Sim Lim Square's road to recovery

Fancy new shops like a boutique camera shop and a hip "audio cafe" are trying to give Sim Lim Square a new lease of life, even as the electronics mall tries to shed its image of being a hothouse of errant retailers with unsavoury sales tactics.

While the tenant mix and general look of the mall have not changed, a few retailers are trying to modernise the 36-year-old mall in order to keep it relevant in the current retail market. Leading the charge are the newly revamped photography shop Song Brothers and self-styled "audio cafe" Zeppelin & Co, both of which opened this year.

This was an attempt to change the mall's image to defray the hit it took over the last two years, said Song Brothers' managing director Mr Song Teck Kee. "Consumer behaviour has changed. As a retailer, we need to know what the consumer wants," he said.

"It should not be the same kind of design from the old days. Hopefully, our change will influence other retailers to upgrade their designs, which will be better for Sim Lim Square as a whole."

He re-opened a refurbished Song Brothers on the mall's first floor last month. But instead of the usual open, brightly lit store lined with glass-and-metal display cases, the new store has a boutique vibe with a wood-panelled facade and soft lighting.

Such a revamp could be useful in reviving the mall's image, analysts say, as it is seeing more customers two years after its image and reputation dropped to an all-time low.

"It does seem Sim Lim is bouncing back up. After the Jover incident, it hit a low in terms of reputation and customer footfall - so low that the only way the mall could go is up," said Mr Nicholas Mak, research head for SLP International Property Consultants.

Mall management says footfall - the number of people entering the mall - is up 30 per cent since the start of the year, with more customers coming to the mall compared with last year.

Mr Kwek Theng Swee, vice-chairman of the Sim Lim Square Management Council, attributed this increase to both the opening of the Downtown Line last year and the closure of Funan this year, along with efforts by the council to clean up the mall's image.

"We're quite happy that lots of businesses have recovered and people are coming back," he said.

Mr Song said he has seen a larger crowd at Sim Lim in recent months, particularly during the weekends.

"When I come back on weekends there is sometimes a queue to get into the carpark. This has not happened in years," he said.

Mr Kwek said a number of old retailers quit the mall in recent years because their business models could not keep up with the changing retail scene.

"From the management's point of view, it's a good sign. If those who aren't doing well get out, then newcomers with new ideas (and) new business models will come in. This change in hands, change in businesses, is good for everybody."

Twenty-four new tenants have set up shop in the strata-titled mall since the start of the year, including established brand names like HP and MyRepublic.

But while efforts are in place to restore Sim Lim Square's image, other retailers say the road to recovery is still taking some time.

Ms Pauline Then, manager of mobile accessories and cellphone repair shop Mobile City, said the mall's visitors have yet to return to levels of five years ago when it was still doing well. "There aren't many walk-in customers; mostly people who are recommended by friends, or our regular customers," she said.

She added that the rise of e-commerce has also hurt retailers. "Sometimes customers check the price of phones in front of me."

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'Audio cafe' in Sim Lim Square draws audiophiles, coffee lovers

Amid the bright fluorescent-lit stores that line the corridors of Sim Lim Square, a shop with bare concrete walls and narrow windows that enclose a cafe on the second floor sticks out like a sore thumb.

But Zeppelin & Co is not just another establishment banking on $5 lattes in an iconic location to attract the hipster crowd.

Its founder, Miss Kristy Song, 35, wanted to open an "audio cafe" where customers, from newcomers to serious audiophiles, can have a quiet, comfortable place to test audio equipment.

This was borne out of her experience as a consumer looking for shops where she could take her time in a peaceful environment to find headphones she really liked.

"If I'm testing different headphones, I would like to sit down. And if I were to sit down for a while, I get thirsty and would like a drink. And since coffee and music go together, I decided to put both elements in the store," she said.

The store's cool, minimalist vibe, due to its concrete flooring, exposed ceiling and wooden furniture, stands in stark contrast to the rest of the mall.

"We wanted it to be industrial chic, not industrial shabby," said Miss Song. "Not every single shop selling headphones must be techy or geeky and look like it's full of stock on display."

The cafe section stocks fare that's foreign to the rest of Sim Lim Square - cold brew coffee from local brewer Made Cold, tea from Ette Tea, and cakes from local indie patisserie inthebrickyard.

It is equally selective on the tech front, boasting a range of audio products from consumer-level earphones and Bluetooth speakers priced below $100, to high-end Focal headphones and Astell & Kern digital audio players that run into the thousands of dollars.

The store attracts both audiophiles and cafe-hoppers alike. Sometimes, customers walk in the latter and emerge from the former. "We have had people walk in for a cup of coffee and leave with a brand new pair of headphones."

Zeppelin & Co - named after the classic English rock band Led Zeppelin - opened three months ago, but already has a steady following among audiophiles. Due to its open, casual nature, it has become a hangout for those looking for a place to meet.

"The best part was seeing people, hobbyists who didn't know each other initially, meet and come together in the store. They talk, exchange tips and become friends - and so we want to just keep this casual environment here where anyone can talk to anyone," said Miss Song.

One such audiophile is Mr Erei Chua, 19, a student from Nanyang Polytechnic, who has been frequenting the store on a weekly basis ever since discovering it two months ago. "It's the only place where I can step in, stay as long as I want, listen to music and also grab a coffee," he said.

See also:

• Tourist kneels and begs tearfully for refund at Sim Lim Square shop (Nov 2014)
• Sim Lim Square sees dwindling sales (June 2015)
• Sim Lim Square still reeling from Jover Chew case (Dec 2015)

This article was first published on September 21, 2016.
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