Robinsons closes flagship store at The Heeren
SINGAPORE – When the last customers leave Robinsons’ flagship store at 2pm on Wednesday (Dec 16), the doors will start closing on an iconic 162-year-old department store.
On its last day, the Heeren outlet is opening to customers between 11am and 2pm.
About 30 people were in the store when The Straits Times visited at 11.15am, some to pick through the remains – odds and ends, and fixtures available for sale on the first floor of the retail institution, which occupies six floors and 186,000 sq feet in the heart of Orchard Road.
Discounts of up to 99 per cent were applied to the remaining stock, a menagerie of things often found in busy stores – hangers, mannequins and some armchairs.
Others were there to reminisce; to bid farewell to a slice of Singapore that by all accounts appeared sturdy, fortified by its bricks and mortar.
A Robinsons spokesman previously said that all stock will be sold and consignment stock will be removed and reallocated by the owners.
Ms Gina Toon, 65, decided to have one last look on Wednesday at The Heeren outlet.
She had been eyeing a handbag that was originally priced at $750 but was discounted to $150 when she visited on Tuesday night.
But the store had been picked clean, leaving the cook disappointed.
Mr Chen Luning, 56, found the fixtures a good buy.
“It is harder to find hangers like these. Those sold elsewhere are usually made of plastic but the ones here are wooden and come with clips,” said Mr Chen, who is between jobs.
Robinsons’ last outlet at Raffles City will remain in operation for now. A spokesman said no date for its closure has been set yet.
But it, too, will go.
The department store had announced on Oct 30 the impending closure of its last two outlets here, saying the decision to liquidate was prompted by a range of factors, including changing consumer tastes and cost pressures such as rent.
At The Heeren outlet, the staff were not in uniform. But they busied themselves, packing up items, including toys and perfume, for transfer to the Raffles City outlet.
As shoppers eyed a slice of Robinsons to take home, the employees dutifully placed price tags on the items, making clear everything has a price.
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