No safe distancing, empty shelves: I went for A&F's 50% sale so you don't have to

By now, some of you would probably have heard that American retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is shuttering their one and only outlet at Knightsbridge, Orchard Road.

For most, the highlight was this news: a 50 per cent storewide clearance sale by A&F before leaving our little red dot.

Similar to everyone else, I was itching to snag some good deals. Apart from that, I was also looking to indulge myself in a little nostalgia like many others my age. I used to spend an unhealthy amount of time in the dim confines of this store.

As I expected, the sale was ongoing till the last day, May 2. I wasn't expecting the place to be that crowded since there was still many days to go.

Alas, I was horribly mistaken.

I made my way down on Tuesday (April 20) evening around 7pm. From where I was standing – at the traffic light near Paragon – the crowd situation didn't look that bad.

However, when the lights changed, everyone who had been waiting to cross the road made an immediate beeline to A&F's entrance and soon after, a long queue had formed.

This thankfully moved rather quickly and after scanning the SafeEntry code and taking my temperature, I was finally in the store. Unfortunately, less than 20 seconds in, I immediately wanted to get out because the place was an utter mess.

I felt myself being transported back into pre-Covid times because no one seemed to be practising any form of safe distancing.

People were swarming around racks and shelves as they tried to snatch at the remaining clothes on display.

At every turn, shoppers could be seen clinging onto their loot as they weaved their way in and out of the crowd.

The centre of the store was complete mayhem and it took me awhile to realise that half the people here were queuing up to make payment.

Meanwhile, the rest of the shoppers were frantically sieving through the remaining racks of clothes, hoping to score themselves a good deal.

I made an attempt to do the same but there weren't many options for me — all that was left were random pieces of clothing in odd sizes and extremely thick jackets that were impossible to wear in Singapore's heat.

If you're skinny and looking to expand your jeans collection, you'd be glad to know that there are quite a few pieces left, but other than that, there wasn't much.

Despite the disappointing outlook, I pressed on and quietly hoped that I would have a bit more luck in the basement. Unfortunately, this didn't go well either.

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Climbing down the stairs was an entire ordeal in itself because it seemed like the whole of Singapore was trying to do the same.

Once I reached the basement, I was greeted by another wave of people who were ransacking the shelves like their life depended on it. The bulk of the things here were for men, so I decided to save myself the trouble and head elsewhere.

On my way back up to ground level, I was bashed in the face by a woman carrying a mountain of clothes. Somehow, this ended up being my fault because she swiftly swivelled around to give me a scathing glare. Ouch!

I then decided to check out the second level. The walk up was surprisingly less arduous and there weren't as many shoppers – this felt little suspicious. Later on, I realised that the entire upper level was dedicated to children wear, which explained the lack of a crowd.

Determined to not let my efforts go to waste, I forced myself to have a last look back at the first level to see if I could find something, but to no avail.

A&F indicated that their last day is on May 2 but at the rate their shelves are being cleared, they can honestly move out by the end of the week.

In an article by 8world.com, it was said that a snaking long queue had started forming outside the store even before their stated opening hours at 11am. This was probably why there weren't many things left in stock when I visited the store that evening.

So, if you're planning to head down to A&F to take advantage of the sale, you may want to reconsider. Unless, you're skinny enough to fit into the remaining jeans on the racks.

melissateo@asiaone.com