SHOPPERS can look forward to more exciting shops and malls as retailers go on the offensive in the coming months.

Several luxury brands like Tod’s and Gucci are expanding their presence here.

Next month, Italian luxury leather-goods retailer Tod’s will take up two storeys in Paragon, with its shopfront directly facing Orchard Road.

The jewel in Paragon’s crown will be unveiled next year when Italian fashion and leathergoods brand Gucci opens its flagship store there. It will occupy five storeys.

Three other designer boutiques – Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada and Miu Miu – will also open their duplex units there.

Coach, famed for its women’s handbags, and Jimmy Choo, renowned for its women’s shoes with killer heels, will unveil their flagship stores in Paragon by November next year.

The plans are all part of a $45-million facelift the shopping centre went through recently.

Paragon general manager Linda Kwan said: “With the facelift, Paragon has secured an even stronger position as an upscale shopping mall with its diverse mix of international brands appealing to the discerning fashionista.”

With Mandarin Gallery and Ion Orchard opening soon, shoppers can look forward to a more diverse, if not more extravagant, shopping experience.

While high-end luxury brands are the name of the game in Orchard Road, a new mall in Tampines is offering concept stores and bringing international brand names like Dorothy Perkins to the heartland.

Tampines 1 will also be the first mall in Singapore to house Uniqlo, a clothing chain dubbed the “Japanese Giordano”.

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