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SINGAPORE – Robinsons said on Friday (October 30) that it will close its last two department stores at The Heeren and Raffles City Shopping Center.
We remember the defining moments of Singapore’s oldest local department stores.
1858: A new company, Spicer & Robinson, is founded by the Englishman Philip Robinson, who was then living in Singapore, and James Gaborian Spicer, a former Singapore prison warden. The business is located in Commercial Square, now known as Raffles Place.
1859: The firm is expanding from selling mainly groceries to headgear and clothing. At the end of the year, James Spicer leaves the business and the company is renamed Robinson & Co. Philip Robinson also incorporates a new business partner, George Rappa Jr.
1881: Right now, Robinsons is the shop of choice for European expats in Singapore.
1891: After moving several times, including to North Bridge Road and Coleman Street, the store returns to its original location on Raffles Place.
1920: Robinson & Co becomes a limited company.
1941: The Raffles Chambers establishment is hit twice by Japanese bombs during World War II, but reopens the next day.
1942-1945: The company is closed during the Japanese occupation.
1946: The department store resumes trading.
1955: Robinsons takes over from John Little.
1957: The store undergoes a facelift and is called “the most beautiful store in the Far East”.
1958: Robinsons obtains the Marks and Spencer franchise for Singapore.
1972: The store is destroyed by a fire in Raffles Place that kills nine people and devastates properties worth $ 21 million. He moves to the Specialist Center on Orchard Road after the fire.
1983: Robinsons becomes the anchor tenant at The Centrepoint.
1990s: The store’s regular sales during this period tarnish its reputation as a luxury department store.
2001: A new $ 30 million store, covering 85,000 square feet, opens in Raffles City in March, targeting young and trendy customers. The Centrepoint outlet has a whole new look.
2006: OCBC Bank sells 29.9 percent of its stake in the group to Indonesia’s Lippo Group, through Auric Pacific Singapore, for $ 203 million.
2008: Retail operations are being sold for $ 600 million to the UAE-based Al-Futtaim Group.
2013: Robinsons moves into a new S $ 40 million store at 260 Orchard Road (formerly The Heeren), occupying five floors and the basement. The elegant store, with many new brands, aims to attract a high-end market with its elegant interior and elegant atmosphere. Another exit opens at Jem in Jurong East.
2014: Metro announces that it will replace the former Robinsons store at The Centrepoint as an anchor tenant and will open the store in the fourth quarter of the year. Robinsons managing director Franz Kraatz resigns.
2016: Robinsons launches its website. The last John Little store in Plaza Singapura also closes at the end of 2016.
2017: Expands to the Middle East with a store at Dubai Festival City in Dubai.
2018: A store opens at Kingdom Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
2020: Robinsons closes its Jem store.
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