International Fashion Giant to Enhance Australia's Robust Retail Scene

Singapore-based SilverNeedle® Hospitality has secured international fashion giant Forever 21 as its retail tenant at its NEXT Hotel® in Brisbane. This marks Forever 21's first shop in Australia, a move set to excite the country's retail scene, just as the world's first NEXT Hotel® in Brisbane will invigorate the city's offerings to the business traveller.

US-based Forever 21 will be the sole tenant for the retail space comprising about 1,900 square meters spread over two storeys at NEXT Hotel® located in Queen Street Mall. An open-plan commercial precinct, Queen Street Mall boasts an annual foot traffic of 26 million, making it a premier shopping district in Australia. Shoppers from all over Australia and the world are drawn to the precinct's unique mix of heritage-listed arcades, major shopping centres housing national and international labels, retailers and flagship stores.

An upper upscale brand, NEXT Hotel® is SilverNeedle® Hospitality's flagship brand designed to meet the needs of the modern business travellers, where comfortable spaces, smart technology and intuitive service fit their busy schedules and personal preferences.

"Since it pioneered fast fashion in the 1980s, Forever 21 has emerged as one of the world's most successful chains in the demanding retail world by focusing on delivering the latest trends to its customers," said Mr Iqbal Jumabhoy, Managing Director & Group Chief Executive Officer at SilverNeedle® Hospitality. "Similarly, we at SilverNeedle® Hospitality aim to become a leading hotel management company by delivering what business travellers need. This we hope to achieve with our flagship NEXT Hotel® brand by fusing smart technology with plush and comfortable spaces that make the most of our guests' time."

"Australia is a terrific market and we hope to make a lot of customers happy. We are satisfied to have a strong landlord help us embark this journey. We will be penetrating the market in a sustainable manner," said Jatin Malhotra, Director, Real Estate and Development at Forever 21. 

With another key globally-renowned fashion brand at Queen Street Mall, Forever 21 will become Brisbane's next fashion forward destination, giving locals another attractive option that will also draw travellers from other Australian states.

SilverNeedle® Hospitality is on schedule to open NEXT Hotel®, currently redeveloped from the iconic Chifley at Lennons hotel, in mid-2014.

For further information please contact:

Chia-Peck Wong

Director Corporate Communications

SilverNeedle® Hospitality

Tel: +65-6645-9405/+65-8688-6274

Chiapeck.wong@snhgroup.com

For media enquires please contact:

Kim Viney/Jenny Kyte

Horizon Communications Group

Tel: +61-2-8572-5621/+61-2-8572-5616

Email: kim@horizoncg.com.au/jenny@horizoncg.com.au

About SilverNeedle® Hospitality:

SilverNeedle® Hospitality is an innovative and progressive integrated hospitality investment, management and development company, with a focus on mid to upscale hotels and resorts that are intelligently designed and operated for the professional and leisure needs of the business traveller. SilverNeedle® Hospitality currently operates more than 60 managed and licensed properties with two properties under development, together accounting for more than 4,000 keys in Asia Pacific. Headquartered in Singapore, SilverNeedle® Hospitality has regional offices in Bangkok, Sydney and Bangalore.

The Nadathur Group, an investment firm owned by Nadathur S. Raghavan, co-founder of NASDAQ-listed Infosys Technologies, founded SilverNeedle® Hospitality. For more information, please visit www.snhgroup.com