Singapore Retail Festival aims to up visibility, footfall for physical retailers

Food vendors include six Michelin Bib Gourmand brands like Fei Fei Roasted Noodles, suburban favourites like Chinese snack chain Dough Magic, and formerly online-only businesses like Wanting Kimchi. The mandatory coffee stand is run by Percolate, the sort of trendy roaster that also sells ceramics and imported beans.

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Eateries were screened for uniqueness. Common brands that could be found in the vicinity were ruled out to avoid competition, says Ms Chua, who declines to state the price of Tangs' “very costly” renovation.

It has paid off. “We have customers who have not set foot in our store in the last 36 months. They're all coming back,” she adds.

Queues at the basement start at 7.30am and end at 9pm, proving that Singaporeans eat at all hours of the day.

Sometimes, a well-placed restaurant can feed the imagination, like the Sinpopo outlet on Tangs' second floor, where kueh served on three-tiered cake stands makes buying a Jellycat plushie on the same floor seem a glamorous pastime.

Another Orchard Road titan, Takashimaya, figured this out earlier. Says Mr Yamamoto: “Thirty-two years ago, when Takashimaya Singapore started, fashion was the most important. But in the last 10 years, food has grown stronger and stronger.”

It used to be cosmetics or apparel that got customers through the door and down to the bottom floor for takeaway after shopping. The reverse is true these days.

“We call it the fountain effect,” Mr Yamamoto adds, a reference to the red-walled building's iconic fountain that shoots water from the basement, and in this case business, up to the higher levels.

It is tempting to wave this off as classic Singaporean Japanophilia, what with the department store's specialised Japanese confectioneries, noodle joints and events, but the turnout is strong for its South Korean and Mid-Autumn Festival food fairs too.

Even so, food is just the first step in funnelling shoppers to the pricier upper floors. The challenge is loosening their purse strings once they get there.

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