A 380-seat theatre by local company Wi!d Rice, supermarket chain FairPrice Finest and a flagship store by local designer Carolyn Kan.

These are some of the latest anchor tenants at Funan, announced by its owner CapitaLand Mall Trust yesterday.

The mall, previously known for being a hub for IT products, will have an entire floor dedicated to technology.

Previous tenants such as Newstead Technologies will take up 15,000 sq ft of space with multiple concept stores, and AddOn Systems will set up a Lenovo flagship and Service Centre.

The $560 million project, which will also consist of two office towers and 279 service apartments, will allocate 11,800 sq ft of "short-term and casual" space for designers and makers to conduct workshops and sell their crafts, offering leases as short as a few hours.

Cinema chain Golden Village and food court chain Kopitiam were previously announced as anchor operators.

The retail mall will have 200 shops over six storeys, and is targeted for completion in the fourth quarter of 2019.

At a media preview at their swanky show suite located at the junction of Hill Street and High Street yesterday, Mr Wilson Tan, CEO of Capitaland Mall Trust Management, told The New Paper: "This is an opportunity for Funan to rewrite the parameters, to redefine how a mall of the future will be.

"Every time we look at an existing mall, we can only (change) small parts of it. The easy way out would be to create a 'cookie-cutter' mall, but we want to be a differentiated mall."

There will also be a covered linkway connecting City Hall MRT station to the mall's basement.

Mr Tan said they will be leveraging on technology to tackle the challenge of online retail.

For instance, customers can collect online purchases, as well as return them, at the mall.

Retailers, too, agreed that a physical retail space is still important.

Ms Carolyn Kan, who is behind homegrown artisan jewellery brand Carrie K. and design collective Keepers, will be signing a three-year lease for a 2,600 sq ft space at the mall.

She said the store would allow her to interact and build a relationship with customers and fellow designers.

"You can do it online, but it is not personal. If someone is very passionate about something, it's always great to be able to meet like-minded individuals," she said.