Mustafa Centre 
From Singapore Hotels & Singapore Lifestyle
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Mustafa Centre in Little India, is a bustling 24-hour magnet that never sleeps. It is a paradise for budget Shoppers, and its strategic location attracts locals as well as a good number of tourists (especially from the sub-continent). Mustafa Centre is the only Shopping Mall in Singapore that is opened 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This gives Shoppers plenty of time to Shop for anything they want.
Mustafa Centre has just about everything - Electronics, Jewellery, Household Items, Shoes, Bags, CDs - all at bargain rates. The range of Electronics products sold here alone is enough to compete with any of the other major Electronics outlets in Singapore. Altogether, it is estimated that close to 100,000 different items are sold here at Mustafa Centre!
Forget about presentation or service; price is king at Mustafa Centre. There is also a large Supermarket to do all your Grocery Shopping. Avoid the evenings during weekends, when it seems the entire subcontinental male migrant Worker population descends on the area.
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History
Mustafa Centre has seen impressive growth since its inception. The first shop was established in 1971 in Campbell Lane in Little India, selling ready made garments.
In 1973, a 900 Sq.Ft Shop space was rented along Serangoon Road. Electronic Items were added on to it's range of products.
A second shop also 900 Sq.Ft was rented beside the first shop to accomodate growing customer traffic. Along with it, more products were sourced from overseas to give customers a wider selection of goods. The choice of new products based on what customers wanted.
In 1985, the government acquired the shops for conservation, Mr Mustaq Ahmad looked at several areas and decided to set up shop at Serangoon Plaza. A bold decision since Serangoon Plaza was located away from the main shopping belt in Little India, however, Mr Ahmad went ahead to rent a space of 40,000 Sq.Ft on the ground floor of the building.
The store became an immediate success, and more space was rented within the building to accomodate the growing clientele. With this in mind, and also considering the rental projection, Mr.Ahmad thought it would be best to own his own premises to maintain his business strategy.
Mr Ahmad started to look around, and found some old shophouses along Syed Alwi Road which were reasonably priced and not far from his store, just around the corner from Serangoon Plaza. He bought them one by one till finally, he bought the whole row. Putting up a large Shopping Centre in a side road out of the traditional shopping area was a very brave decision. After 2 years of careful planning, he decided to go ahead to put up his own building.
In April 1995, Mustafa Centre became a reality and immediately became a Shopping Paradise to many people. Weekends, the store packs in over 15,000 customers of all nationalities.
With the exposure in the T.V programs "Money Mind" and "Money Week" and reports in the local newspapers gave Mustafa greater exposure. With this support, the crowds continued to come to the store. A popular meeting point for families on weekends and holidays.
Today, customers can get almost anything from over 75,000 items displayed on four levels covering an area of 70,000 Sq.ft within the six story building which houses a hotel with 130 tastefully furnished rooms that say "Shop and Stay" under one roof, along Syed Alwi Road. The business concept of offering other services such as Foreign Exhange, Travel, and a Hotel, has helped in contributing to the growth of the business.
These customer related services under one roof has become synonymous with tourists from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka, and Asia. And lately there has been an increase in customers from the Middle-East, North Asia and also Europe. It is also popular with expatriates, made known to them through the Mustafa Mail Order Catalog, and recently Mustafa was the first major department store to get on the INTERNET.
Today, not only Mustafa Centre is a reality, the old store at serangoon Plaza has expanded into 75,000 Sq.ft. A total shopping space of 150,000 Sq.ft is still not enough to accomodate the growing customer traffic.
Visitors' Information
- Tel: (+65) 6298 2967
- Location: 145 Syed Alwi Road, Singapore 207704
- Nearest MRT: Farrer Park MRT Station
- Bus: SBS 23, 64, 65, 66, 130, 131, 139, 147, C3; TIBS 67, NR6, 857; Others 628, 634, 638
See also
