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SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Marks & Spencer (M&S) Singapore has opened a new outlet at Waterway Point, amid the imminent liquidation of Robinsons Singapore, with whom it shares a parent company in the Al-Futtaim group.
The store opened last Saturday (October 31) and is a “pop-up window” that will operate for the next six months, The Business Times (BT) has learned.
It is located on the first floor of the suburban shopping center in Punggol and sells beauty products and food.
M&S had confirmed to BT last Friday that it had no intention of closing its “thriving business” in Singapore. However, the franchise seems barely profitable lately, having made an after-tax profit of $ 101,613 in 2018, down from $ 2.9 million the year before.
In the UK, the British brand on Wednesday reported the first loss in its 94 years as a publicly traded company, largely due to a decline in clothing sales amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
M&S had a pre-tax loss before one-off items of £ 17.4 million (S $ 30.8 million) in the 26 weeks to September 26, a reversal of a £ 176 million gain a year ago, according to media reports.
Analysts at DBS Group Research noted Monday that more brands from the Dubai-based conglomerate Al-Futtaim may follow in Robinsons’ footsteps and potentially face collapse, given continued pressures on retailers due to capacity and travel limits.
The Al-Futtaim group is said to represent most of Singapore’s biggest brands, with household names like M&S, Zara and Mango in their stable.
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