Retailers Unite for Business

FF Fashion

Joy Fang
Tue, Dec 02, 2008
my paper


THE last few years have been a whirlwind of address changes for these home-decor merchants.

First, they had to vacate Blanco Court in Victoria Street in 1998 when the building made way for Raffles Hospital. They moved to The Concourse in nearby Beach Road.

In November last year, they were served the eviction notice yet again - part of The Concourse will be converted to two residential blocks.

Seven of the 11 retailers moved to The Verge (former Tekka Mall) in Serangoon Road in March, but got hit by another zinger - the economic downturn. The plucky retailers, however, are not sitting by idly - five of them are pitching a one-stop Christmas shopping haven on the fifth floor of the mall.

During a visit last week, my paper found that the entire floor was a veritable Yuletide playground, with Christmas trees, streamers and an assortment of festive wares stacked high. But the retailers face yet another stumbling block - lack of customer awareness. While they say 70 per cent of their regulars still frequent their shops, others do not know their new location yet.

Said Mr Andrew Chua, director of Ming Sing Flowers: 'We're still trying to let people know where we are. Many still go back to the old place.'

That is a pity, since the prices of the festive items are 20 to 30 per cent lower than those at major department stores, said a representative from Knight Frank Shopping Centre Management, which runs The Verge.

Mr Dave Koh, 33, retail area manager of Steve Florists, said that business fell by about 5 per cent due to the downturn.

'Consumers don't buy as much as last year, preferring to go on a budget,' he said.

Ms Janice Luo, 45, administrator of a shop called Daco, concurred.

She said business is 'very slow, very bad', and the number of customers she has is only a third of what she used to see at The Concourse.

Also, profit margins have been low. 'Everyone is slashing prices so we have to mark down a lot too,' she said.

Despite the competition, the shopowners are 'more friends than enemies', said Mr Koh. Being in the same mall, they reckon, will offer customers convenience and competitive pricing.

And that is something not lost on their regular customers.

Housewife Denise Albuquerque, 39, continued to patronise the shops at The Verge, after reading about the move in the newspapers.

'Their items are much cheaper and they have a large variety,' she said.

Another regular, administrative manager Mary Chen, has been buying decorations for her company for more than 10 years.

'They are wholesalers and the cheapest in the market. And they always give a corporate discount,' she said.