Retailers should scale down similar shops, diversify product offerings

While I partly agree that there is “Trouble ahead for stores as e-shopping bug bites” (March 21), I also believe firmly that “seeing is believing”.

I concur with Al-Futtaim’s head of business in Asia, Mr Kesri Kapur, that too many shopping centres are too similar to one another, selling the same old stuff. (“S’pore’s retail sector ‘unsustainable, with too many malls’”; March 18)

In the 1990s, new shopping centres were part of the amenities being developed in towns to draw residents to new public housing. Developers were quick to woo big retailers that had outfits in the Orchard Road shopping belt to take up spaces in the suburban malls.

Now, with the rise of e-commerce and mobile shopping, big names in retail that carry similar products should shut down more stores in suburban towns, while retaining their stores in the main shopping belts of Orchard Road and Marina Bay.

Scaling down the “too many, too similar” stores would save retailers operational costs such as rental and manpower. At the same time, they could diversify into product offerings that are not found here.

For example, six or seven years ago, Robinsons and Watsons used to carry the Addax Hycalia brand of moisturising creams, which healed my dry and chapped hands and feet. Four years ago, however, this brand disappeared from retail shelves here.

It is important that popular retailers retain their brick-and-mortar stores, especially in our main shopping belts, so Singapore will not lose out as a shopping destination.

As a fashion lover, I would not buy clothes without trying them on first, to determine whether a piece fits me like a glove. Unlike food items, clothes can differ considerably in the cut, pattern and material used.

The same goes for shoes or products that are unfamiliar to customers. Shopping in brick-and-mortar stores boosts consumer confidence and peace of mind. I, for one, will buy only groceries online — food items I consume regularly.