• The community shopping centre is developing a lifestyle RoofTopp to further ignite connections and bring the community together.
• Standing at over 617,000 square feet, the nine-storey space functions as a car park creating an additional 1,600 bays and retail space to provide a cohesive customer experience.

Johor Bahru – Toppen Shopping Centre has unveiled its plans for an extension to its retailtainment space with a lifestyle RoofTopp, which offers a unique experience for the community visiting the destination.  Staying true to its name ‘Topp’, the lifestyle RoofTopp is built on a nine-storey structure that provides the community with more parking spaces, as well as an exciting retail mix at the top two floors. The construction of the multi-storey car park started in April 2021 and is expected to be completed by Q3 of 2022.

More spaces, more offerings

Over a year has passed since the pandemic hit, and Toppen, together with its anchor IKEA Tebrau, continue to provide visitors with a safe and accessible meeting place where communities can build memorable experience at its one-stop shopping destination.

As the world corresponds to new habits and lifestyles, the shopping centre has also adapted to the idea of social distancing with the multi-storey carpark and lifestyle RoofTopp designed to further evenly distribute visitors and allow tenants to create their own crowd within the different large spaces available.

The centre’s crown jewel rooftop known as The Topp is the pride of Toppen Shopping Centre. Since its launch, The Topp has been pivotal to the meeting place of the Johor Bahru community, creating a space where people of all ages can enjoy the various activities organised by the centre. Therefore a similar concept will be developed for the multi-storey carpark, with a retail space on the rooftop offering F&B, entertainment, health and fitness, as well as co-working spaces at the lifestyle RoofTopp.

“This development is a testament of our dedication to growing Toppen. Following its successful launch in November 2019, the retail market underwent significant challenges as a result of Covid-19. However Toppen remained resilient, with us working closely with our tenants to ensure their success. As restrictions eased, we were inspired by the eagerness of the Johor community as they returned to our centre. With the increasing number of Toppen and IKEA visitors per year, the plan was to create a better experience for our visitors coming from near and afar.” said Adrian Mirea, Shopping Centre and Mixed-Used Director, IKEA Southeast Asia.

Adding on to the experience factor, Toppen’s addition to its retailtainment allows tenants to explore the possibility of extending operating hours beyond the regular shopping centre hours.

A seamless experience

The lifestyle RoofTopp will be seamlessly integrated on-top of a 9-storey, 617,000 sq ft car park space with approximately 1,600 parking bays to provide visitors easy access from Toppen, IKEA Tebrau and the surrounding areas. The RoofTopp retail component is 48,000 sq feet with high ceilings and is connected to the main Toppen building for a smooth customer flow.

In line with the shopping centre’s vision to enhance seamless customer experience from different customer touchpoints, the idea of building Lifestyle RoofTopp on a car park space will also help accommodate the high volume of shoppers who are visiting Toppen to either shop, dine, wall climb with friends, or cool down at the splash park.

“Now, more than ever, we know how important it is to encourage community-building and create a better everyday life for the many people visiting our meeting places. We rearrange our spaces according to what the community needs, and co-create events and unique experiences for them to enjoy. This cannot be done without the tenants who have been fully supportive of us since the beginning. This is just one of the many ways to improve ourselves as we continue to make Toppen the heart and hub of the Johor Bahru community,” said Mirea.

 Vasilisa Kuznetsova, Centre Manager of Toppen Shopping Centre added, “Last October, we unveiled our plans for a new 86-metre elevated pedestrian bridge. Today, the bridge allows visitors from Toppen and neighbouring retail complex like AEON Tebrau to travel safely between the two destinations. Ease of accessibility via foot and vehicle traffic via the surrounding infrastructure is key to us as each touchpoint is designed to meet the needs of our communities.”

During the month of Ramadan, visitors of Toppen will be able to enjoy Iftar @ The Topp where they can break fast at the space provided while enjoying movies and special performances. They can also take part in other initiatives such as the free weekly Zumba classes available as well as rest and relax to appreciate new graffiti hoardings to spark creativity in one another.

Toppen Shopping Centre is owned and operated by Ikano Centres and is also one of the five anchored-by-IKEA shopping centres in Southeast Asia. A one-stop destination with four levels of unique retailtainment experiences and the first-of-its-kind rooftop community hub, The Topp, Toppen prides itself in being the heart and hub of the community.