What:  A new piece on the repurpose of former retail spaces.

Why it is important:  From Asia to the US, the question is important as it impacts the socio-economic environment. But department stores do not have to close to have a new sense of purpose for their own spaces. Reinvention can come from within.

Inside Retail reviews the fate of Isetan, the Japanese department store, which closed its location in Central World mall in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2020, after the expiry of its lease and 30 years of operation. Central Pattana, the mall’s owner, is planning to redeploy the space into an “urban lifestyle destination” however the project has been delayed from 2021 to 2023.

Similarly to the article about Borders’ in the US, the journalist focuses on the happening of former retail locations once they are closed. For Inside Retail, the consolidation of department stores was a period of “great terror” for mall owners, as the former were key traffic drivers to the latter. However, with time, this terror transformed into an opportunity best summarized by “what can you do with a vacant six-level department store space in one of the best locations in the city?”

For Inside retail, the solution lies into a cocktail of options: gym, retail specialy, food hall, supermarkets, events & performances spaces, schools, flexible workspaces.

From great terror to great opportunity: the rebirth of Isetan