singapore's retail policy is whether, a decade from now, the city still has room for the kind of shop where a regular customer needs only say one word to be understood.