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Robinsons to reopen as online mall on June 24

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE - After exiting Singapore in January, 163-year-old retailer Robinsons will make a comeback as an online department store. In a statement on Thursday (June 10), the iconic mall announced that it was acquired by wholesale supplier Canningvale Australia this month. The newly independent Robinsons Department Stores Online has already hired two former Robinsons employees and will employ Singaporeans to "fill various positions across the business", it added. The website will go live on June 24. With its head office based in Singapore, the business will be led by Mr Jordan Prainito, the former managing director of Canningvale Australia. He said: "I'm excited to be relaunching such an iconic brand. The brand has a rich history, and it strongly resonates with Singaporean and South-east Asian customers. It just needs to be catapulted into the 21st century." The online department store will feature more than 200 brands and collaborations that will debut exclusively on the new platform. On the digitalisation, Mr Prainito said: "We'll apply the learnings from Canningvale's digital transformation, where we saw e-commerce sales increase tenfold in under five years. "This was achieved th...

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New BHG concept store replaces Robinsons at Raffles City Shopping Centre

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE - A new concept store selling beauty, fashion, as well as home and living products is now occupying shop units vacated by Robinsons at Raffles City Shopping Centre. One Assembly is the product of a partnership between BHG Singapore and Raffles City Singapore. It is located at levels one and two at the mall. The store will officially open in early February but a soft launch was held on Wednesday (Jan 27). On Friday, The Straits Times spotted around 10 people waiting for the store to open at 11am. Ms Judy Lau, 65, said she was there out of curiosity. She had previously frequented the Robinsons store to shop for clothes to mark Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb 12 and 13 this year. "We need to go in and take a look and see how it is different. By bringing in new brands, the store will elevate the shopping experience," she said. Robinsons, which occupied three levels at the mall, closed its store there on Jan 9, bringing 162 years of history to an end. The main store at The Heeren was shuttered earlier. Like its predecessor, One Assembly will offer a range of products including kitchenware and mattresses. There will also be items from Osim and luxury brand Tiffany & Co. A ...

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Union meets Robinsons’ employees to discuss liquidation and give advice

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2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Current and former employees of liquidating department store Robinsons met union leaders from the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union (SMMU) this week to discuss the liquidation process and to receive advice on filing their outstanding claims. In a statement on Friday (Nov 20), the union said it has been engaging Robinsons' management and liquidators to give assistance to the affected workers, including those who have been retrenched. The SMMU also said that it would be attending the liquidator's meeting with creditors next week to represent workers' interests. On Oct 30, Robinsons said that it had decided to liquidate its Heeren and Raffles City stores due to changing consumer tastes and cost pressures such as rent. The Covid-19 pandemic played a part as well, it said. At least 11 former employees of the retailer have approached the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management for help after Robinsons announced its liquidation. Robinsons' parent company is the Dubai-based conglomerate Al-Futtaim Group, which owns other franchises in Singapore including Marks & Spencer and Zara. "In Robinsons' liquidation process, the SMMU's k...

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Robinsons’ closing down sale begins on Friday

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Robinsons will begin its storewide sales on Friday (Nov 6) at its last two stores in Singapore at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre. There will be a storewide discount on fashion, beauty, homeware, accessories and travel items, said marketing agency BWP Group on Friday. "Everything has been reduced and must go... customers are encouraged to take advantage of these fantastic discounts while stocks last," it added. When contacted, a BWP spokesman said the sale would continue until all stocks were sold. The retailer's appointed liquidator, KordaMentha, has confirmed this announcement, adding in an update on Thursday (Nov 5) that customers who have ordered Simmons, Sealy, Serta or King Koil mattresses from Robinsons and have paid in full can expect these to be delivered. A fifth mattress company, Mattress International (MaxCoil), said that customers who have made a full payment should approach their bank to cancel it. After they redirect their purchases and make payment to MaxCoil, their orders will be fulfilled. KordaMentha added on Thursday that discussions with other mattress suppliers are ongoing and it will provide updates when they are available. As at 4pm T...

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Hundreds of shoppers continue to throng Robinsons day after news of closure

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The day after Robinsons announced it would close its two stores at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre, shoppers continued to show up in droves. On Saturday (Oct 31), even before the store opened at 11am, a queue of some 300 people had formed outside the Heeren store in Orchard Road. Markings on the ground outside the main entrance of The Heeren indicated that shoppers should stand 1m apart. The queue stretched past the Apple Orchard Road store next door, snaking around the empty space in front of the mall several times. When the doors opened, shoppers were seen entering the store in an orderly fashion, with many doing their SafeEntry check-in in advance. Robinsons announced on Friday (Oct 30) that it would close its two stores at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre, as well as two stores in Malaysia. It said the appointed liquidators are in negotiations with the landlords in Singapore but it hoped to stay open "for the coming weeks". The retailer, which employs about 175 staff here, said it plans to do its best to transfer them to other brands under the parent company, Dubai-based Al-Futtaim Group, which owns other franchises, including Marks & Spencer ...

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Robinsons to close stores: Down memory lane with S’pore’s oldest home-grown department store

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3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Robinsons said on Friday (Oct 30) that it is closing its last two department stores at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre. We look back on the defining moments of Singapore's oldest home-grown department store. 1858: A new firm, Spicer & Robinson, is founded by Englishman Philip Robinson, then living in Singapore, and James Gaborian Spicer, a former keeper of the Singapore Jail. The company is located in Commercial Square, now known as Raffles Place. 1859: The firm expands from mainly selling groceries to millinery and dressmaking. By the end of the year, James Spicer leaves the business and the company is renamed Robinson & Co. Philip Robinson also brings in a new business partner, George Rappa Jr. 1881: By this time, Robinsons is the preferred store for European expatriates in Singapore. 1891: After moving several times, including to North Bridge Road and Coleman Street, the store returns to its original location in Raffles Place. 1920: Robinson & Co becomes a limited company. 1941: The outlet at Raffles Chambers is hit twice by Japanese bombs during World War II, but reopens the next day. 1942-1945: The firm is closed during the Japanese Occupation. Robinson...

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Robinsons to close last stores at The Heeren and Raffles City

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5 minutes

SINGAPORE - Robinsons is liquidating its two department stores at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Centre, the retailer said on Friday (Oct 30). This means that Robinsons' last two stores will be closing and the company will be exiting from the Singapore physical retail scene after 162 years. Robinsons said in a statement that the liquidation decision was made after the store’s "inability to continue operations due to weak demand at department stores". Mr Danny Lim, Robinsons' senior general manager, said: "We regret this outcome today. Despite recent challenges in the industry, the Robinsons team continued to pursue the success of the brand. However, the changing consumer landscape makes it difficult for us to succeed over the long term and the Covid-19 pandemic has further exacerbated our challenges. "We have enjoyed success over the years, and it has been an honour for Robinsons to serve the Singapore market. I am grateful for the dedication of our team, and for the support shown by our customers over the years." Robinsons said that the dual trend of more people turning to online shopping and lower demand for department stores is to blame for slumping retail sales, a problem...