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Will Marks and Spencer be next to go?
Posted: Sun, 22 Nov 2020 12:06 pm
by abbby
Dwindling profits, changing consumers trends, will it suffer the same fate as Robinsons?
https://vulcanpost.com/721997/marks-and ... singapore/
Re: Will Marks and Spencer be next to go?
Posted: Sun, 22 Nov 2020 1:43 pm
by malcontent
Singapore is well suited to online shopping, just think about how much the cost of retail space and overhead goes toward inflating prices here!
I would say traditional retailers have been lucky that online retailers haven’t really gotten their act together yet, and that the pervasive culture here still tends to prefer the tangible shopping experience.
Even if the Covid situation improves, I’d say the trend is against them — they need to adapt for face extinction.
Re: Will Marks and Spencer be next to go?
Posted: Mon, 23 Nov 2020 8:53 am
by Max Headroom
Retail here is going to get slaughtered. My circle has discovered ordering online in Malaysia, specifically from the shops they used to frequent regularly in JB before Covid-19.
These JB shops had no choice but to open virtual platforms and are now getting their act together by selling online full-on. The sites were buggy at first but are now smooth sailing.
Prices over there are fractions of what you'd pay in Singapore. Best of all, once you know where to go, quality is on a par, or better than stuff bought here. People are ordering by the box-loads.
If you think Singapore retail has been getting clobbered, wait for the masses to discover ordering from Malaysia, followed a few years down the road by Indonesia.
Retail in Singapore is a dead man walking. Courtesy the ever-greedy landlords and their ever-rising rents.
The only good thing about this mass disruption is that these landlords will have to tighten their purse strings big-time.
Re: Will Marks and Spencer be next to go?
Posted: Mon, 23 Nov 2020 9:12 am
by PNGMK
Max Headroom wrote: ↑Mon, 23 Nov 2020 8:53 am
Retail here is going to get slaughtered. My circle has discovered ordering online in Malaysia, specifically from the shops they used to frequent regularly in JB before Covid-19.
These JB shops had no choice but to open virtual platforms and are now getting their act together by selling online full-on. The sites were buggy at first but are now smooth sailing.
Prices over there are fractions of what you'd pay in Singapore. Best of all, once you know where to go, quality is on a par, or better than stuff bought here. People are ordering by the box-loads.
If you think Singapore retail has been getting clobbered, wait for the masses to discover ordering from Malaysia, followed a few years down the road by Indonesia.
Retail in Singapore is a dead man walking. Courtesy the ever-greedy landlords and their ever-rising rents.
The only good thing about this mass disruption is that these landlords will have to tighten their purse strings big-time.
Recommend some shops?
Re: Will Marks and Spencer be next to go?
Posted: Mon, 23 Nov 2020 10:59 am
by PNGMK
Re M&S - they are pivoting fast. They have a strong online presence as well and are moving their focus around continually in their shops (the Plaza Singapura one has been downsized and is 80% food now for example). I think they will survive.
Re: Will Marks and Spencer be next to go?
Posted: Mon, 23 Nov 2020 11:32 am
by abbby
PNGMK wrote: ↑Mon, 23 Nov 2020 10:59 am
Re M&S - they are pivoting fast. They have a strong online presence as well and are moving their focus around continually in their shops (the Plaza Singapura one has been downsized and is 80% food now for example). I think they will survive.
I really hope they do survive as they've got great products...just need to continue building the online presence and product range.
I've been visiting other online retailers ie: Tangs, Takashimaya, seems like only interested to sell high-end/expensive things.
Re: Will Marks and Spencer be next to go?
Posted: Mon, 23 Nov 2020 1:38 pm
by Max Headroom
PNGMK wrote: ↑Mon, 23 Nov 2020 9:12 am
Recommend some shops?
I hear the name Padini quite a lot.
Enjoy
Re: Will Marks and Spencer be next to go?
Posted: Mon, 23 Nov 2020 1:49 pm
by Max Headroom
PNGMK wrote: ↑Mon, 23 Nov 2020 10:59 am
Re M&S - they are pivoting fast. They have a strong online presence as well and are moving their focus around continually in their shops (the Plaza Singapura one has been downsized and is 80% food now for example). I think they will survive.
Yes, a trader friend told me the other day that the REITS have starting pivoting to F&B, along with more specialty shops and higher engagement with tenants, including profit-based rents, as opposed to their previous blood-from-stone lease model.
I reckon it will lessen the pain a bit, but ultimately we're looking at a huge tectonic shift here, albeit in slow-mo.
And banks are next.
Of course Singapore is quite nimble, so after the initial adjustments the country will do just fine in the new landscape, likely excel all over again
Re: Will Marks and Spencer be next to go?
Posted: Tue, 24 Nov 2020 12:58 pm
by PNGMK
Eventually enough retail will die off for it to become a less competitive landscape and the survivors will thrive. I expect M&S and BHG to be among the winners.
Re: Will Marks and Spencer be next to go?
Posted: Wed, 25 Nov 2020 2:38 pm
by tt1973
Retail will be hit for a long time, shopping habit has been going online in the last 10 years and COVID is the final nail in the coffin for physical retail shops.
Sad to see many familiar brands gone out of Sg.
Re: Will Marks and Spencer be next to go?
Posted: Thu, 26 Nov 2020 1:03 pm
by PNGMK
tt - I was counting up the number of good eating places that have disappeared in the last few years from my local malls - quite a few! The ones that are left are usually poor quality and survive that way.