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SINGAPORE: Mr. RM Suresh used to do a big business selling accessories and sundries for mobile phones to migrant workers who gathered in Little India every weekend.
The owner of Pamban Trading, a store on Belilios Lane, is now thinking of switching to products that appeal to local customers, as business has fallen about 90 percent in the past four months, since thousands of workers were put in. quarantined due to COVID. -19 outbreak.
Although he received a rent exemption for a few months, the concession will end this month.
“How to continue the business, I don’t know … I pray to God,” he said with a wry laugh.
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Migrant workers living in dormitories make up the vast majority of COVID-19 cases in Singapore, and although the country’s “breaker” period ended in June, allowing retail stores to reopen, most of these workers they must remain in their bedrooms except for work. .
Most workers now travel alone between their bedrooms and workplaces, and the crowds in Little India have not returned. Even the few workers who frequent Suresh’s store now buy less than they used to, he said.
Vijayasekaran Ramachandran, who runs a grocery store in Little India, says business suffered but has since improved somewhat with the return of local customers. (Photo: Chew Hui Min)
When CNA visited on Saturday (Aug 29), the crowds that used to fill the heritage area on weekends were notoriously missing.
Mohamed Iqbal, whose Dunlop Street store is stocked with shirts, shoes and other products that attract workers, said his business has fallen between 50 and 60 percent. It has never been this bad in the 20 years his store has been in the area, he said.
“Before they came to buy everything … now they work and go back to their bedrooms,” he said, adding that the lack of tourists in the area has also affected his business a bit.
Stores that sell cards and cell phone accessories also told CNA that their business has dropped quite a bit without workers, especially on the weekends.
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SHOPS REACHED BY LACK OF TOURISTS
At Little India Arcade, traffic was lighter than usual on a Saturday and there were only a few customers at Ms. Selvi’s beauty salon.
More than 90 percent of customers who came to them to paint with henna were tourists, he said, adding that demand for beauty services from local customers has declined even after the blackout period.
“(People) aren’t hanging out that much and they might be thinking, ‘Aiyah, I don’t need to get ready, lah, I might as well stay home,'” she said.
Dr. T Chandroo, President of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), speaking with Ms. Selvi in her beauty salon. (Photo: SICCI)
Selvi’s store was one of the places visited by members of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (SICCI), who were out on Saturday to learn more about the concerns and challenges of Indian entrepreneurs amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
“Especially in Little India, most of them depend on migrant workers as well as the influx of the tourism market … which has stagnated right now and is a very challenging period for them,” said Parthiban Murugaiyan. which is part of a SICCI working group created to help companies affected by COVID-19.
The task force created in May has helped about 1,800 companies so far, but wants to reach more companies that may not be aware of the schemes and support measures they can take advantage of, said Chandra Mohan Rethnam, vice president and vice president of SICCI. . the head of the working group.
Vice President of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (SICCI) Chandra Mohan Rethnam on a walk through Little India on August 29, 2020 to reach businesses there. He leads a SICCI working group that aims to help companies affected by COVID-19. (Photo: SICCI)
Companies have contacted them to better understand the financial aid plans available, for advice on how to transform their businesses, and establish e-commerce or electronic payment systems. There was also a small proportion who asked for help to regionalize or internationalize, he said during a news conference on Saturday.
The crowd in Little India has dropped by about 50 percent overall, and while local customers have returned, he estimates that number to be about 70 percent of what it was before, said Rajakumar Chandra, president of Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association (LISHA).
“In a weekend, at least 95 percent of the companies here depend on (migrant workers) and you can imagine, for the last five months, there is not a soul here,” he said. “I think things are going to be very different for many companies, especially those that depend on tourism and foreign workers. I think they are finding ways to reverse their businesses.”
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But it’s not all doom and gloom for Little India stores. CNA noted that grocery stores, convenience stores and some stores serving local residents were relatively busy around noon on Saturday. Some store owners told CNA that while business has fallen, local customers have started to return in the last month or two.
ADVENTURE ONLINE
LISHA President Mr. Chandra’s store, Jothi, has put a portion of their products online after more than half a century on Campbell Lane selling flowers, prayer items and necessities for the Indian home.
He had thought about adopting e-commerce in the past, but that idea was finally put to use during the COVID-19 crisis, he told CNA, while urging other companies to do the same.
Jothi Store and Flower Shop has been in Little India since the 1960s. E-commerce only started when COVID-19 arrived. (Photo: Chew Hui Min)
“We are open 365 days a year, we even open on Deepavali day … Jothi never closes,” he said. “But then the whole scene changed when all the companies had to close.”
He immediately began uploading information and photos of his products to a website, and within 10 days, he activated his business online and began receiving orders, he said.
Another business that has expanded online is SIS premium steak, which has a store on Buffalo Road. Second-generation CEO Joyce Kingsly said she expanded her product range from primarily lamb and chicken to other food products, and started home deliveries when the circuit breaker kicked in.
“I thought if I created a package of meat and seafood, they could send it to their loved ones because they couldn’t see each other during that time. Then I went to fruits, then to sandwiches and all that.” she said.
“I also ran live online tendering for meat and seafood … that’s when I started with other (things) and invented the saree basket.”
Joyce Kingsly of SIS Premium Meat, a company in Little India, said they got even busier with online deliveries from the “circuit breaker.” (Photo: Chew Hui Min)
She is going ahead with plans to open another store and is now having trouble finding workers to deal with the additional delivery orders.
But not all companies are convinced that this is the way to go. Chandra admitted that many business owners in Little India are busy with their day-to-day operations and have little time to think about moving online.
The store’s owner, Mohamed, said he didn’t think it would be practical for small shops like his, while Vijayasekaran Ramachandran, who runs a grocery store, said he “doesn’t prefer online,” instead taking orders over the phone and WhatsApp.
“I think after COVID-19 ends, the workers come back, (then) maybe normal,” he said.
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