Shopping mall in Downtown Core, Singapore
Funan DigitaLife Mall (1985 - 30 June 2016) (Chinese: 福南数码活力广场), also known as Funan The IT Mall (Chinese: 福南科技广场) or simply Funan Centre (Chinese: 福南中心), is a shopping centre located near the Civic District in Singapore. Established in 1985, the mall specialises in electronics and IT-related goods. It is a more upmarket competitor of Sim Lim Square, the latter of which caters more to the general masses.[1]
There are a total of 178 outlets spread over six floors. Challenger Superstore occupies almost the entirety of the sixth floor, and is accompanied by other anchor tenants such as Harvey Norman in the other floors.
History
The mall opened in 1985 as Funan Centre as a general shopping centre, which provided more options for shoppers to shop at other than Orchard Road.[2] In the early 90s, the mall began to attract a critical mass of electronic and IT retailers over the years. Its main and long-time anchor tenant is Challenger Superstore, a major homegrown IT store established in 1984. In 1992, the mall was refurbished. It later adopted the name Funan The IT Mall in 1997 to reflect its current focus on IT related outlets. In 2005, the mall received minor upgrades, and was again renamed to Funan DigitaLife Mall.
Decline and redevelopment
Due to the popularity of online shopping, business at the mall has been declining over the past few years, resulting tenants to close shop over the past 3 years.[3] The last day of the shopping mall will be on 30 June 2016 (Thursday), thereafter the building will be demolished and redeveloped. As of 30 June 2016, only the Challenger store remains operating (which is only tables and chairs operation, the computers has been already moved out).[4]
Transportation
The nearest MRT Station to Funan DigtaLife Mall is City Hall MRT Station (NS25/EW13). The bus stop is along North Bridge Road.
