Skechers opens 5 new stores in Singapore as COVID-19 pandemic throws up 'opportunities'
SINGAPORE: The retail industry may be going through a rough patch due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but American footwear brand Skechers still sees pockets of opportunities and has ramped up its presence in Singapore in recent months.
It opened five new stores in July and August – growing its retail footprint here to thirty brick-and-mortar stores – and expanded two existing ones. It too hired xl new employees.
These moves come confronting the backdrop of an industry striking badly by the coronavirus outbreak.
Retail sales posted tape slumps in April and May when a "circuit breaker" was imposed, earlier recovering to smaller declines in June and July as retail activities were allowed to resume. Islandwide vacancy charge per unit for retail space, meanwhile, rose to 9.vi per cent at the finish of the 2nd quarter, up from 8 per cent in the first quarter.
"It's without a doubt (that) in the retail manufacture, it is quite challenging," said Skechers vice-president for Southeast Asia Zann Lee told CNA.
"But I always tell my squad, we meet challenges every bit opportunities."
1 such opportunity is the availability of "practiced locations" in shopping malls.
"Many brands are exiting so there are good locations that are available at present versus before," she told CNA in an interview on Thursday (Sep 10).
"At this indicate in time, the landlords are also reassessing the rental so that's where nosotros are able to practise a further negotiation."
READ: US shoes company Skechers opens flagship Paris store
With mall owners more open up to negotiations, rental rates for the visitor's new stores have come off by well-nigh xx to 30 per cent compared with pre-pandemic days, co-ordinate to Ms Lee. The drop mirrors trends in other markets, she added, with store rents down past 40 per cent in China and more than 30 per cent in Thailand.
While three of the newly opened stores were role of plans fabricated well before the pandemic, the remaining two locations were decided following recent negotiations.
"This is a practiced fourth dimension for u.s. to actually enter into a market with proficient locations," said Ms Lee.
The "athleisure" coincidental sports clothing market standing to abound is some other reason why Skechers is sticking to its expansion plans.
"We are proud to say that we are one of the market place leaders. Nosotros are blest with the products (that are) able to cater to the market needs," she said.
Ms Lee did not reveal exact figures only said Skechers achieved unmarried-digit sales growth in Singapore on a year-on-year basis for the months of June, July and Baronial. This compares with double-digit sales growth seen earlier in the year.
The company remains "optimistic" about the months ahead and is targeting a single-digit fall in its almanac sales this year from 2019.
"The initial projection we were doing in May was a double-digit reduction in sales," said Ms Lee.
"Nosotros are still pretty much optimistic but of form, nosotros need to sentry and react to the marketplace sentiment … If we see consumers spending lesser, and then nosotros'll conform our in-shop promotions."
READ: The future of retail after COVID-19
It is also betting on new production launches, such every bit an upcoming collaboration with popular Japanese character Hello Kitty, to attract those who want "novelty items".
Asked if the expansion move could exist a risky one given the economic downturn, Ms Lee pointed to how some consumers prefer to make purchases in heartland malls well-nigh to their homes.
"Peculiarly during this pandemic, nosotros are able to come across sales effectually suburban areas increasing, versus sales around the Orchard area," she said.
This is why one of the v new Skechers stores is in Tiong Bahru Plaza. The residual are located in Great World Metropolis, Novena Square, Suntec Metropolis and Marine Square.
"At the moment nosotros are about thirty stores, which I think is only right for the market," Ms Lee said.
MANPOWER NEEDS
At the moment, Skechers has nearly 290 employees in Singapore, with the local office also serving equally its Southeast Asian headquarters.
Its new hires – all locals – filled xxx retail positions and 10 in the logistics team. Hiring locals, peculiarly those with experience in the retail industry, has been slightly easier these days, Ms Lee noted.
"A lot of brands are exiting … so we are able to tap on people with expertise and offer them some other position."
With the recent rise in qualifying salaries for Employment Pass (EP) applicants, the visitor wants to train more local employees for college-paying shop manager roles going forward.
At the moment, Skechers has Employment Laissez passer holders in some of the managerial roles at its retail stores, every bit well as management trainee positions. Information technology also hires work permit holders as retail assistants.
Yet, the local retail industry continues to face up hiring issues. Even among the recent new hires, about one-5th changed their minds before long later joining Skechers as they could not get used to the demands of working in a consumer retail store. The company was able to find replacements fairly quickly due to the bigger pool of jobseekers at the moment, said Ms Lee.
READ: Business owners in F&B, retail and construction raise concerns near rise in Southward Pass qualifying bacon
Ms Lee also noted that the company is not affected by the recent changes in foreign worker policies only has some concerns about the longer run.
"It will be a business if they continue to increment the (salary) criteria for the different passes," she said.
E-COMMERCE
Meanwhile, Skechers is also working on calculation due east-commerce functions to its local website, as part of coming together the needs of consumers who prefer the convenience of shopping online.
Work for its own e-commerce site has been under way since terminal year simply the pandemic and its disruptions prompted the visitor to expedite the process, said Ms Lee.
Asked if the visitor is concerned that it may be a little late to the e-commerce game, Ms Lee said she does not recall and then given how Skechers has an online presence currently via online marketplaces such as Lazada and Shopee.
"I think customers still capeesh the social and sensory aspects of shopping offline in our brick-and-mortar stores. They would prefer to get advice face-to-face from our associates.
"But at the same time, consumers also desire to store online at their convenience and then … we see e-commerce as complementing our brick-and-mortar stores," she said.
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram aqueduct for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/business/skechers-opens-5-new-stores-singapore-covid-19-jobs-192406
0 Response to "Skechers opens 5 new stores in Singapore as COVID-19 pandemic throws up 'opportunities'"
Post a Comment